Energy

There were 42 corporate-backed startup funding rounds in China in February, up 27% from the previous month. Most of these were backed by Chinese tech giants such as Tencent and Baidu.

Mitch Gainer has become director at NextEra Energy Investments.

rEnergy Partners, the newly independent CVC of BayWa r.e., will continue managing its portfolio while backing early-stage cleantech startups.

Course has resigned as digital innovation program manager at Shell Ventures.

Siemens Energy Ventures has promoted one team member and recruited two more to work on its cleantech investments and venture clienting.

Investor interest in self-driving cars is booming again as commercial services have started operating. These are some of the opportunities that are emerging.

Anil Achyuta has taken on a partner role at venture capital firm Energy Impact Partners.

From digital twins to superconducting transmission lines, energy companies are looking technologies to bring more renewable generation onto the grid.

The volume of CVC deals jumped 31% from a year ago, while the return of large deals pushed up the value of funding rounds by 167%.

The gas utility will back startups in food and agriculture, wellness, real estate and tourism as it seeks to use corporate VC to expand its business.

Andrea Sguazzi spent several years at Italy's Enel Group where he formed collaborations with the parent and startups.