The AES Corporation extends its investment in
Uplight and its digital and carbon-free future
Investment will speed development of critical
software for a cleaner, more resilient and affordable grid for
consumers, support Uplight’s organic and M&A-driven growth, and
catalyze international expansion
Uplight, the technology partner of energy providers
transitioning to the clean energy ecosystem, announced today that
it has agreed to a new investment from a consortium of investors,
co-led by Schneider Electric (EURONEXT:SU), the global leader in
sustainable energy solutions; AES (NYSE:AES), a global company
accelerating the future of sustainable energy; and a group of
private equity investors led by Huck Capital that includes Coatue
and Inclusive Capital Partners Spring Fund II. Uplight is valued at
$1.5 billion in the transaction, which includes the investment of
new equity to support significant organic and inorganic growth and
adds world-class strategic and financial partners as the energy
industry surges forward into transformation. Prior Uplight majority
investor Rubicon Technology Partners, who along with AES led the
formation of Uplight through the merger of six companies, will also
remain a minority investor.
“The grid is experiencing its biggest change in 100 years as it
decarbonizes in front of our eyes. The boom in clean hardware —
electric vehicles, renewables, batteries, and connected devices —
is rapidly changing energy demand and creating new complexity.
Uplight is creating the software operating system that connects the
dots between customer choice and control and grid resilience and
affordability in this transformation,” said Uplight CEO Adrian
Tuck. “This investment and these partners help us scale the OS and
the ecosystem better and faster, by increasing our scale and
operations with energy providers, developing more deeply integrated
solutions with other technology and energy solutions providers,
both organically and through focused M&A, and catalyzing
expansion into international markets.”
Uplight currently serves more than 80 energy providers,
representing 110 million energy consumers, with the market’s widest
array of sustainable digital solutions. Using data-driven insights
to personalize and simplify the customer experience, Uplight
solutions help utilities to reduce their baseload by changing
consumer behavior, orchestrate grid connected devices that keep
customers' bills low while adjusting in real time to changing grid
conditions, and speed customer adoption of renewables, electric
vehicles, and energy management solutions. The company posted an
operating profit in 2020 with significant year-over-year ARR growth
which continues in 2021. At the same time, Uplight's solutions
delivered through its utility partners saved energy users more than
an estimated $390 million on their energy bills while helping homes
and businesses become more sustainable.
The investment group of global leaders is well aligned with
Uplight, a certified B Corp, and its purpose of “creating a
sustainable future using business as a force for good.” Huck
Capital was formed to focus on transformational investments that
bring together sustainability and growth in the energy sector.
Coatue is an approximately $35 billion global technology fund that
has invested over $5 billion in cleantech companies like SunRun,
Tesla and Rivian. Inclusive Capital Partners, a global investment
firm, partners with its investment companies to speed their
environmental and social impact. Schneider Electric was recently
named the world’s most sustainable corporation by research firm
Corporate Knights and is the global leader in the digital
transformation of energy management and automation, with
distributed energy solutions for both commercial and utility scale.
As a global leader in renewables and energy storage, AES partners
with its customers to help them achieve their sustainable energy
goals with a focus on offering innovative and integrated solutions
while maintaining reliability.
Andres Gluski, AES President and Chief Executive Officer:
“Uplight shares AES’ commitment to accelerate a smarter, greener
energy future. Digital technologies engage customers in new ways
for the more efficient use of energy. These tools improve customer
satisfaction while reducing the carbon footprint of utility
companies. We are continuing to invest in Uplight based on their
proven track record and the great benefits these solutions bring
for our customers and society.”
Steve McBee, CEO, Huck Capital: “Uplight sits at the center of
two energy megatrends: the pivot to a zero-carbon economy and
applying SaaS and data to connect and orchestrate behind-the-meter
energy solutions. Software is the fuel driving the energy
transition and Uplight is ideally positioned to win. We’re excited
to work with the management team and the new investment partners to
rapidly scale the business.”
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and CEO, Schneider Electric:
“Uplight’s software will enhance Schneider Electric’s existing
EcoStruxure Grid offering and has further potential to play a key
enabling role between Smart Grid, Smart Home and Smart Building. We
look forward to investing alongside AES and the other financial
investors, who all share our vision of a more digital and more
electric world, leading to a sustainable future.”
Uplight delivers a unique and critical scale in the rapidly
growing sustainable technology market by acting as the connective
layer to create cohesive customer experiences at every step of the
customer energy journey. Nomura Greentech Capital estimates the
total potential market for sustainable energy technologies and
related products at more than $900 billion globally, across
thousands of products and solutions connected to energy consumers
and the energy grid.
“Every energy solution provider participating in the new energy
ecosystem is going to be better off partnering with us to connect
their solutions to others and improve their value to customers.
Uplight is making it easier and faster to deliver outcomes at scale
and hit carbon reduction goals,” said Mr. Tuck.
The transaction is expected to close following the receipt of
customary regulatory approvals. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served
as Exclusive Advisor to Uplight; Nomura Greentech served as Advisor
to the Investors.
About Uplight
Uplight is the technology partner for energy providers and the
clean energy ecosystem. Uplight’s software solutions connect energy
customers to the decarbonization goals of power providers while
helping customers save energy and lower costs, creating a more
sustainable future for all. Using the industry’s only comprehensive
customer-centric technology suite and critical energy expertise
across disciplines, Uplight is streamlining the complex transition
to the clean energy ecosystem for more than 80 electric and gas
utilities around the world. By empowering energy providers to
achieve critical outcomes through data-driven customer experiences,
delivering control at the grid edge, creating new revenue streams
and optimizing existing load and assets, Uplight shares a mission
with its clients to make energy more sustainable for every
community. Uplight is a certified B Corporation. To learn more,
visit us at www.uplight.com, find us on Twitter @Uplight or on
LinkedIn at Linkedin.com/company/uplightenergy.
About AES
The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is a Fortune 500 global energy
company accelerating the future of energy. Together with our many
stakeholders, we're improving lives by delivering the greener,
smarter energy solutions the world needs. Our diverse workforce is
committed to continuous innovation and operational excellence,
while partnering with our customers on their strategic energy
transitions and continuing to meet their energy needs today. For
more information, visit www.aes.com.
About Huck Capital
Huck Capital makes investments in a new generation of clean,
customer facing energy companies that sustainably power the world's
energy needs.
We are a team of former operators, investors and entrepreneurs
who have deep industry experience transforming energy companies
into more efficient and sustainable businesses. We believe that a
net zero emissions future is possible through bold action to build
resilient clean energy companies. www.huckcapital.com
About Schneider Electric
Schneider’s purpose is to empower all to make the most of our
energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all.
We call this Life Is On. Our mission is to be your digital partner
for Sustainability and Efficiency. We drive digital transformation
by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies,
end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and
services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company
management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and
industries. We are the most local of global companies. We are
advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are
passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and
Empowered values. www.se.com
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Caleigh Bourgeois kglobal 513-675-7466
caleigh.bourgeois@kglobal.com
Elaine Reddy Uplight 720-252-8105 elaine.reddy@uplight.com