2021 was marked by growth for the Energize team. While adding a lot of “new,” we consistently iterated on our investment thesis and core values across all functions of our firm – from deals to operations. Keep scrolling for a snapshot of what we covered last year.
In 2021, we introduced our second venture fund and launched our growth platform – increasing our total assets under management from $200M at the end of 2020 to more than $700M by the end of last year. Within those 12 months we closed our first Energize growth vehicle - aimed at funding later-stage software companies - and initiated fundraising for our second, to be announced later this year. We welcomed a number of new institutional and strategic investors and brought on a new Head of IR & Capital Markets and CFO to help support and manage our growing LP base.
We grew our team by 50 percent, adding four professionals to our investment and operations teams. To make room for our bigger headcount, we moved into a bigger office space just a few floors away in our building in downtown Chicago.
Fund II was launched as a continuation of our thesis, and in 2021 we invested in four new software companies that play a role in accelerating the energy transition across mobility, battery analytics, critical infrastructure and cybersecurity. We continued supporting our Fund I portfolio, making 11 follow-on investments as these companies grew and matured. Speaking of maturing companies, we had our first portfolio company go public last year – Volta Charging is now traded on NYSE.
As usual, we’re making no small plans for 2022. We’re expecting to double our headcount year-over-year as we continue to build out our platform function and bring in a diverse new cohort of talent. Check here to see what roles we currently have open. Our portfolio is also hiring – there are currently more than 500 open positions across all our companies, so if you’re interested in working for a software startup in the energy/sustainability space, take a look at our job board. That list will grow as we continue to build our portfolio in the coming months...you can always visit our News & Insights page to keep up with our latest investments and themes.
Lastly, we’re officially transitioning back to an in-person work environment and are welcoming visitors again, so stop by and see us if you’re in Chicago!
