SE Ventures, a premier early-stage Venture Fund, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. Since its founding, SE Ventures has committed close to €500 million in early-stage companies with a focus on digitization, electrification and sustainability. Across its 40 direct investments and 7 funds, SE Ventures has created a best-in-class venture portfolio that also included early bets in unicorns like industrial cyber-physical systems protection startup, Claroty, and IoT and AI-driven machine learning company, Augury.
“At Schneider Electric, we believe a more electric and digital world is key to addressing the climate crisis – and that innovation is how we move from realization to the reality of a net-zero world,” said Nadège Petit, Chief Innovation Officer of Schneider Electric. “We created SE Ventures to be that innovative engine, driving technology breakthroughs and value creation for businesses and customers, and bringing to market new solutions, services and businesses that will accelerate and enable a more sustainable future. We are so proud of SE Ventures’ success these first five years – and yet, in many ways, this is just the beginning. Our commitment to innovation is stronger than ever.”
Schneider Electric launched SE Ventures in 2017 as a new breed of VC platform, with a broad mandate to invest in emerging areas – such as climate technologies, robotics, AI, supply chain resiliency and cybersecurity – and disruptive startups that are reshaping the future of sustainability and energy efficiency. As a modern and agile VC fund, SE Ventures operates with autonomy in investment decision-making, while creating commercial acceleration opportunities for its portfolio through unparalleled access to Schneider Electric’s ecosystem of business leaders, customers and partners. Recent investments include AiDash, Claroty, Enable and WattBuy.
“The SE Ventures team has been an integral part of WattBuy’s success, going above and beyond to be true thought and action partners,” said Naman Trivedi, CEO of WattBuy. “Not only have they provided us with countless introductions to Schneider’s family of companies as potential customers, but their status as one of the most active and well-respected climate tech investors in the world has brought other amazing investors to the table. Without a doubt, our work with SE Ventures has significantly enhanced WattBuy’s success, strategy, and trajectory.”
“SE Ventures is a forward-leaning platform that’s redefining how corporate-backed VC funds should be operationalized for lasting impact in the market,” said Yaniv Vardi, Chief Executive Officer of Claroty. “We envision a future where cyber and physical worlds safely connect to sustain our lives, and having the support of SE Ventures and being part of Schneider Electric’s ecosystem has empowered Claroty to make this vision a reality. We are proud to be part of this dynamic team, and excited for what’s ahead.”
SE Ventures Continues to Build Leadership Team
SE Ventures has created a track record of successfully investing in and accelerating category-defining companies through a strong and experienced team of investors and operators, who have a deep network of founders, VCs and industry experts. SE Ventures is led by Amit Chaturvedy, Global Head and Managing Partner, along with General Partners, Grant Allen and Varun Jain – a senior team of seasoned professionals with collective investing experience of over 40 years across startups and corporate business development – and supported by its globally based Operating Partners.
Across its entire portfolio, the SE Ventures team takes a metrics-driven approach to progress, working in stride with each company to explore commercial relationships with Schneider Electric’s businesses, customers and partners while generating near-term value. SE Ventures is currently looking to expand its team of Investment Partners and Operating Partners. In addition to its VC platform, SE Ventures also has an Incubation practice led by Gregoire Viasnoff to fund innovative ideas and teams.
“At SE Ventures, we believe that innovation is key to unlocking solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges, and there’s never been a more important time for innovation to take root than now,” said Chaturvedy. “Global energy demand is at a tipping point, climate change is visible all around us, infrastructure is outdated, and companies and customers are demanding greater stability and resiliency. Look no further than our portfolio to see how SE Ventures is tackling these unprecedented times and setting a high standard for engaging with the startup ecosystem.”
