Smart grids, which rely on new technologies like smart meters and distributed energy resources to optimize energy flows and utility operations, are designed to be more resilient, efficient, and secure than traditional electrical grids. They allow utilities to better monitor and manage electricity flows, detect outages, and respond to restore power.

They are also a key part of transitioning toward a low-carbon economy, helping move away from fossil fuels while still providing reliable electricity services to households and businesses around the world.

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This achievement is partly attributed to its pioneering work in accelerated computing, which uses specialty hardware to complete demanding software tasks much faster than previously possible.

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The company’s portfolio includes some of the most iconic and successful companies in the world, like SolarWinds, Blue Coat, Stamps.com, and SailPoint.

Thoma Bravo has participated in 27 transactions since 2022. The firm also invested in 5 mega-round ($100M+) deals and took multiple companies private at billion-dollar valuations during that time frame.

Using CB Insights data, we mapped how Thoma Bravo spread its investments and acquisitions since 2022 across categories like cybersecurity, financial services, enterprise software, and more.

CB Insights clients can dig deeper into all 27 deals listed above using this CB Insights platform search.

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The company’s nuclear power plants make up approximately 60% of its power generation portfolio. Through strategic partnerships with companies like Westinghouse Electric and General Electric, Exelon is using data analytics to improve efficiency at nuclear facilities and other power plants.

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• Virtual power plants to increase grid flexibility during peak demand and reduce the need for distant, centralized power stations
• Microgrids to increase power reliability and security
• Remote drone monitoring to reduce operational costs for maintaining grid assets such as power lines and substations
• Grid storage to increase grid sustainability and reliability by storing renewable energy until it is needed
• Blockchain technology to help track renewable energy credits and facilitate peer-to-peer energy trading

Below, we dive into these technologies: how they work, who has an edge, and how they’re shaping the future of the power grid.

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Thanks to these new technologies, carbon emissions from the electric power sector in the US have fallen by almost a third in the past decade or so. This occurred despite a similar amount of electricity generation and no increase in the inflation-adjusted real price of electricity.

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However, this industry is rapidly changing as new technologies enter the mainstream, from 3D printing to augmented & virtual reality (AR/VR), forcing incumbents like Autodesk to adapt.

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The post Analyzing Autodesk’s Growth Strategy: How the design software titan is redefining the way the world is built appeared first on CB Insights Research.

The old power grid was centered around large, centralized, fossil fuel-based power plants located away from population centers as well as the use of transmission and distribution lines to connect power generators with power consumers.

Renewable energy sources like solar and wind are now challenging the fossil fuel-based nature of conventional power generation, while new distributed energy resources (DERs) like rooftop solar panels are shifting power stations to a more decentralized model. While these changes make the power grid more sustainable, new digitization and automation tech is required to bring these devices onto the grid in a way that is cost-competitive with conventional fossil fuel power generation.

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At the time, Tesla was delivering around 50,000 vehicles a year. That year, the company broke ground on its battery Gigafactory production site in Nevada. That site would churn out enough batteries to power 500,000 Teslas per year. And more sites like this were needed, Musk claimed.

It’s clear that Musk’s vision panned out, with the company on track to deliver more than 1M vehicles this year alone. This foresight allowed Tesla to become a dominant leader in the EV battery tech space. But as EV adoption becomes more mainstream, startups — with backing from legacy auto OEMs, among other players — have popped up to compete with Tesla on battery tech.

Auto incumbents like Ford, General Motors, and Volkswagen have staked the success of their electrification roadmaps on these startups — from battery materials startups aiming to disrupt Tesla’s lithium-ion battery tech, to grid software companies that provide new EV charging solutions like vehicle-to-grid tech, to battery recycling companies that could transform the battery production process.

In this report, we look at how tech companies are unbundling Tesla and the broader EV battery tech business, broken out by battery materials, battery management systems, and battery lifecycle.

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Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) cybersecurity companies focus on threat detection and cybersecurity attacks specific to manufacturing applications. They monitor critical infrastructure and all connected devices within a facility.

Cybersecurity is gaining prominence with the widespread usage of connected devices in manufacturing and prominent cyber-attacks occurring in recent years.

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Predictive maintenance and analytics companies use artificial intelligence and machine learning to streamline production processes, eliminate potential bottlenecks, monitor plant conditions, and prevent the failure of physical assets.

Many companies in this category offer integration with equipment manufacturers and industrial data software firms.

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The company has historically invested in oil & gas tech, like better industrial valves and specialty chemical refining, to solidify its position as a global leader in the industry. However, as governments transition away from fossil fuels, Saudi Aramco is expanding into new markets through strategic acquisitions, investments, and partnerships.

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But as governments implement stricter environmental regulations and consumer demand for “green” products continues to rise, manufacturers around the world are also placing more emphasis on sustainability.

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Consumer spending is steadily rising, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, while e-commerce growth has put pressure on warehouse operators to improve fulfillment speed and inventory visibility — all while the industry faces labor shortages and rising inflation.

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In 2021, John Deere’s revenues reached $44B, up 24% year-over-year — with the company saying that its tech shift was a key driver of its results.

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For instance, Enel has become a leader in the EV charging market by partnering with other utility companies as well as automotive OEMs to improve and expand its EV charging network. In addition, the company has acquired and partnered with fintech companies to make the EV charging payment process more seamless.

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Though the company has traditionally focused on the grid & power generation sectors, it is increasingly tackling other markets as more sectors embrace digitization and automation.

For example, the company has quickly grown its presence in the manufacturing and auto sectors this year through partnerships and acquisitions. Schneider Electric partnered with Intel in June to expand its industrial internet-of-things (IIoT) tech in manufacturing, and that same month acquired EV Connect to access the startup’s EV charging and fleet management technologies.

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Recent advances in areas like augmented reality, scanning technology, and processing power have helped the company to expand its offerings far beyond traditional computer-aided design (CAD) software into advanced simulations, digital twins, data analytics, molecular design, and more. But this broad array of products is attracting an increasing number of competitors.

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In contrast to the broader funding free fall in energy tech and beyond, the grid & utility sector saw funding rise to reach 2021’s year-end total ($2.2B) just halfway through 2022. The largest rounds in the space went to Agilitas Energy ($350M), Arcadia ($200M), and Mainspring Energy ($150M).

Below, check out a few highlights from our 159-page, data-driven State of Energy Tech Q2’22 Report. For deeper insights, all the record figures, and a boatload of private market data, download the full report.

Q2’22 highlights across the energy tech ecosystem include:

• China-based companies saw funding fall 52% QoQ to reach $348M, marking a 91% decline from the record $3.9B raised in Q3’21.
• A record amount of funding flowed into the oil & gas tech space, on the other hand, with startups raising $1B across 24 deals.
• Quarterly $100M+ mega-round funding declined for the third consecutive quarter to hit $4.5B, a 55% drop from its $9.9B peak late last year.
• While oil & gas tech mid- and late-stage deal share grew in the first half of 2022, early-stage deal share was down 11 percentage points from last year and 24 from its 2019 heyday.
• Seven new energy tech unicorns (nearly one-third of the total herd) were born in Q2’22. The unicorn club now includes Beta Technologies ($2.4B valuation), Crusoe ($1.8B), and Arcadia ($1.5B).

Download our Q2’22 State of Energy Report to learn more about all these trends and more.

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Some of this year’s winners aim to provide robotic systems to help manufacturers increase productivity and reduce labor costs. Others are developing advanced analytics that will allow manufacturers to maximize the efficiency and quality of their processes, systems, equipment, and more.

Using the CB Insights platform, our research team picked these 50 private market vendors from a pool of over 6K companies, including applicants and nominees. They were chosen based on factors including R&D activity, proprietary Mosaic scores, market potential, business relationships, investor profile, news sentiment analysis, competitive landscape, team strength, and tech novelty. The research team also reviewed hundreds of Analyst Briefings submitted by applicants.

Clients can access the entire Advanced Manufacturing 50 list and interactive Expert Collection here. (If you don’t have a CB Insights login, create one here.)

Companies are categorized by their primary focus area and client base. Categories in the market map are not mutually exclusive. Please click to enlarge.

Want to be considered for future rankings? Fill out this initial application form (it’ll take no more than a few minutes). If selected, you’ll be asked to complete our Analyst Briefing Survey so that our analysts can better understand your products, customers, and market traction.

TOP ADVANCED MANUFACTURING COMPANIES 2022: ADVANCED MANUFACTURING 50 COHORT HIGHLIGHTS

Below are a few highlights from the Advanced Manufacturing 50 Class of 2022.

Overall funding & valuation trends: The Advanced Manufacturing 50 includes a wide range of companies at different stages of maturity, product development, and funding.

Overall, the cohort has raised $6.9B+ from 369 disclosed investors, across 177 equity deals since 2017 (as of 7/20/22). In 2021 alone, companies in this cohort raised over $3.7B across 46 deals. This year’s list includes 12 unicorns with a $1B+ valuation.

Global reach: This year’s winners represent 13 different countries across the globe. Twenty-seven of the selected companies (54%) are headquartered in the US. Germany and Canada tied for second, with 4 winners (8%) each.

Other countries home to at least one winner on this year’s list include India, China, France, South Korea, Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. (Note: This geographical breakdown does not account for companies with multiple global headquarters.)

Top investors: The top investor in this year’s cohort is Accel, as it has backed 5 winners since 2017. Insight Partners and next47 tied for second — each has backed 4 winners over the same time period. 

Innovation at earlier stages: Nineteen (38%) of our winners are Series A or Series B companies with promising product ideas.

To highlight a couple, Landing AI provides a platform designed to help industrial organizations create and deploy computer vision applications for visual inspection. South Africa-based DataProphet utilizes AI to collect data from across factory floor sources, like production equipment and internet of things (IoT) sensors, in order to find process efficiencies.

Most represented categories: Among the categories highlighted on this map, factory analytics & AI holds the largest share (16%) of our winning cohort. The 8 companies featured in this category are focused on developing analytics solutions that increase production efficiency, output, and quality for manufacturers. Companies like Seeq and MakinaRocks provide data-driven insights to guide process optimization, by leveraging AI and real-time production monitoring to analyze past and present data streams.

Robots & collaborative robots (cobots) came in second with 12% of our winning cohort. The 6 companies featured in this category offer robotic hardware and software solutions that support process automation and maximize worker productivity. Some companies in this space, like Rokae, are developing a cross-industry range of robotic systems, including software, control arms, and cobots. Others maintain a more specific focus — for example, Exotec offers industrial robots for manufacturing logistics and warehousing.

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Leaders in manufacturing and other industrial sectors are seeking out technologies that can help them proactively reduce their energy usage and capture the remaining emissions.

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As a result, they are turning to digitization & automation solutions to address evolving priorities and build value in the eyes of company executives looking to develop tech-first real estate strategies.

CB Insights identified 130+ digitization and automation companies addressing 11 technology priorities, from digital twins to virtual power plants, that building managers face. The purpose of the analysis is to provide technology buyers with an overview of the technology landscape and its market participants.

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