Tendril is broadening its smart grid relationship with GE beyond appliances with an equity investment by GE Energy Financial Services.
Tendril and GE Energy Financial Services revealed the funding at GE Global Research, GE’s technology development arm, in Niskayuna, New York. GE Energy Financial Services is making the venture capital investment as a follow up to Tendril’s announcement in June that it raised $30m in Series C funding.
The Tendril Residential Energy Management Ecosystem (TREE) is designed to help utilities operate efficiently to improve customer service and comply with new regulatory requirements.
The enterprise-class TREE Platform, with engaging in-home devices and a suite of utility applications, provides an energy management system that empowers consumers to take control of their energy consumption.
GE’s investment builds on its appliances partnership with Tendril. GE Consumer & Industrial and Tendril revealed in July that they would integrate the TREE Platform to work with GE’s dryers, refrigerators, washing machines and other appliances.
Adrian Tuck, CEO, Tendril, said: “As one of the world’s largest and most respected corporations, with strong utility partnerships and a loyal customer base, GE is uniquely positioned to deliver cutting-edge solutions to help drive adoption of the smart grid.
“GE’s investment in Tendril is a testament to our innovative technology platform and market position. It also further validates our reputation as a leading home energy management platform provider that can be trusted to deliver compelling, tightly integrated solutions to utilities and their customers.”
For its part, GE sees its relationship with Tendril as reinforcement of its ecomagination initiative, to help customers meet their environmental challenges.
In other smart grid initiatives, GE Energy Financial Services has made a venture capital investment in Grid Net, a provider of interoperable, policy-based network management software and communications products for the utility industry’s smart grid.
In addition, GE Energy Financial Services is nearing completion of three smart grid variable frequency transformers at its Linden, New Jersey, power plant that will enable transmission system operators to control power flows between New Jersey and New York City.
Tendril is a developer of integrated software/hardware platform to enable real-time, two-way communications between utilities/retailers and their customers on energy supply and consumption.