Energy retailer Amber recharges with $29 million Series C

Power retailer Amber Electric has raised $29 million in a Series C as it looks to take its battery and EV automation software offshore.

ASX-listed billing and CRM provider Gentrack led the round with $12 million, building a strategic partnership with Amber to bundle its billing and customer care with Amber’s battery and EV automation software. Rubio Impact Ventures also joined the cap table alongside existing investors the Commonwealth Bank, NRMA, and VC funds Alberts, Square Peg and Main Sequence.

CBA jumped into Amber in 2021 with $20m series B for a 23% stake, and the software startup raised an additional $13.4 million Series B extension 18 months later.

Founded in 2017, Amber previously raised $10 million in a Series A.

This partnership with Gentrack sets them up to target the international utility market for smart device optimisation products.

Amber gives customers access to real time energy prices, coupled with the technology to automate their home batteries and EVs to cut energy costs and – or sell their energy. The company’s customer base has doubled in the last six months to 30,000.

The capital is earmarked for local growth, with an EV-to-grid automation product (ie. car battery as home battery) on the cars, alongside licensing the technology to utilities internationally via a white label scheme through Gentrack.

Amber cofounder and co-CEO Dan Adams said recent high energy prices demonstrated that households with batteries and access to the wholesale price of electricity can benefit financially.

“The strides Amber has made in creating the software needed to help our battery customers get the most out of their batteries, has been validated by our investors with their continuing support,” he said.

“We’ve got the best technology globally for home battery automation. Our next focus, which will be game changing for the Australian energy market, will be the technology we are developing around EV batteries to power homes and the grid.

Adams praised Gentrack as a strong global delivery partner.

“We’ve received significant interest from overseas utilities to license our software.  Gentrack will accelerate our ambition of maximising and expanding the number of markets we can reach with our technology,” he said.

His cofounder, Chris Thompson said the funding will also be used to upgrade to the Gentrack billing system.

“The Gentrack system has the out-of-the-box capabilities needed to deploy flexible energy solutions while many of the older systems in the market can’t cope with such propositions,” he said

“By bundling our technology with Gentrack’s, we will be well positioned to deploy it around the world.”

Gentrack CEO Gary Miles said he was confident their customers will find the Amber offer highly compelling.

“Bundling Amber’s award-winning technology, which allows customers to reduce their bills – and even make money from their own electricity generation – with our seamless integrated billing and customer care platform, is a product international utilities are extremely keen to take advantage of,” he said.

“Chris and Dan are passionate about building products that customers love and to accelerate the energy transition.  In many ways, they are leading the transition to a two-way grid that reduces carbon usage and energy bills for consumers.  It is a team and technology that we are excited to invest in and take globally.”