Toronto, Ontario–(July 6, 2015) – McRock iNFund LP, an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) venture capital fund managed by McRock Capital, is pleased to announce that it has added Électricité de France (EDF) Group, one of the world’s leading electric utilities, as an investor. McRock iNFund announced previous closings with investments from Alberta Enterprise Corporation, BDC Capital, Cisco Investments, Export Development Canada, Kensington Venture Fund, L.P. and Teralys Capital Innovation LP.
McRock has now added EDF to the fund’s corporate relationships alongside of Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in IT networking. EDF reported revenue of €72.9 billion in 2014 with 38.5 million customers around the world. “Given EDF’s global footprint, strong focus on innovation and interest in the IIoT, EDF is a very attractive innovation partner and potential customer for McRock’s growing portfolio of IIoT companies,” said Scott MacDonald, Co-founder and Managing Partner of McRock Capital. “The power sector is a significant market for IIoT solutions that drive asset optimization and improves power reliability and overall customer experience.”
“We are happy to develop this partnership with McRock’s experienced team. Its exclusive focus in the IIoT sector will provide EDF Group with a unique source of collaboration opportunities between innovative start-ups and EDF business lines from power generation to electricity transmission. It will also constitute an effective platform to test the most recent IIoT innovations that could improve energy usages of our industrial customers” said François-Xavier Roussel, Senior Vice President Performance & Innovation.
Jean-Claude Laroche Chief Information Officer at EDF Group declared “Exploring upcoming innovations in the digitalisation space is a great challenge for utilities. This partnership with McRock Capital represents a fantastic Open Innovation initiative to support innovative IIoT companies and operational implementation of their solutions within EDF Group“
About McRock Capital
McRock is a leading Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) venture capital fund focused on the intersection of sensors & software in large industrial markets. The McRock Team has a unique background of building high-growth venture-backed IIoT companies while also having worked in the power, water and oil & gas industries. The fund is backed by large institutional investors and has strategic relationships with Cisco Systems and Électricité de France (EDF). McRock invests across Canada and the U.S. in grid automation, digital oilfield, advanced manufacturing and smart city markets. For more, visit www.mcrockcapital.com or follow us on twitter @McRockCapital
About EDF Group
EDF, one of the leaders in the European energy market, is an integrated energy company active in all areas of the business: generation, transmission, distribution, energy supply and trading. The Group is the leading electricity producer in Europe. In France, it has mainly nuclear and hydropower generation facilities where 97.6% of the electricity output is CO2-free. EDF’s transmission and distribution subsidiaries in France operate 1,285,000 km of low and medium voltage overhead and underground electricity lines and around 100,000 km of high and very high voltage networks. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services to approximately 38.5 million customers, of which 28.3 million are in France. The Group generated consolidated sales of €72.9 billion in 2014, of which 45.2% was outside of France. EDF is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and is a member of the CAC 40 index. For more information, visit www.edf.com