The oversubscribed round will support Verse software product development and commercial scale.

San Francisco, May 22, 2024 – Verse, whose software enables organizations to understand, plan, and manage clean energy, has raised a $20.5M Series A funding round. The investment, led by GV (Google Ventures) with participation from Coatue, CIV, and MCJ Collective, will support Verse as it scales commercial operations and develops new product capabilities to help organizations reduce emissions and lower electricity costs.

“Commercial and industrial electricity use is a significant contributor to global emissions. We need to make clean energy the most economical option for large electricity consumers, but existing solutions don’t scale,” said Seyed Madaeni, CEO of Verse. “Our Series A round, backed by an impressive roster of investors, will fuel Verse’s growth and enhance our software product suite, enabling more businesses to reduce both the cost and emissions of their electricity.”

Verse’s oversubscribed round coincides with several trends that are increasing pressure on organizations to purchase clean energy.

• AI and EVs: These power-hungry technologies are driving load growth and concerns over associated emissions.
• High and volatile corporate electricity costs: Geopolitical and weather events have increased electricity prices and volatility over the past several years.
• Escalating regulatory demands in the U.S. and EU: New rules mandating carbon disclosure are forcing organizations toward more robust carbon accounting, which is expected to drive more granular (e.g., time- and location-matched) clean energy purchases.
• Legacy approaches to procuring clean energy are expensive: Organizations often incur millions in transaction and overhead costs when shifting to clean power.

Rising prices, more rigorous standards, and expensive processes create both urgency and new levels of complexity that legacy solutions and corporate clean energy buyers are ill-equipped to handle. Verse’s AI-enabled software platform, Aria™, enables buyers to determine goals and create roadmaps for optimal, least-cost clean energy portfolios in minutes – and at a fraction of the cost of existing solutions.

“Emerging regulations and technologies are challenging companies to manage complex clean energy portfolios and become experts quickly,” said Andy Wheeler, General Partner at GV. “The Verse team has combined industry expertise with advanced software to build a powerful, cost-effective solution with instant benefits, and we’re happy to back their efforts to accelerate the clean energy transition.”

Founded in 2022 by Seyed Madaeni and Matt Penfold, Verse’s Aria platform supports companies at any stage of their clean energy journey – from setting net zero goals or procuring renewable energy credits (RECs) to managing portfolios of assets for hourly matched carbon-free energy (CFE). By managing risk and optimizing for least cost, Aria enables organizations to reduce their electricity costs and emissions, making clean energy the smart option.

About Verse

Verse provides software that helps companies reduce their electricity costs and scope 2 emissions at the same time. Its SaaS platform, Aria™, leverages generative AI to help companies define clean energy goals and plan, procure, and manage optimal portfolios of clean energy assets at least cost. Customers can set parameters that target specific goals (e.g., cost, emissions, or hourly matching) and optimize for annual matching, emissions matching, or hourly matched carbon-free energy (CFE). By reducing transaction costs by up to 70% and providing real-time analysis within minutes, Aria helps scale and accelerate the clean energy transition.

We’re thrilled to announce a significant milestone for Verse – our $20.5M Series A funding round led by Google Ventures, with notable participation from our lead seed round investor, Coatue. This infusion of capital is a testament to the confidence our investors have in our technology and our mission – to unlock the benefits of clean power for organizations everywhere.

Commercial and industrial (C&I) electricity usage comprise a sixth of global carbon emissions – a number we can expect to grow as electrification of industrial and transportation processes increases. We believe we can accelerate and scale C&I adoption of clean energy by providing major electricity consumers with powerful but easy-to-use tools that reduce their costs and carbon emissions at the same time.

Verse Enables Electricity Cost and Emissions Reduction

Transitioning to clean energy offers companies more than environmental benefits – it provides financial benefits, too, in the form of more predictable, cost-competitive long-term electricity prices. The only way we can scale sustainable solutions quickly is to make them economical and easy-to-use. That’s why we are focused on building an intuitive software platform (Aria™) that leverages the power of artificial intelligence to make it faster, easier, and less expensive for organizations to understand, plan, and manage clean energy. We believe our software can help companies reduce their electricity costs by 10% or more and eliminate their scope 2 emissions. For companies spending millions a year on electricity, or those with ambitious emissions reduction goals, those are significant improvements.

Our timing aligns with increasing regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and EU regarding carbon disclosures. In addition, anticipated updates to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol will likely include more detailed carbon accounting guidelines (such as time- and location-matching for clean energy purchases), which will present new challenges and complexities.

Supporting Customers Across their Clean Energy Journeys

Aria supports customers at any point on their clean energy journey, from organizations just setting net zero goals or procuring RECs to advanced buyers pursuing 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) with portfolios of renewable and storage assets. It excels at solving the most complex math problems, such as quantifying the cost of hourly matched clean power and analyzing short- and long-term risk. Our cloud-based platform already provides critical support for companies such as Climeworks, Heirloom, and Twelve by performing complex calculations in minutes, allowing buyers to dynamically optimize precise clean energy strategies – without having to build the tools themselves, and at a fraction of the cost of legacy solutions.

Our Series A funding will catalyze Verse’s growth, helping us expand Aria’s capabilities, grow our team, and scale our business. Enhancements to Aria will help Verse clients navigate and excel in their clean energy initiatives while reducing their electricity costs. This funding is not just a financial boost—it’s a stepping stone toward making clean energy the default option for corporate buyers of clean energy.