This article was written by Daphne Tomlinson, Independent Senior Research Associate at Memoori.

According to our ongoing research, investments in the Smart Buildings space, continued to attract higher levels of funding in Q2 2019. By the end of June, Memoori recorded 74 funding rounds amounting to $745.25 million in disclosed deal values. 15 transactions had undisclosed deal values this quarter. In comparison, 81 rounds were recorded in Q2-2018, amounting to $618.05 million in disclosed deals; 18 transactions did not disclose the deal value.

Startups addressing commercial and industrial buildings accounted for 74% of Q2 funding rounds, while 22% of the deals related to the smart home. Growth equity investments accounted for 3 deals and 1 IPO was recorded.

This article provides a snapshot of some of the notable investments during this period in three sectors - IoT, energy efficiency-as-a-service and workplace management platforms.

IoT in Buildings investments include software solutions, enablement hardware such as sensors, connectivity and networking solutions and cybersecurity.

* Tempered Networks, a US cybersecurity firm focused on smart buildings, raised $17 million, backed by Ignition Venture Partners, Fluid Capital, Ridge Ventures and Rally Capital. The firm’s Identity-Defined Networking (IDN) platform for securing critical infrastructure, including building automation and IoT traffic using micro segmentation, is used to provide a secure and non-disruptive way to connect, segment, and cloak building controls from anywhere, without having to modify existing customer networks.

* GreenGen Ventures announced an investment in Virginia-based Senseware, a full-stack IoT platform for facility monitoring and control in smart commercial and industrial buildings.

* Everactive, a US startup developing wireless battery-less IoT sensors, has raised $30 million in a Series C funding round. The investment was led by Future Fund with participation from Blue Bear Capital, ABB Technology Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, and Osage University Partners.

* Wirepas, the Finnish IoT mesh specialist, raised €14.4 million from ETF Partners, Inventure, KPN Ventures, TESI (Finnish Industry Investment) and Vito Ventures in a Series B round.

* Based in France, Intent Technologies, a specialist in networking service providers in the context of smart building ecosystems, renewed its shareholding by partnering with Nexity and the Banque des Territoires. The Intent Platform is deployed in more than 32 million m2, particularly in social housing.

* Shepherd Network, a UK-based provider of a cloud-based analytics platform and sensor-monitoring service for asset management in the built environment, closed a Series A round with a £2 million investment from Earthworm, a firm focused exclusively on sustainable projects.

Energy-Efficiency-as-a-Service, which enables building owners to significantly reduce their energy costs and environmental footprint with no upfront cost, continues to attract high levels of growth equity.

* Budderfly closed a $55 million growth equity and debt financing round from alternative investment manager Balance Point Capital, with participation by Connecticut Innovations.

* Carbon Lighthouse closed a $32.6 million growth round led by National Grid Partners, with participation from Cox Enterprises, Ulupono Initiative and other existing and new investors.

Corporate investors in Energy Efficiency-as-a-Service include CBRE and Engie who have previously backed Redaptive and Johnson Control’s prior investments in Carbon Lighthouse.

Workplace management platforms for commercial offices gained funding this quarter through IPOs, from corporate investors and venture capital firms.

* In May 2019, essensys listed 38.5% of the business on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange, raising £28 million. The company is a leading provider of two SaaS platforms, Connect and Operate and on-demand cloud services to the high growth flexible workspace industry (also known as coworking or workspace-as-a-service) in the UK and USA.

* Robin, the Boston USA, provider of a SaaS workplace scheduling and management platform, raised $20 million in a Series B round led by Tola Capital. Existing investors Accomplice and FirstMark participated in the round, along with new strategic investor Allegion Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of global security products firm, Allegion plc.

* Lane, a Toronto, Canada-based provider of a workplace experience platform, raised $2.5 million from Alate Partners, Panache Ventures and Colliers/Techstars.

* Amsterdam-based Office App, an advanced tenant and employee experience platform, secured 4.3 million euros in Series A funding. Join Capital and Signa Innovations led the round with participation from Pi Labs.

* Headquartered in Boston USA, HqO, a tenant experience platform for commercial real estate, raised $6 million in funding. Backers included real estate firms, Divco West and New England Development as well as strategic investor, Allegion Ventures.

Memoori has published new research on M&A and Investments in Smart Buildings, H1-2019. Deals included in this analysis cover companies targeting both commercial and industrial buildings and smart homes.

We focus on the Operate and Manage phase of the building life cycle encompassing IoT in buildings, energy management, physical and cyber security, proptech, facilities optimization, occupant comfort, workplace experience and more.