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Tendril Secures $30 Million Series C Funding

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Tue Jun 9, 2009 9:03am EDT

Venture Community Validates Need for Open and Extensible Energy Management
Operating Environment 
BOULDER, Colo.--(Business Wire)--
Tendril: 

NEWS FACTS

* Tendril, creator of the Tendril Residential Energy Ecosystem (TREE) for
utilities, energy retailers and their consumers, today announced it has secured
$30 million in Series C funding. 
* The investment was led by VantagePoint Venture Partners, a recognized leader
in the clean tech space, and includes Good Energies, the leading global investor
in renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions, RRE Ventures, a builder of
leading companies in the software, communications and financial services
industries, and Vista Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm based in
Boulder, Colorado. 
* Substantiating Tendril`s open platform approach to smart energy management,
this significant investment will allow the company to scale to meet increased
demand for its TREE Platform as utilities move into pilot and rollout phases. 
* The company will also invest to build out Tendril`s growing network of TREE
partners, including in-house device and appliance manufacturers, advanced meter
vendors, application developers and others.

About TREE

* The Tendril Residential Energy Ecosystem (TREE) is the first integrated
software and hardware solution that enables two-way dialog between
utilities/retailers and their customers, allowing them to manage the consumption
and supply of energy in smarter, more efficient ways. 
* TREE gives energy providers unprecedented insight into consumption patterns,
as well as the ability to deliver important messages regarding household usage. 
* It offers the ability to communicate the need to reduce consumption in order
to prevent impending brownouts and saves energy companies money by allowing them
to reduce their energy output during peak demand times in collaboration with
their consumers.

About the TREE Platform

* At the core of Tendril`s TREE is the TREE Platform, an energy management
operating and communications environment.

* The solution links in-home devices with enterprise-class computing and utility
back-office systems to enable utilities and their customers to better manage
energy consumption. 
* The TREE Platform has the ability to manage messaging, security, privacy and
upgradeability all in one seamless connection.

* Application suites built on top of the platform allow utilities to communicate
beyond the meter, enabling them to scale smart energy programs while managing
evolving consumer preferences for in-home devices that help manage energy
consumption. 
* Consumers are provided with simple tools and information to impact their
energy consumption decisions.

Related Quotes

* "We are seeing an explosion of business and are excited to quickly move into
this next stage of growth and customer adoption. Smart energy management is
poised to take center stage and we see the need now more than ever for an open
operating environment to enable a smart, information-driven power grid." -
Adrian Tuck, CEO, Tendril 
* "Tendril addresses a critical need in the energy management space by
delivering unprecedented transparency into how and when consumers use energy,
allowing both consumers and utilities to manage power in smarter, more efficient
ways. Our investment in Tendril`s residential energy management solution marks
an important addition to VantagePoint`s CleanTech portfolio, and is a natural
extension of our work to initiate transformation in LED lighting, lighting
controls, building technologies and the smart grid."- Alan Salzman, CEO,
VantagePoint Venture Partners 
* "In designing our Smart Grid pilot program, we wanted to be able to provide
customers with real-time energy usage information, while at the same time
keeping costs down. Tendril presented us with a solution that helps us combine
our existing infrastructure with advanced technology to
help our customers become educated energy consumers." - Larry Gelbien, vice
president of engineering at Boston utility NSTAR 
* "We believe in the power of information technology to transform the energy
sector. As the world moves to re-architect its energy infrastructure, companies
like Tendril will be critical in enabling new economic models through technology
innovation. We are proud to continue our long-standing commitment to Tendril as
a pioneer in this emerging space and a key pillar in RRE Ventures` green
technology portfolio." - Harsh P. Patel, general partner, RRE Ventures 
* "Vista is proud to be a local investor in Tendril, a company that is
demonstrating to the nation the strength of the ecosystem in Colorado to build
leading companies in the clean-tech space. Over the last several years that we
have been investors, the management team has consistently executed to vault
themselves into a market-leading position. This financing will allow them to
continue to build on their market lead." - Catharine Merigold, general partner,
Vista Ventures

Supporting Resources

* Tendril on the Web
* Tendril Blog
* See a Demo
* About VantagePoint Venture Partners
* About Good Energies
* About NSTAR
* About RRE Ventures
* About Vista Ventures

About Tendril

Tendril enables true 21st century energy efficiency by establishing a dialog
between consumers and their energy providers. The Tendril Residential Energy
Ecosystem (TREE) is comprised of the TREE Platform, an open, extensible and
standards-based operating environment for energy management, TREE Energy
Programs, a comprehensive suite of energy management applications (like Demand
Response and Time-of-Use Pricing), and TREE Home Energy Devices, a suite of
in-home hardware (like thermostats and outlets). TREE is a comprehensive and
consumer-centric ecosystem that is designed to integrate seamlessly with a
Utility`s or Energy Retailers` existing back office applications and network
infrastructure allowing consumers and their energy companies to communicate,
collaborate and create - Smart Energy for Life. To see more, visit:
www.tendrilinc.com. 



for Tendril
Brad Langley, 415-856-5104
blangley@blancandotus.com
or
Marie Bahl, 303-468-4445
mbahl@tendrilinc.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009

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