DURHAM, N.C. – Validic – NOV. 14, 2022 – Validic Inc., a market-leading digital health and remote care company devoted to its mission of improving the quality of life by making personal data actionable, today announced it closed a $12 million financing round led by Kaiser Permanente Ventures, a national strategic healthcare investment program focusing on solutions…

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Optoro, Inc., the leading technology platform for retail returns and reverse logistics, today announced the appointment of Libby Johnson McKee to its Board of Directors. Johnson McKee brings experience scaling businesses and building components of the circular economy at some of the world’s most well-known brands. Most recently, Johnson…

BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 2, 2022 / PRNewswire / — Terabase Energy today announced a $44 million Series B financing co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Prelude Ventures with additional participation by SJF Ventures and other existing investors. The round brings Terabase’s total funding to $52 million and will be used to support the company’s mission to reduce the cost and increase the scalability of solar by building…

DURHAM, N.C., May 16, 2022 / PRNewswire / — SJF Ventures and 38 other climate venture funds write letter to congress and administration: Dear President Biden, Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, As leaders of venture capital funds investing in entrepreneurial companies leading the clean energy transition, we are writing to urge you to pass the pending energy…

OAKLAND, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Elemeno Health, the developer of a proprietary solution serving frontline health care teams, announced the closing of a Series A financing. The $7 million round was led by SJF Ventures and joined by new investor SustainVC and several existing investors. Designed by former nurses for nurses, Elemeno provides clinicians…

December 20, 2021 / Dave Kirkpatrick LinkedIn / – We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Community Energy Solar (CES) by AES to accelerate the deployment of utility scale solar and storage. SJF led the Series A financing for CES in 2010, in partnership with our co-investor NGP ETP. At that time, the CES…

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 20, 2021 / PRNewswire / — The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) today announced the acquisition of leading US solar developer, Community Energy Solar, LLC (Community Energy). AES has signed PPAs to deliver 4 GW of renewables in the US this year and the acquisition of Community Energy will further bolster the Company’s future expansion…

December 16, 2021 / Mercado Labs / — Mercado Labs, an online platform that automates the first mile of the import supply chain, announced today it has closed a Series A investment led by SJF Ventures. Existing investors, LiveOak Venture Partners, Ironspring Ventures, and Supply Chain Ventures also participated in the round. The Series A funding will be used to…

October 15, 2021 / Arrun Kapoor LinkedIn / – It was great to see Fiverr’s acquisition of CreativeLive last week. The acquisition will bring an upskilling product under the umbrella of a thriving gig placement platform, consolidating two of the primary components of employment into one offering. At SJF, we have long been interested in…

SJF Ventures hosted its second Future Impact series event on solar energy’s transition to the primary source of global energy this century.  On September 30, 2021, SJF Ventures hosted a conversation on the future impact of the “Solar Century.” Facilitated by Dave Kirkpatrick and Jacqueline Goodman at SJF, this discussion focused on solar energy’s transition…

BERKELEY, Calif. and TEMPE, Ariz., Aug. 25, 2021 / PRNewswire / — Solar digital solutions startup Terabase Energy today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PlantPredict, a predictive solar energy modeling tool, from First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), a leading American solar technology company. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. PlantPredict is a sophisticated predictive solar energy…

New Orleans, LA / April 28, 2021 / PRNewswire / – PosiGen, the nation’s leading provider of renewable energy and efficiency solutions for low-to-moderate income (LMI) households, is pleased to announce the second close of its Series D growth equity financing with an additional $27 million investment from a syndicate of leading private equity investors, including Activate…

March 9, 2021 / EdSurge / – Going after an industry giant in K-12 college and career planning wasn’t what Katie Fang originally had in mind when she started SchooLinks in 2015. Back then, it was a website where high school students and parents could research college options. Such services were a dime a dozen, she…

NEW YORK, August 5, 2020 / CREtech /- ROOM, the startup reshaping the modern workspace, today announced it has closed a $12.5 million Series A round to fuel the upcoming expansion of its product portfolio with a suite of modular architectural solutions designed to meet crucial demand for adaptability and flexibility in the office. Backed…

AUSTIN, Texas, July 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vital Farms, Inc. (“Vital Farms”), a Certified B Corporation that offers a range of ethically produced pasture-raised foods nationwide, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 9,303,977 shares of its common stock at a price of $22.00 per share. The shares are expected to begin…

Stephanie Nieman recently authored an article, Technology innovations tackling the youth, young adult mental health crisis, that was first published in MobiHealthNews.  The piece gives a breakdown of the growing list of digital mental health tools available to these populations, and the various ways to deploy them. July 10, 2020 / MobiHealthNews / – The current COVID-19 pandemic and…

There is no playbook for what to do when your warehouse is hit by a tornado, or when the world is impacted by a pandemic. SJF portfolio company Optoro faced both at once. Resilience, persistence and drive allowed the company to persevere during the toughest challenges, and Optoro’s technology enabled the warehouse to be back…

We, like you, have been dealing with shock, sadness, frustration, and anger in the wake of the recent murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.  As with the cases of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others, we know the unfortunate truth that for every George Floyd, there are an unknown number of similar events that go…

SJF Ventures is offering Cleantech Open Office Hours from 10 am – 6 pm ET on Thursday, April 30 and Wednesday, May 13 to support growth-stage companies with the potential to rapidly scale in an economic recovery. During the office hours, cleantech entrepreneurs will present their investment opportunity or discuss top-of-mind issues via video with…

Dave Kirkpatrick recently authored an article, Coronavirus Proves Government Is Important, that was first published in The Hill.  The column covers how attacks on government have weakened our response to the pandemic and climate crisis and highlights the urgent need for proficient and accountable governments to protect all citizens from these crises, especially the poor.  The piece…