Latest news with #ChristopherKlaus
Business Wire
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Wattch Secures $6 Million in Seed Round Led by Spero Ventures and Christopher Klaus to Expand Energy Management Solutions
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wattch, a leading monitoring and controls provider for commercial and distribution-scale solar and battery storage, has secured $6 million in Seed funding from prominent cleantech investors. The investment round was led by Spero Ventures with participation from cybersecurity pioneer Christopher Klaus. Additional energy industry investors include former CEO of GE Power Steve Bolze and Helioscope Founder Paul Grana. As part of this investment, Marc Tarpenning, co-founder of Tesla and Venture Partner at Spero Ventures, and Michael Chanin, the founder of Cherry Street Energy, have joined Wattch's board of directors. "Wattch is working to radically reduce deployment time and cost with the first hybrid SCADA platform purpose-built for DERs." The funding will accelerate Wattch's mission to transform how developers, utilities, and independent power producers operate and optimize their energy assets through its next-generation cloud platform and connected hardware solutions. Specifically, the capital will enable the company's strategic go-to-market expansion into the rapidly growing grid-scale battery storage market and support continued development of comprehensive Energy Management System (EMS) capabilities. "This investment represents a strong vote of confidence in our vision and technology," said Alex Nussey, CEO and co-founder of Wattch. "We are at an inflection point where the energy industry is experiencing increasing penetration of intermittent and distributed assets. This complexity demands unified digital control solutions that are both simple and repeatable enough to be deployed at scale. Wattch is working to radically reduce deployment time and cost with the first hybrid SCADA platform purpose-built for DERs." In its recent releases, the company has enhanced its platform with advanced EMS features, including autonomous economic optimization, scheduled operation, and manual dispatch. These new capabilities complement Wattch's legacy suite of monitoring, performance analysis, and diagnostic controls solutions, providing customers with an unprecedented level of visibility and control over their energy infrastructure. Wattch plans to use the funds to expand its engineering and project implementation teams, accelerate the time-to-market for its advanced controls capabilities, and drive customer acquisition across developers and independent power producers. About Wattch Wattch enables observability, intelligence, and control for renewable energy systems of all types and sizes. As an emerging leader in Grid Edge platforms, the company serves customers in the solar, battery storage, and hydroelectric spaces, with wide-ranging potential applications. Wattch aims to provide transparency and interoperability for every device in the world that produces, stores, or consumes energy. Learn more at and on LinkedIn. About Spero Ventures Spero Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that invests in the things that make life worth living: wellbeing; sustainability; learning, work, and play. We're a team of former startup founders, operators, and investors from landmark companies including eBay, Tesla, and Stripe. We invest in determined founders building mission-driven technology companies. We are conviction-based investors who play the long game. About Christopher Klaus Chris Klaus is the founder and CEO of Fusen, a platform empowering college students to launch startups by connecting them with mentors, funding, and accelerators. A visionary entrepreneur, Klaus previously founded ISS (acquired by IBM for $1.9B), and he continues to drive innovation through education, technology, and mentorship.
The Independent
02-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Georgia Tech commencement speaker pledges to cover startup incorporation costs for graduates
Georgia Tech 's commencement speaker left graduates with more than inspiring words Friday — he promised to cover incorporation costs for any graduate launching a startup. 'This is about more than just covering fees — it's about lighting a spark,' alumnus and speaker Christopher Klaus said in a press release. 'Every founder needs someone to believe in them early. Through this gift, we're offering that belief and giving graduates the chance to start building with purpose and confidence.' It costs around $100 to file for incorporation in Georgia. Georgia Tech has spent years trying to cultivate an entrepreneurial ecosystem, partnering with real estate developers to build multiple phases of Tech Square, a development of offices, labs and residences that anchors part of Atlanta's booming office-filled Midtown district. That and a similar development on the other side of the campus has helped cement Tech's relationship with companies that partner with the university for research and hire Tech graduates. The school attracted record applications this year. Klaus currently leads Fusen, a startup he founded in 2022 to help students build startups by connecting them with mentors and funding. He also co-founded the school's entrepreneurship program CREATE-X in 2014, which has helped launch over 500 student startups. He received an honorary Ph.D. during the ceremony. 'We invited Chris Klaus to speak at Commencement because he embodies the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit that has defined Georgia Tech for 140 years,' President Ángel Cabrera said in a statement. 'Through his groundbreaking work, his message, and now his generous gift to this semester's graduates, Chris continues to inspire a new generation to lead with imagination and creativity.' Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who recently announced his run for re-election, has sought to make make Atlanta one of the top five tech hubs in the country. A report released last year said that would require the launch of 2,000 tech startups each year in the city by 2027.
Hamilton Spectator
02-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Georgia Tech commencement speaker pledges to cover startup incorporation costs for graduates
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Tech's commencement speaker left graduates with more than inspiring words Friday — he promised to cover incorporation costs for any graduate launching a startup. 'This is about more than just covering fees — it's about lighting a spark,' alumnus and speaker Christopher Klaus said in a press release. 'Every founder needs someone to believe in them early. Through this gift, we're offering that belief and giving graduates the chance to start building with purpose and confidence.' It costs around $100 to file for incorporation in Georgia. Georgia Tech has spent years trying to cultivate an entrepreneurial ecosystem, partnering with real estate developers to build multiple phases of Tech Square, a development of offices, labs and residences that anchors part of Atlanta's booming office-filled Midtown district. That and a similar development on the other side of the campus has helped cement Tech's relationship with companies that partner with the university for research and hire Tech graduates. The school attracted record applications this year. Klaus currently leads Fusen, a startup he founded in 2022 to help students build startups by connecting them with mentors and funding. He also co-founded the school's entrepreneurship program CREATE-X in 2014, which has helped launch over 500 student startups. He received an honorary Ph.D. during the ceremony. 'We invited Chris Klaus to speak at Commencement because he embodies the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit that has defined Georgia Tech for 140 years,' President Ángel Cabrera said in a statement. 'Through his groundbreaking work, his message, and now his generous gift to this semester's graduates, Chris continues to inspire a new generation to lead with imagination and creativity.' Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who recently announced his run for re-election , has sought to make make Atlanta one of the top five tech hubs in the country. A report released last year said that would require the launch of 2,000 tech startups each year in the city by 2027.
Associated Press
02-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Georgia Tech commencement speaker pledges to cover startup incorporation costs for graduates
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Tech's commencement speaker left graduates with more than inspiring words Friday — he promised to cover incorporation costs for any graduate launching a startup. 'This is about more than just covering fees — it's about lighting a spark,' alumnus and speaker Christopher Klaus said in a press release. 'Every founder needs someone to believe in them early. Through this gift, we're offering that belief and giving graduates the chance to start building with purpose and confidence.' It costs around $100 to file for incorporation in Georgia. Georgia Tech has spent years trying to cultivate an entrepreneurial ecosystem, partnering with real estate developers to build multiple phases of Tech Square, a development of offices, labs and residences that anchors part of Atlanta's booming office-filled Midtown district. That and a similar development on the other side of the campus has helped cement Tech's relationship with companies that partner with the university for research and hire Tech graduates. The school attracted record applications this year. Klaus currently leads Fusen, a startup he founded in 2022 to help students build startups by connecting them with mentors and funding. He also co-founded the school's entrepreneurship program CREATE-X in 2014, which has helped launch over 500 student startups. He received an honorary Ph.D. during the ceremony. 'We invited Chris Klaus to speak at Commencement because he embodies the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit that has defined Georgia Tech for 140 years,' President Ángel Cabrera said in a statement. 'Through his groundbreaking work, his message, and now his generous gift to this semester's graduates, Chris continues to inspire a new generation to lead with imagination and creativity.' Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who recently announced his run for re-election, has sought to make make Atlanta one of the top five tech hubs in the country. A report released last year said that would require the launch of 2,000 tech startups each year in the city by 2027.
