Enerbrain, a start-up specializing in smart building solutions, which has developed an energy efficiency optimization solution for tertiary buildings, closes a new round of financing from EDF Pulse Croissance (the corporate venture capital fund of the EDF Group), IREN, a company operating in the electricity, heat and gas sectors, EQUITER Rif-T and AZIMUT Libera Impresa SGR’s Digitech Fund and GELLIFY.

The various investors, both new and existing, will be minority shareholders of Enerbrain, while the Founders, Giuseppe Giordano (CEO), Filippo Ferraris and Marco Martellacci, together continue to maintain their role as primary shareholders.

The company will hence remain independent and continue to develop through partnerships with global and regional market players.

A fundraising to accelerate the international development ambitions and invest in R&D

With this round, Enerbrain is raising the capital needed to implement an ambitious 2021-23 industrial plan aimed at strengthening its international market position, developing new business models and making significant R&D investments.

In particular, Enerbrain’s solution, which is using IoT technology supported by artificial intelligence, will aim at embracing new applications in the field of energy transition and air quality.

A solution to support the energy efficiency and decarbonization of tertiary buildings

The Enerbrain scalable technology, able to connect with any existing system, provides remote control of the building Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, using sensors and devices connected to the Cloud as well as a proprietary algorithm.

The Enerbrain algorithm uses adaptive and predictive logic to optimise building performance in real time, guaranteeing results in terms of energy savings, improved occupants’ comfort and reduction of the building carbon footprint.

By using Enerbrain’s solution without replacing their HVAC systems, clients can not only cut down on their energy related costs, but also boost their CO2 emission reduction targets while achieving ESG goals relating to sustainability and digital transformation, further aligning with requirements of the Green New Deal.

The round comes on the heels of a record year for Enerbrain, which saw its revenues grow by more than 300% year-on-year and, which now boasts an interdisciplinary team of more than 50 people.

"First of all, I want to thank the people and organizations who have believed and continue to believe in us! This operation expresses very well our ability to collaborate with all players in the global and regional market and ensures continuous development. By accelerating the implementation of our business strategy 2021-23, we will certainly be able to strengthen ourselves in the market at international level, develop new business models and make decisive steps in research and development - says Giuseppe Giordano, CEO of Enerbrain. Our technology and solutions are ideal for everyone, especially for Utilities that can leverage our one-stop-shop energy saving platform to both increase their margins and make crucial predictions on energy consumption, optimally managing demand. Our offering is transversally suited to delivering energy efficiency savings in small public schools, large airports, shopping malls, supermarkets, offices, industries and manufacturing plants."

Investors have commented on the operation as follows

“By investing in Enerbrain, the EDF Group is reaffirming its commitment to contribute to the fight against climate change through concrete and scalable solutions that can be rapidly deployed to help all the sectors of the economy achieve greater energy sobriety and efficiency.” Michel Vanhaesbroucke, General Manager of EDF Pulse Croissance.

"We are excited to participate in the new investment round of Enerbrain, in whose potential we had already believed since 2019 by entering the company's capital through the IREN-Up corporate venture capital program. Thanks to the new round of financing, Enerbrain, whose technological solutions have been adopted with satisfaction in energy efficiency interventions carried out by the IREN Group, will benefit from a further important support to the national and international growth of the company" said Renato Boero, Chairman of IREN Group.

"This transaction represents an opportunity for Equiter to invest, through the RIF-T fund and together with leading financial and industrial partners, in an SME of excellence in the area, consistent with our mission and in line with the pillars of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, in particular digital transformation and ecological transition. Finally, it is important to underline the potential synergies that can be activated with the Equiter Infrastructure II Fund with regard to investments characterized by a strong integration between infrastructure, innovation and social/environmental impact and in accordance with the provisions of the Next Generation EU program" commented Carla Patrizia Ferrari, CEO of Equiter S.p.A.

"Enerbrain is an Italian company that has quickly become part of a well-defined and fast-growing market, the BEMS (Building Energy Management Systems). The BEMS market is in fact continuing to evolve, driven in particular by two major technological trends: the IoT revolution and the development of Cloud and edge computing, but also thanks to a greater sensitivity and education by organizations on the topic of Smart Building and the social impact related to them, in a green perspective. We therefore believe that the follow-on investment of GELLIFY goes in the right direction, so that Enerbrain can contribute concretely to the energy transition supported by technological progress" said Gianlugi Martina, Managing Partner and Founder of GELLIFY.

Marco Belletti, CEO of Azimut Libera Impresa Sgr states: "With the Azimut Digitech Fund, which represents an absolute innovation in the panorama of Italian venture capital by investing in B2B software startups, we support Enerbrain in its process of growth and development, aimed at making the ecosystem in which we live sustainable and energy efficient through artificial intelligence, reaffirming once again our commitment to investing in the real economy to the benefit of our clients in terms of long-term returns".

People Involved

  • Enerbrain coordinated by Andrea Vassia, Enerbrain CFO supported by Bonelli Erede, with counsels Giulia Bianchi Frangipane and Enrico Goitre
  • EDF Pulse Croissance, EDF Group's corporate venture capital fund, supported by the Advisory firms Cross Border Growth Capital and EY Studio Legale e Tributario
  • IREN UP supported by the Advisor Italian Brand Factory and RP Legal by Marco Gardino
  • Equiter Rif-T, coordinated by Director Igor Calcio Gaudino supported by internal legal counsel Annalisa Aschieri
  • GELLIFY GDI coordinated by Fabio Nalucci, CEO and Founder
  • Azimut Digitech Fund, managed by Azimut Libera Impresa SGR