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July 11, 2011

Gridco Gets $12.5M in VC Funding for Development of Smart Grid Transformers



Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Gridco has raised $12.5 million in equity financing, according to a regulatory filing. The form lists two-Boston-area venture capitalists, Ric Fulop of North Bridge Venture Partners and Hemant Taneja of General Catalyst Partners, as the company’s directors; along with Naimish Patel, formerly of Sycamore Networks (News - Alert) of Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

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Back in May, the Boston Globe reported that North Bridge and General Catalyst were backing Gridco, a startup focused on smarter power management technology for utilities and industrial power consumers. The newspaper stated that, although Gridco isn’t revealing much, it apparently is “focusing on solid-state (as opposed to magnetic) transformers, which can be smaller, more efficient, and easier to monitor and manage.”

Gridco is among four companies in the renewable energy and smart grid segments that have raised a combined $65 million in VC funding during the first five business days of July. The other major deals include:

OPX Biotechnologies Inc., a Boulder, Colorado-based developer of bio-based fuels, has raised $36.5 million in a first closing of its Series C round. DBL Investors was joined by former financers Mohr Davidow Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, Altira Group and X/Seed Capital.

Clean Urban Energy (CUE), a Chicago-based provider of smart grid performance optimization technology, has raised $7 million in Series A funding co-led by Battery Ventures and Rho Ventures.  

Virtustream Inc., a Bethesda, Maryland-based provider of cloud services and infrastructure solutions, has raised $10 million in Series B funding. Return backers include Intel Capital (News - Alert), Columbia Capital, Noro-Moseley Partners and TDFunds. The company previously raised $49 million. 

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Cheryl Kaften is an accomplished communicator who has written for consumer and corporate audiences. She has worked extensively for MasterCard (News - Alert) Worldwide, Philip Morris USA (Altria), and KPMG, and has consulted for Estee Lauder and the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspapers. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell
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