EDP Ventures Brazil, an EDP Group venture capital investment vehicle, and Criatec 3, a fund managed by INSEED Investments, have announced a joint R$ 6.5 million investment in Dom Rock, a technology startup, which develops applications capable of extracting, consolidating and analyzing large volumes of data in different formats to improve organizations’ management and operational efficiency.

“When Dom Rock was involved in EDP Starter, our acceleration program, we were given an opportunity to create closer ties with entrepreneurs and develop joint projects for various business applications, which put us in a position for the EDP Ventures Brazil investment. Choosing this startup will improve the use of artificial intelligence, analytics and big data on the local and global energy markets, improving decision-making and process efficiency”, said Livia Brando, EDP’s executive manager for Strategy, Innovation and Ventures in Brazil.

“In addition to this direct investment, EDP Ventures provide support for pilot projects and international business expansion, offering access to new markets. We want to invest in Brazilian technologies that are strategically aligned to the Group and have global growth potential to work with the company’s business units in Latin America, the US and Europe”, said Rosario Cannata, EDP Ventures Brazil Investment Manager.

O ne of Dom Rock main differentials is its ability to handle a wide range and large volume of data, which will redefine the way businesses operate as they begin implementing their digital transformation. The company’s cloud platform is based on big data, cognitive technology and machine learning.

At the solutions, which can be tailored to a number of industries, help business areas deal with exponential demand for a wide variety of data, such as images, videos, text, audio, tables and transactions and is able to analyze this data quickly, offering direct support for decision makers, as well as helping cut operating costs and increase productivity.

“This investment by EDP Ventures Brazil and INSEED will help us scale up to meet the significant demand for intelligent data platforms. As a result, our target is to multiply Dom Rock’s revenues by a factor of 10 over the next five years. Support from a global company like EDP is critical to make our solution available to everyone”, said Andre de Almeida, CEO of Dom Rock.

At the relationship between EDP and Dom Rock began in 2018 when the startup was one of the finalists in the EDP acceleration program and joined the company on its stand at the Web Summit, one of the world’s biggest innovation events, held in Portugal, where it presented its initiatives to European investors. The startup is currently negotiating a number of pilot projects and service agreements with EDPs energy distributors, with a view to automating processes, improving data analysis and increasing operational efficiency.

Innovation Ecosystem

EDP has been supporting entrepreneurship in Brazil’s energy market since 2015, organizing initiatives that help develop solutions, from the initial phase through to investment. EDP’s acceleration programs, Free Electrons and Starter Acceleration Program, are the main gateways available for establishing a relationship with the company and registration for the programs is now open in Latin America. 

EDP Ventures Brazil, created in May 2018, is the Brazilian electricity industry’s largest investment vehicle with initial plans to invest R$ 30 million in new ventures across six areas: renewable energy, smart grids, energy storage, digital Innovation (blockchain, IoT, big data, virtual reality), customer-centric solutions (fintechs, smart solutions for homes) and support areas (legal tech, HR platforms).

EDP Ventures Brazil assesses both early-stage (seed investment) and more mature startups in the ramp-up and market traction phases (A series), with the option for co-investment alongside other corporations or partner funds. Visit www.edpventures.vc to find out more or register new projects.

EDP Ventures Brazil recently announced its first Brazilian investment, with R$ 1.5 million in funding for Delfos, a startup from Ceará which offers artificial intelligence solutions applied to predictive maintenance at power generating plants. In addition, EDP Ventures Brazil, the lead investor making the biggest funding contribution, BGM Uptech and Bossa Nova Investimentos will also be investing in the project.

Since 2008, EDP Group Venture Capital vehicles have invested over €30 million globally in 26 startups that jointly employ over 750 people and generate more than €100 million in annual revenues.

About EDP Brazil

EDP has over 20 years’ experience and is one of the biggest private-sector companies operating across the entire value chain. The Company has over 10,000 direct and indirect staff and is involved in energy Generation, Distribution, Transmission, Sales and Services. The company has six hydro power plants and one thermal power station that serve around 3.4 million people in the states of São Paulo and Espírito Santo. The Company recently acquired a majority stake in CELESC, from Santa Catarina. In Brazil, the company is noted for its Innovation, Governance and Sustainability and has been included in the B3 Business Sustainability Index (BSI) for 13 consecutive years.

About the Criatec 3 Fund

Created by the BNDES in 2016, the Criatec Fund provides capital, strategy and governance for companies with significant growth potential. Dom Rock is the Fund’s 16th investment as it starts to diversify its portfolio by investing in different industries.

Fund investors include the BNDES, support agencies, corporations and private players.

About INSEED Investimentos

INSEED is the biggest B2B Venture Capital manager in Brazil and has over 15 years experience with new tech businesses. It manages three Funds and R$ 495 million in capital. It has already made 60 investments in various knowledge areas and market applications. The fund manager’s team is already assessed over 5000 opportunities.

“We believe that creating value with nascent companies is a collective effort that requires a structured and consistent approach working alongside entrepreneurs to bring together our visions, knowledge and experience”, said Gustavo Junqueira, INSEED CEO.