- Silicon Valley-based global investment fund SE Ventures announced it named two senior partners to lead its growing investment team
SE Ventures — a Silicon Valley-based global investment fund with $565 million under management that is backed by Fortune 500 energy management and automation leader Schneider Electric — has announced that it named two senior partners to head up the growing investment team. Grant Allen and Varun Jain are going to bring their global venture experience to SEV. And they will be joining Kevin Deneen (formerly of Aster Capital) to focus on investments in areas like energy management, industrial automation, and e-mobility.
“SEV is growing and ramping up our open innovation activities,” said Heriberto Diarte, the head of SEV and Schneider Electric’s external innovation activities. “At a time when many of our peers are tightening investments, we are continuing to build our team and invest in disruptive ventures where Schneider Electric can be a value-add partner and market catalyst. The addition of Varun and Grant, two seasoned and respected investors, is another clear sign of our resolve to become a serious player in the venture ecosystem.”
Grant Allen is joining SEV from Zurich-based ABB where he led global ventures and oversaw a portfolio of more than 30 direct and fund investments, including Bonsai AI (acquired by Microsoft), Industrial Defender (acquired by Lockheed Martin), Soft Robotics, and MineSense. And he was integral in growing ABB Technology Ventures to become the most active CVC in the robotics and applied AI space behind Google.
“We are seeking absolutely best-in-class startups aligned with Schneider’s mission of bringing energy and efficiency to enable life, progress, and sustainability for all,” added Allen. “We want to see new technologies and business models transforming the way we live and work, how we produce and consume energy, and how we run buildings and factories. Supported by Schneider’s dollars, domain expertise, and global customer reach, we can have a dramatic impact on the trajectory of our investments.”
Varun Jain is joining SEV from Qualcomm Ventures where he led the global early-stage practice including a portfolio of more than 80 investments. And some of the recent major exits from the practice include Cruise Automation (acquired by GM), 99 (acquired by Didi) and Zoom.
“SEV is a global corporate-backed venture fund, where our incentives are fully aligned with those of the founders we back,” explained Jain. “We are going to target companies that not only bear the promise of outsized financial returns, but are also in a position where they can leverage Schneider Electric’s vast technical resources and distribution reach to radically grow their business.”
SEV has invested in companies like AutoGrid, Claroty, Element Analytics, and Sense. And recently, it closed on investments with Titan AES (a novel Li-ion battery management system) and Synapticon (an advanced motion control platform for industrial robots).
