As Energize enters our eighth year as a firm, we’re proud to look back on another period of growth and endurance, despite challenges impacting our industries. 2023 marked a shift in the broader venture capital ecosystem: high interest rates, downsized valuations and a tepid IPO environment were harbingers for a market correction. Political uncertainties on a national and global scale invited questions around the trajectory of the energy transition. And yet the market for climate solutions has continued to show resilience. For Energize, 2023 was a formative and impactful year – and one during which we, like our entrepreneurs, were focused on building from within.
In 2023, we brought to fruition several defining initiatives that had been in motion for years in the making.
- Notably, we changed our name from Energize Ventures to Energize Capital to reflect the broadening of our strategy as a capital provider in the climate markets. With that, we also officially announced the launch of our growth equity strategy with the close of our second growth fund.
- We made two new investments in Amperon and PVcase, and six additional Energize portfolio companies, including Monta and Nozomi, returned to market to raise strategic capital from a position of strength.
- The Energize portfolio showed endurance through a challenging economic landscape: combined, our companies surpassed $450 million in aggregate revenue, representing a more than 50% increase from 2022.
- We launched our flagship event, Energize NEXT: The Climate Software Summit, last fall. This event aggregated participants from throughout the climate technology ecosystem, from entrepreneurs to capital providers to corporations influencing the energy transition, for the occasion of fostering connections and learning opportunities with some of the brightest minds in our space. We are thrilled to report that the event will be returning to Chicago again this fall on September 18.
- We also solidified our portfolio support services arm, coined Energize EDGE, to double down on value creation and preservation within our portfolio beyond capital investment. By the end of 2023, our EDGE team had completed or initiated more than 100 value creation activities for Energize’s portfolio.
We are continuing to grow our team and build out build out our portfolio in 2024, and we’re excited to make progress in our mission of scaling sustainable innovation in the years to come. Thank you for being along for the journey!
