Blackhorn Ventures

The time to rapidly scale and deploy solutions for industrial decarbonization is now. A new analysis by BloombergNEF finds a "rapidly closing" window to reach net zero emissions by 2050. #netzero https://lnkd.in/ezrmeK4

Congrats to Blackhorn portfolio company Vecna Robotics on closing $100 Million in Series C funding to streamline and automate warehouse workflows Over the past year, the company has combined cloud software updates and investments in its PivotalTM Command Center to help customers like GEODIS, FedEx, Caterpillar Inc., Shape Corp., and others, realize upwards of 70% performance improvements in ground-to-ground warehouse workflows like case picking, packaging, and cross-docking. #robotics #warehouses #forklifts https://lnkd.in/gTD-Kvjz

BuiltWorlds events aren't just places for connecting and learning, they're also a place where innovation and business happens. And in that vein—just as we did on stage at Bouygues Construction during our recent Paris Summit—we'd like to again congratulate Blackhorn Ventures on the recent close of its $150 million fund focused on digital infrastructure and industrial decarbonization. “We are at a pivotal moment where the AI supercycle and the manufacturing supercycle are colliding with historic changes in our energy and transportation systems,” said Melissa Cheong, general partner at Blackhorn Ventures. "“Our third fund is well positioned to support founders at the forefront of industrial AI, addressing critical labor shortages and delivering scalable decarbonization solutions." To learn more about Blackhorn and the closing of its latest fund, check out our coverage here: https://lnkd.in/gzcmY9hr

We have an exciting announcement! 📣 Our grid-level demand forecasts are now available on the Snowflake Marketplace, bringing users highly accurate AI-powered energy forecasting! 📈Maximize power market trading efficiency. 🔋Easily integrate different data streams into a single unified view. 🔐Access forecasts and historic vintages for better insights. “As Amperon continues to modernize energy data and AI infrastructure, we’re excited to partner with Snowflake to bring the most accurate energy forecasts into a single data experience that spans multiple clouds and geographies, where they will be accessible to more energy companies looking to increase performance and reliability,”- Alex Robart, Chief Revenue Officer, Amperon. https://lnkd.in/gEBKtKaS

MONTHLY JOBS SPOTLIGHT: Formic, our newest portfolio company, is making automation accessible to those who need it most. Formic offers an OEM agnostic robotics-as-a-service platform that leases robots to small and medium sized manufacturers on a short-term basis. Their solution improves operational efficiency and makes robots drastically faster, cheaper and less risky to deploy. With their Series A in hand, the team is hiring for the below roles: --Senior Customer Success Manager --Robotics Deployment Project Manager --Automation Sales Manager --Robotics Field Service Engineer For a full description, and to check out other companies that are hiring across Blackhorn Ventures' portfolio, check out our careers board here: https://lnkd.in/gis_fpsg Additionally, join the Blackhorn Ventures Talent Network. Spend 2 minutes creating a profile, describe your ideal job, and if there's a mutual fit for a future opening, we'll make a warm intro for you! Link here: https://lnkd.in/gYHBTXNv #jobs #vc #robotics #hiring Saman Farid

🎇We’re proud to announce the close of $150M Industrial Impact Fund II LP🎇 We're thrilled to announce the final close of our $150M Blackhorn Ventures Industrial Impact Fund II. With this fund, our team is exceptionally well-positioned to partner with world-class founders transforming how we build, power, and move our world. We could not have accomplished this milestone without the invaluable contributions of our colleagues at Blackhorn Ventures, new LP relationships we’ve been privileged to start - Mitsubishi Electric, Westlake, GOLDBECK and Mercuria, as well as existing LPs who have been with us since our first fund in 2017 - Jonathan Rose, the The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, and Simpson Strong-Tie amongst other foundations, advisors, and like-minded individuals. These relationships provide competitive advantage for us as we evaluate the markets we serve, and actively accelerate the time to scale for our portfolio. The vision, hard work, creativity, empathy, and persistence found throughout our portfolio companies inspires and drives us. We’re excited to put this capital to work backing world-class founders. We wake up every day working to earn the right to back the best founders accelerating the energy transition - IIF II companies include AGORUS, Buzz Solutions, Circuit Mind, Datch, ecoworks, Electric Era, Fero Labs, Formic, Golioth, Isometric Technologies (ISO), King Energy, Optera, RailVision Analytics, Ridepanda, Specifx Data, Sway (formerly Returnmates), ThinkLabs AI, Inc., and Trunk are the heart of our work. The momentum across the 20 companies in the portfolio is undeniable: 9 of these 20 have already either raised subsequent capital or have received term sheets for up rounds or round extensions, resulting in 6 markups for the fund to-date (inclusive of term sheets at hand). Since 2017 and the launch of our first $18M seed fund, we’ve been investing in technology as a tool to drive industrial resource efficiency - we’ve never had more conviction in the timeliness of our strategy. In the years since our inception, capital has grown more sophisticated and plentiful, founder quality has markedly improved, and the stakes of inaction have risen. Today we’re witnessing the convergence of the AI supercycle with the Manufacturing supercycle, alongside an unprecedented increase in energy demand and a structural labor shortage in the sectors where we invest - conditions we think are ripe to build iconic companies for the 21st century. For those on our shared journey to digitize our industrial infrastructure, decarbonize our economy, and safeguard our most critical infrastructure and economic competitiveness, we’re grateful for your support and ambition. If you’re working to accelerate the energy transition and building a brighter future (whether as a founder, investor or industry stakeholder), reach out to us - we want to hear from you. The best is yet to come.

Looking for a job in #sales at a growing startup accelerating the energy transition? Check out our Jobs Board for 68 sales opportunities across our portfolio of 70 Blackhorn Ventures portfolio companies. Join the Blackhorn Ventures Talent Network today. Spend 2 minutes creating a profile, describe your ideal job, and if there's a mutual fit for a future opening, we'll make a warm intro for you! Link here: https://lnkd.in/gYHBTXNv

We're thrilled to announce Blackhorn portfolio company Aperia Technologies has partnered with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company on their tires-as-a-service offering! We're proud to have partnered with Joshua Carter and the rest of the Aperia team since 2019, and celebrate their tremendous growth as they provide tire management solutions that save fuel, extend tire life, and reduce accidents & emissions. #TaaS #tires #fleets #emissions https://lnkd.in/gWuD8tX5

Congrats to the newest member of the Blackhorn Ventures family - Formic, on the successful close of their $27.4 million Series A round. Formic is set to revolutionize manufacturing with their industrial Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) platform. Led by serial entrepreneur and robotics expert Saman Farid, Formic is democratizing access to the latest robotic systems, offering a scalable, flexible solution that aligns with the diverse needs of manufacturers, while addressing the severe labor shortage in this critically important sector. We're proud to lead Formic's Series A round alongside co-investors Mitsubishi HC Capital America, Inc., NEC Corporation, Translink Capital, Alumni Ventures, FJ Labs, Lux Capital, Initialized Capital and Lorimer Ventures. Blackhorn shares Formic's conviction that a future where automation empowers manufacturing is a brighter one. See Formic's announcement here: https://lnkd.in/d5pShmRV #raas #robotics #automation #manufacturers https://lnkd.in/gCh2mKqA

RESULTS: Top North American Growth and Early Stage VCs Congratulations to the Top North American Growth and Early Stage VCs for their outstanding contribution to the startup ecosystem: 🎯Energy Impact Partners 🍀Plug and Play Tech Center 🚀Khosla Ventures 🌟Elemental Excelerator 🛸Third Sphere 🌍Prelude Ventures ⚡Breakthrough Energy 💎Collaborative Fund 💡Congruent Ventures 🔋Blackhorn Ventures Let’s keep pushing the boundaries of innovation together!💚 P.S.: You can find a link to the top 50 Climate Tech investor funds in the comments. #VentureCapital #Innovation #Startups #NorthAmerica