The UK government-owned British Business Bank is set to make its largest-ever direct investment, £25m into the Octopus Energy spinout Kraken Technologies.
Kraken was formed from within Octopus, one of the UK’s largest energy providers, as the AI technology platform that the core service ran on.
Octopus spun out the company into a standalone venture last year, with it already earning significant revenue through licensing deals with other energy companies.
“Over the past decade, we’ve built Kraken from zero into a true powerhouse,” said Octopus Energy chief executive Greg Jackson.
“It now plays in a league of its own and is ready to spin out of Octopus – and with backing from world-class investors like the British Business Bank and Octopus Ventures, it’s poised to grow even faster and cement its position as a UK-founded, UK-funded success story.”
The new funding from British Business Bank not only marks the investor’s largest direct investment, but also demonstrates its new mandate to drive growth in the UK tech sector.
The Department for Business and Trade gave the development bank the mandate to make bigger, higher risk investments in British scaleups that meet the growth priorities of the Modern Industrial Strategy.
“For too long, Britain’s most promising companies have had to look abroad for the backing they need to grow. Scaleups that should have become homegrown champions struggle against a system that is too slow and too fragmented,” said Business Secretary Peter Kyle.
“We are placing big bets on the industries where Britain can win, backing our innovators with real firepower, and cutting the red tape that holds them back. This is what decisive government looks like – creating an economy that can grow and deliver prosperity for all.”
Alongside the investment into Kraken, British Business Bank will invest £100m across two high potential life sciences and deep tech funds, Epidarex Capital and IQ Capital.
