About Breakthrough Energy
Breakthrough Energy is a venture capital firm founded in 2015. It is primarily based out of Kirkland, United States. As of May 2026, Breakthrough Energy is an active investor, having invested in 135 companies, with 9 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Series A round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Environment Tech to High Tech and Energy Tech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Seed round of Barocal Overall, Breakthrough Energy portfolio has seen 9 unicorns, 4 IPOs and 2 acquisitions including key companies like IonQ, QuantumScape and Impossible Foods. A lot of funds co-invest with Breakthrough Energy, with names like Prelude Ventures sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Breakthrough Energy has team of 64 people including 28 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Series A, Seed & 5 more
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Breakthrough Energy's List of Top Investments
Breakthrough Energy has a portfolio of 135 companies, including 9 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in ZeroAvia and KoBold Metals.Their portfolio spans across United States, Canada, United Kingdom and 12 more locations. They have invested in Environment Tech, High Tech, Energy Tech and 24 other sectors, across stages such as Series A, Seed and 5 more. Here is the list of top investments by Breakthrough Energy:_1573535680111.png?format=webp&height=120&width=120){kind=logo}
1. IonQ
Provider of cloud and trapped ion technology-based universal quantum computers. It provides users with a company that offers quantum computer that traps individual ionized ytterbium atoms in a 3D space and uses lasers for computation purposes.
Key facts about IonQ
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: College Park (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $43.1M as on Dec 31, 2024
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $86M
- Employee Count: 697 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: Amazon, Silver Lake and 23 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Jun 16, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
2. QuantumScape
Developer of solid-state lithium-metal battery technology for electric vehicle applications. The company focuses on next-generation batteries designed for greater energy density and faster charging. The technology aims to enhance safety to support the transition to a lower carbon future. The company developed an anode-less cell design to deliver high energy density.
Key facts about QuantumScape
- Founded Year: 2010
- Location: San Jose (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $1B
- Employee Count: 645 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: TriplePoint Capital, Fidelity Investments and 16 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Sep 04, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
Provider of plant-based alternatives to traditional meat products. Its product catalog include meatballs, hotdogs, burgers, sausage, chicken nuggets, steak, and more.
Key facts about Impossible Foods
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: Redwood City (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series H
- Total Funding till date: $2.01B
- Employee Count: 503 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: equitywestsecurities.com, TriplePoint Capital and 112 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series H, Nov 17, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
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4. Form Energy
Developer of iron-air energy storage system for renewable energy storage. The platform provides an iron-air energy storage system for renewable energy projects. Claims that the storage system can store power a year and is cost-effective.
Key facts about Form Energy
5. Turntide
Provider of smart energy management solutions. It leverages computing and software control solutions with switched reluctance motor technology for space conditioning and refrigeration energy costs and has the capability to use energy only when it is needed. It also uses programmable IoT controls that facilitate maintenance savings and provides integration with existing building systems.
Key facts about Turntide
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: Sunnyvale (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $535M
- Employee Count: 203 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: MDB4L Capital, For Good Ventures and 27 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Jun 15, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Breakthrough Energy's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Breakthrough Energy has invested in 135 companies over the last 9 years, with an average of 17 new investments annually in the last 5 years. In 2025, it made 29 investments, while as of May 2026, it has made 6 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Barocal and most recent follow-on round was in Heron Power.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 3 | 3 | 6 |
2025 | 12 | 17 | 29 |
2024 | 9 | 24 | 33 |
2023 | 12 | 17 | 29 |
2022 | 32 | 13 | 45 |
2021 | 28 | 18 | 46 |
2020 | 13 | 5 | 18 |
2019 | 12 | 1 | 13 |
2018 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
2017 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Breakthrough Energy's Investments by Stage
Breakthrough Energy is primarily an Early Stage Investor investor majorly investing in Series A (64) rounds where average round size is $2.58B, Seed (25) rounds where average round size is $189M and Series B (22) rounds where average round size is $781M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series A | 64 |
Seed | 25 |
Series B | 22 |
Series C | 7 |
Grant (prize money) | 4 |
Others | 5 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Breakthrough Energy's Investments by Sector
Breakthrough Energy has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Sustainability Tech, Environment Tech, High Tech, Energy Tech and Enterprise Applications. Notably, it has invested in 106 Tech companies, 104 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 41 Software companies and at least 40 companies focusing on Tech hardware.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Sustainability Tech | 74 |
Environment Tech | 62 |
High Tech | 57 |
Energy Tech | 45 |
Enterprise Applications | 27 |
Others | 129 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Breakthrough Energy's Investments by Geography
Breakthrough Energy has made most investments in United States (96), followed by Canada where it has made 6 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 96 |
Canada | 6 |
United Kingdom | 5 |
France | 4 |
Germany | 2 |
Others | 14 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Breakthrough Energy's recent investments
Breakthrough Energy has made 6 investments in 2026 so far. Barocal and Arinna are the latest among them.Here are the most recent investments by Breakthrough Energy:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 04, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 9594 | [+2] | |
Mar 25, 2026 | United States | Seed | 9310 | [+1] | |
Mar 05, 2026 | United States | Series A | 4911 | [+11] | |
Feb 06, 2026 | United States | Series B | 5884 | [+4] | |
Jan 16, 2026 | Canada | Conventional Debt | 8954 | [+2] |
Unicorns in Breakthrough Energy's Portfolio
Breakthrough Energy has 9 unicorns in its portfolio - Stoke, Fervo Energy, Electric Hydrogen and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Stoke. It became a unicorn in 2025, 3 years after Breakthrough Energy first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Breakthrough Energy's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
65 | Manufacturer of reusable launch vehicles | 2019 | Kent | Series D | qxhskvb | ||
65 | Developer of next-generation geothermal projects delivering carbon-free energy | 2017 | San Francisco | Series E | hrdhvzb | ||
64 | Manufacturer of advanced electrolyzer systems for clean hydrogen production solutions | 2020 | San Carlos | Series C | bdvuahu | ||
66 | Developer of mineral exploration technology and operator of extraction projects | 2018 | Berkeley | Series D | qozyrpw | ||
62 | Manufacturer of battery cells, modules, and energy storage systems | 2020 | Novi | Series B | u{wdonb |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Breakthrough Energy's Portfolio
4 of Breakthrough Energy's portfolio companies have become public. ESS got listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), in Oct 2021 and IonQ got listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).Here are Breakthrough Energy's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct 11, 2021 | Oct 28, 2019 | Series C | 1605 | |
Oct 01, 2021 | - | - | 6772 | |
Aug 21, 2020 | - | - | 7005 | |
May 22, 2018 | Oct 10, 2017 | Series D | 9988 |
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Acquired companies in Breakthrough Energy's Portfolio
2 companies from Breakthrough Energy's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Pachama in Nov 2025 by Carbon Direct for $*****.Here are Breakthrough Energy's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 10, 2025 | Sep 17, 2020 | Series A | 6900 | |
Jun 01, 2001 | Jun 22, 2021 | Series A | 8650 |
Team profile of Breakthrough Energy
Breakthrough Energy has a team of 64 members including 28 Partners, 6 Venture Partners and 11 Principals located in United States, France and 4 more locations. Breakthrough Energy's team sits on the board of 6 companies.Here is a list of top team members in Breakthrough Energy:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Seattle | - | ||
Partner | Boston | Arsenal Medical, Cool Planet and 1 more | ||
Partner | San Francisco | - | ||
Partner | Bethesda | - | - | |
Partner | Boston | - | ||
Partner | Boston | - | - | |
Partner | San Francisco | - | ||
Partner | Raleigh | - | - | |
Partner | Paris | - | - | |
Partner | Houston | - | ||
Partner | Seattle | - | - |
Co-investors of Breakthrough Energy
Over the past 9 years, 1032 investors have co-invested in Breakthrough Energy's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Breakthrough Energy: OSTI, Europa and 214 others have invested in rounds before Breakthrough Energy. There are 10 companies where OSTI has invested before Breakthrough Energy and 8 companies where Europa has invested before Breakthrough Energy.
- Top Co-investors of Breakthrough Energy: 356 investors entered a company along with Breakthrough Energy. These include investors like Prelude Ventures (13 companies).
- Invested after Breakthrough Energy: A total of 460 investors have invested in Breakthrough Energy's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include OSTI (9 companies), The Climate Pledge (7 companies) and Temasek (6 companies).
Recent News related to Breakthrough Energy
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Barocal Raises €8.5M Seed Funding for Refrigerant-Free Cooling TechnologyStartup Rise EU•May 05, 2026•Breakthrough Energy, IP Group, University of Cambridge
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Sygaldry Technologies Raises $139M to Build Quantum AI ServersTech Funding News•Apr 16, 2026•Sygaldry, Breakthrough Energy, Initialized Capital, Earth Venture Capital
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Z Venture Capital invests in Sygaldry for quantum-powered AI data centers.PR TIMES•Apr 15, 2026•Sygaldry, Z Venture Capital, Overmatch, Rock Yard Ventures and 6 others
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Kingdom Holding Acquires $68M Stake in Breakthrough Energy VenturesStartup Scene ME•Apr 06, 2026•Breakthrough Energy, Kingdom Holding Company, Sygaldry, Overmatch and 11 others
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Arinna Secures $4M Seed Funding to Revolutionize Space PowerBEAMSTART•Mar 25, 2026•Breakthrough Energy, Spacecadet, Arinna, Anorak Ventures
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Heron Power Raises $140 Million in Series B Fundingstartuplog.com•Feb 19, 2026•Heron Power, Tesla, Breakthrough Energy, Gigascale Capital and 4 others
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Fleetzero Raises $43 Million Series A to Scale Shipping Electrification and AutonomyPR Newswire•Jan 17, 2026•Fleetzero, Maersk, Obvious Ventures, Breakthrough Energy and 5 others
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Growth Fund of Canada Leads US$85 Million Funding in Mangrove Lithiumlelezard.com•Jan 15, 2026•Canada Growth Fund, Breakthrough Energy, Mangrove Lithium, National Bank of Canada and 3 others
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Type One Energy Secures $87M Series B Funding Round Backed by Bill Gatesnewsdirectory3.com•Jan 14, 2026•TDK Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, Type One Energy Group, Breakthrough Energy and 2 others
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ZeroAvia Completes Financing RoundPR Newswire•Dec 22, 2025•ZeroAvia, Barclays, Horizons Ventures, Ecosystem Integrity Fund and 4 others
