Seoul-based energy funding startup bags $5.1m in Hyundai-led round

Energy development, or the process of sourcing energy from natural resources, is a complicated but profitable industry. But with various parties involved, the market continues to use opaque practices, which raises concerns for investors and independent power producers (IPPs).

To make processes more transparent and simpler, South Korea-based Energy X has developed an AI-driven platform that allows corporate and individual users to invest in renewable energy projects worldwide.

Energy X CEO Sean Park / Photo credit: Energy X

Energy X said it recently raised US$5.1 million in series A money to further build out what it calls a “social energy platform.” The funding round was led by Hyundai Venture Investment and included participation from Simbon Investment Partners and Ophir Equity Partners.

The startup’s total funding is now US$13.2 million, including the funds raised by its fintech subsidiary Energy X Square, according to a statement.

Energy X’s online-to-offline platform lets investors find crowdfunding, private funding, and exchange opportunities to profit from low- to mid-risk renewable energy projects. In turn, this allows IPPs, which are traditionally mid- and large-sized companies, to have better access to investors and contractors and start projects more easily.

Sean Park, Energy X’s CEO, also said that the solution allows users to find and examine an adequate land site, select the right brands of devices, and enter into an agreement with a contractor and investors all online.

“With the social energy platform, the company hopes to allow every household individual to own his or her energy plant at the backyard or rooftop, etc.,” Park told Tech in Asia. “The company’s platform strives to make energy not only socially responsible, but socially owned, operated, and profited.”

The company also provides device sales agencies as well as contractors for engineering, procurement, construction, operation, and maintenance.

According to Park, energy development’s reliability and profitability make it a good investment product, but the market is currently saturated by loans from high-yield fund managers with costly fees.

“These returns are shared by the fund managers and banks before they make it to the real end-investors – the individuals who subscribed to those funds and bank accounts,” he said.

“Without the fund managers and banks as the medium, individuals select their own projects to invest in, and no longer are small-sized projects looked over. This way, the company hopes to expand the financing market for small-sized energy projects,” Park added.

Park, who was formerly a VC, founded Energy X in 2019 with ex-Samsung AI programmer Tom Hong. The chief exec said that the company’s ultimate goal is to deliver a greener world by replacing old energy with clean and renewable alternatives.