California cleantech VC investments hit USD 651m in Q3

Oct 16, 2013 - Venture investments in California's clean technology sector reached USD 651 million (EUR 481m) in the third quarter of 2013, global marketing firm Cleantech Group said yesterday.

In its preliminary report, the company calculates that the venture capital investments in the segment in California reached USD 2.3 billion between January and September.

The most notable alternative energy deal was in the transportation sector where Uber secured USD 258 million of growth equity from Google Ventures, part of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), TPG Capital LP and Benchmark Capital. In the photovoltaic (PV) segment, solar module maker Solexel raised USD 40 million in an equity funding round.

Another important cleantech investment included USD 35 million pocketed by green chemicals and fuels specialist Amyris Inc (NASDAQ:AMRS) from Singaporean investment fund Temasek Holdings Pte as part of convertible notes issue, as well as the USD 22 million of growth capital provided to concentrating solar power (CSP) specialist eSolar from Oak Investment Partners.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.739)

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