Nordic digital energy company Tibber raises $65 million

Digital clean energy company Tibber has set a goal to reduce European households’ electricity consumption by 20 percent. To that end, the Stockholm-based startup raised $65 million in equity funding, thanks to a round led by Eight Roads Ventures and Balderton Capital. In Tibber’s view, beyond the switch to renewables, the energy transition must include a shift to more efficient — or less — energy consumption. It’s not just the source of electric power, it’s also the amount of it that people use. The Nordic startup is tackling both. Its service replaces traditional utilities with green energy. Its technology includes an app that provides real-time analytics into usage and pairs with a variety of smart home devices to reduce electricity consumption. For example, users can adjust thermostats or the brightness of a lightbulb. The company was founded in 2016 by Norwegian Edgeir Vårdal Aksnes and Swedish Daniel Lindén, who were frustrated by traditional energy companies for the poor customer experience and their unenthusiastic commitment to sustainable business. Tibber says it is committed to “not profiting off energy consumption.” Since launch it has garnered over 100,000 paying households in Norway, Sweden and Germany, driven largely by customer referrals. 

“Managing residential energy will only become more important with the growth in electric vehicles, which Tibber has also built an elegant solution for, and we hope the company can go on to replicate the huge success it has had in the Nordics across Europe and beyond,” said James Wise, a partner at Balderton Capital. The company’s next target market is the Netherlands in 2021. Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund participated in this round as well, following on from its lead investment in the $12 million Series A last year. Alongside equity, Tibber secured working capital funding by Nordea to support its fast-paced growth.

Photo: Co-founders Daniel Lindén and Edgeir Aksnes