Top climate change investors include Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF), Fine Structure Ventures, I Squared Capital and Tony Fadell’s Future Shape
For many daily routines, people rely upon batteries with little thought—until the battery runs out—and the device stops working at a great inconvenience. Energy startup Ambient Phototonics has an answer to that inconvenience and cost through its newly launched low-light energy harvesting technology. Their innovation makes connected devices such as keyboards, mice, remote controls and sensors Battery Free!.
While consumers’ needs are met with this alternative energy source, it also addresses the challenge of sustainability, eliminating the need for battery disposal that is toxic.
The energy startup announced the securing of $30 million in a Series A2 funding round that will expand its manufacturing capabilities and drive mass market adoption of its technology. The company’s breakthrough has drawn in top funders, led by Fine Structure Ventures, affiliated with the parent company of Fidelity Investments.
The recent round included Helios Climate Ventures, Regeneration.VC, and Sustainable Future Ventures, joining existing investors I Squared Capital, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, and Cthulhu Ventures, also participating in the raise.
Bates Marshall, CEO of Ambient Photonics, touts the possibilities that the latest round of funding opens up.
“This round demonstrates the commitment of both our long-time supporters and our new investors to our vision of sustainably powering the world’s connected devices,” said Marshal. “We’re embarking on a new growth phase with our customers to make elegant products that run reliably without ever needing a battery replacement or recharge.”
The California-based startup was founded in 2019 , by leveraging technology originally developed at the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry and funded at inception by Cthulhu Ventures LLC. The latter was founded in 2007 Jim Babcock, who co-founded Babcock & Brown Limited, a global investment-banking and funds-management firm. The venture capital firm specializes in early-stage niche companies, focusing on “quality of performance, integrity of attitude and behavior, concern for the environment”.
Its initial investor list includes some of the top names in climate change funding: Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF), Fine Structure Ventures, I Squared Capital and Tony Fadell’s Future Shape.
Peter Corsell, Global InfraTech Fund Partner at I Squared Capital, concurs with CEO Marshal, noting, “Ambient creates amazing new possibilities for connected devices. The company is fast becoming the cornerstone of an emerging market for electronics that are not only more sustainable, but also fundamentally better than battery-powered alternatives.”
Ambient is well-positioned to scale as it works with leading global electronics manufacturers to deliver superior design, performance, sustainability and convenience via embedded solar cells across a range of disposable battery-powered devices.
