Rob Day 12 15 08, 3:59 PM

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The revolution will not be publicized

The end of last week was probably a terrible time for @Ventures to have put out a presentation challenging recent trends in cleantech venture capital, given what's been going on in the news cycle...  There were meaty discussions by Michael Kanellos at GreenTech Media (I'll discuss that column a bit more in another post) and Katie Fehrenbacher at Earth2Tech, but otherwise financial reporters were too busy throwing shoes at ponzi-scheme hedge fund owners.  Some I spoke with blamed the failed auto bailout or the Obama energy and environment team rumors as among several bigger stories that needed to be covered.  One reporter I spoke with explained that he'd just gotten fired.  Tough times in the media industry right now, hard to argue with anyone's choices about which stories to cover. Still waiting to hear Dan Primack's take, however, since he's been particularly critical of the sector as being too capital-intensive. But the amazing thing was how many people engaged in the discussion even without much press coverage.  In the first 24 hours after we posted the presentation, it was viewed by around 1,000 people and downloaded nearly 100 times.  And the emails and comments I've been getting are pretty interesting.  Mostly positive reviews, and some engaging questions and pushback. Here's hoping that the news continues to get out, because the investment trends discussed in the presentation should be the topic of a lot more conversations in the cleantech VC and limited partner communities... In the spirit of continuing the dialogue, here are some selected (and unattributed) comments I've gotten over the past couple of days since posting the presentation:

"A question I have for you is, why is there such a late-stage mentality?  You made great points--that clean tech isn't going to have the rapid returns of Web 2.0 (what industry could?) and that the timeframe for commercialization for most clean tech companies is not longer (and probably shorter, in many cases) than biotech.  Is it simply the herd mentality driving the late-stage focus ("everyone's moving to late-stage investing to get more rapid returns")?  Or is a fundamental lack of understanding of the dynamics of the markets for clean tech products; in other words, many VCs and other investors don't understand the fundamental structural characteristics of development of such technologies, and so they have unreasonable expectations of timeframes for returns?" "Saw your post yesterday on 'what's wrong with cleantech venture capital' and flipped through the PowerPoint - I thought you were right on - like you, we have been looking at this developing landscape trying to figure out the best places and stages to play in..." "It’s interesting, the perspective one takes on the conclusion on your last slide wholly depends on what point of view you’re arriving at it from. If you’re an existing VC investor with money that you must spend and LPs beyond the 'getting interested' state of energy/environment, I’d agree with you – except that if too many people pursue the same strategy it’s going to be tough to make money. If you’re coming from outside it and looking at how to set up an optimal financing vehicle for energy/environment, I’d be 180 degrees in the other direction." "You stole my pitch!" -- early stage cleantech VC

More comments and reactions are welcomed, as I think this will be a topic on this site for some time to come. . . . .

Rob Day 12 15 08, 3:22 PM

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A quick deal catch-up

Deals from the past couple of weeks:

• SensorTran, a developer of fiber optic based sensors (and full disclosure: a former portfolio company of mine) raised a $3.5mm insider Series C.  Advantage Capital Partners, Expansion Capital Partners, WHEB Ventures and Stonehenge Capital participated in the round.

• Lightwave Power raised a Series A from Quercus Trust and 21Ventures.  More info here.

• Thin-film solar manufacturer Konarka raised a $45mm round of financing from Total at what sounds to be more than a $180mm pre-money valuation.

• China’s Himin Solar Energy Group announced a $100mm financing from Goldman Sachs and CDH Investment.

• EnviroGene raised a GBP 1mm round of financing from RAB Capital, Finance Wales, and management.

• A “stealth” publicly-traded company? Even OTC, that’s weird.  Anyways, lighting company Vu1 raised a $5mm PIPE.

• Soltage announced an undisclosed amount of investment from Tenaska Solar.

• French battery recycler Recupyl raised a EUR 14.5mm round led by AGF Private Equity, and including Aloe Private Equity and INPG Enterprise SA.

• Eric W. reported that SolarEdge is close to raising a $20-25mm Series B.

• Infinite Power Solutions raised a $13mm insider Series B co-led by DE Shaw and Polaris, and including Core Capital Partners, Applied Ventures, In-Q-Tel, and a new unnamed strategic investor.

• Fuel cell company ACAL Energy raised a GBP 3.3mm financing from existing investors, “a leading Japanese corporation,” and entities affiliated with Solvay.

• Coskata raised a $40mm Series C.  Blackstone led the round.

• Unidym, a CNT manufacturer, raised an undisclosed amount including an investment by TEL Venture Capital.

• VentureWire reported that biodiesel producer Innovation Fuels raised a $10mm insider round.

• VWire also reported that Xtreme Power has raised $15mm including a recent round from Sail Venture Partner and Texas’ Emerging Technology Fund.

• PE Week Wire reported that Mariah Power raised an undisclosed amount of Series B from Noventi, Greenhouse Capital, BigSky Partners and Sierra Angels.

• Cleantech investors in the news:  Earth Capital Partners is looking for $5B in total funds…  A pretty interesting policy is encouraging French angel investors to put money into English startups…  Here’s an interesting column on investors putting money into rural Indian plays…  VWire reported that New Cycle Capital has raised a $30mm fund to invest in sustainability and domestic plays.

Other news and notes:  GreenTech Media has launched a new Solar Research Service...  Behind the scenes at the Cleantech Forum in Shanghai...  Finally, the new Obama energy/ climate/ environment team is a really big boost for the cleantech industry, good to see.

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