Schneider Electric, named the world’s most sustainable corporation on the Global 100 list, is a multinational energy management and automation leader. In its commitment to innovate and create a sustainable future, Schneider Electric actively leverages its capital, talent, channels, brand, and worldwide access to R&D.
To truly institutionalize growth and secure its future as a leading energy provider, the large industrial engineering firm has built its venture factory and incubated new ventures with Mach49 since 2018.
“Mach49 has helped us turn ideas into real ventures,” said Gregoire Viasnoff, Business Incubation Vice President at Schneider Electric. “The great mentors and resources dedicated to our venture team, combined with a streamlined process, is a recipe for success. Entrepreneurship is a business where people matter — Mach49 is top of the art.”
Mach49 also partners with the team at the newly launched SE Ventures, a €500M venture capital fund based in Palo Alto, California, that provides risk capital to big ideas and entrepreneurs who can benefit from Schneider’s energy and industrial expertise, global reach and ready customer access. To date, SE Ventures has made 34 investments in climate tech and Industry 4.0 ventures, and has had three exits.
Sparking the Growth Engine with Clipsal Solar, Backed by SE Ventures
Clipsal Solar was the first incubation born from the partnership between Mach49 and Schneider Electric. Developed to meet the needs of a rapidly growing distributed energy market, Clipsal Solar is Australia’s leading solar-as-a-service provider, and it has recently launched in the US market.
Mach49 applied its proven “Ideate, Incubate, Accelerate” methodology. At the core of this process, over 230 customer interviews were conducted, revealing that the opportunity was not to create a market but to capitalize on an established one. Jointly incubated in Silicon Valley and Australia, the team tested a series of low-stakes experiments. They designed a business model based on building the product and scaling the venture from the results.
With a record start in its first year (second-quarter revenue was up 423 percent and subscribers were up 215 percent), Clipsal Solar is truly a unicorn in the making as it continues to scale globally with a strong foundation of loyal customers.
Schneider Electric’s Venture-Building Momentum
After Clipsal Solar, Schneider Electric and Mach49 applied the same venture building methodology to create a series of successful new startups currently in the market:
NaviX Solutions, headquartered in Singapore, provides full lifecycle management for enterprise power and cooling assets while delivering insights into how these assets are managed sustainably and efficiently. NaviX allows enterprises to buy back existing power and cooling assets and transition from a CAPEX to OPEX approach.
eIQ Mobility is the leading software provider of fleet electrification and planning solutions. During its incubation process, the venture team interviewed hundreds of corporate fleet managers, strategic account executives at automotive manufacturers, consulting experts at fleet management companies, utility fleet electrification leaders, and more.
From these interviews, it was discovered that deploying fleet EVs is incredibly difficult and that fleet operators find the electrification ecosystem overwhelming.
The venture team then went about building a trusted decision platform to shepherd vehicle fleets into a smart, electric, and cost-effective future with the most advanced fleet electrification analysis software. In 2020, eIQ Mobility was acquired by NextEra Energy Resources, the world’s largest renewable wind and sun energy generator and a leader in battery storage.
Dash Energy helps the world buy and sell energy faster, smarter, and more confidently. Dash Energy modernizes the complex process of the industry, bringing the market into the future for energy brokers and energy suppliers.
You can learn more about Schneider Electric’s venture building here, and also learn about the company’s venture investing efforts through their corporate venture capital (CVC) arm, SE Ventures.
Mach49 is a growth incubator that partners with leading multinationals to build internal incubators and accelerators that drive organic growth. By embracing a Silicon Valley startup mindset, large global corporations are leveraging their talent, assets, and innovation to create growth engines fueled by a pipeline and portfolio of new ventures. Contact growth@mach49.com to learn more about our clients and work.
Mach49 is one of InnoLead’s strategic partners, and one of the supporters of our initiative exploring venture studios & venture builders.
