Nest Labs sold to Google for $3.2 billion this February, but Opower’s high-flying IPO has come back down to earth.
Cleantech is a mixed bag of results. It is not yet out of venture’s doghouse, but there are signs of renewal, as the year-to-date investment pace reflects this middle ground.
Cleantech investment activity through the first four months of the year is averaging $161 million a month going to U.S.-based startups in the space. This is modestly ahead of last year’s pace of $130 million, based on data from Thomson Reuters (publisher of VCJ).
This figures were calculated through the end of April and includes the Ambri deal, in which KLP Enterprises, Khosla Ventures, Total SA, Bill Gates and others put $35 million into the liquid battery company.
VCs clearly continue to look askance at the sector yet with some apparent enthusiasm on the horizon. Through April this year, $644.6 million has gone into 58 deals, according to the data. If this pace continues, the year will see about $1.93 billion invested, up from last year’s $1.56 billion, but still down significantly from the $2.96 billion of 2012.
VCs and corporate venture groups seem most interested in agricultural and food startups. Capital invested globally in agricultural and food-based ventures was up about 78 percent in the first quarter, according to the Cleantech Group. Funding for startups in the transportation and energy-efficiency sectors was weak.
Sungevity is the top deal so far this year, according to Thomson Reuters. The company raised $72.5 million from investors, including E.On and GE Ventures. It is followed by Lanzatech’s $60 million round and Cool Planet Energy Systems’ $50.8 million financing.
The accompanying table includes a complete list of this year’s deals.
Corporates are playing a big role. Top investors so far are GE Capital, E.On, Mitsui & Co, VantagePoint Capital Partners and The Westly Group. At the same time, firms including Prelude Ventures, RiverVest Capital Partners, Foundation Capital and Braemar Energy Ventures have also put significant money to work.
Update: This story includes more up-to-date data on U.S.-based cleantech investments in 2014 and replaces a previous version.
