Global smart grid investment reached $14.9 billion in 2013, up from the $14.2 billion recorded in 2012, and with final annual figures for 2014 soon to be released, the strong global growth trend is expected to continue this decade. Home automation companies received the most VC funding within the smart grid sector. The top disclosed transaction in 2014 was Google’s acquisition of Nest Labs for $3.2 billion, followed by the $200 million acquisition of SmartThings by Samsung Electronics and the $150 million acquisition of Aclara Technologies by Sun Capital Partners. Smart metering accounted for just under half of the total smart grid spending worldwide, with distribution automation and other integrated demonstration projects rounding out the total. Read more in our Smart Grid Business report – http://memoori.com/portfolio/the-smart-grid-business-2012-to-2017/ China spent $4.3 billion on smart grid in 2013, with a large part of that going on the installation of 62 million meters. China now has around 250 million […]