Octopus Energy enters USA with acquisition of Silicon Valley-based startup Evolve Energy

• Fast-growth disruptor targeting 25 million energy accounts in US by 2027
• UK energy tech pioneer committed to invest up to $100m to fuel US expansion

London, September 29, 2020: Tech unicorn and UK energy pioneer Octopus Energy today announced the acquisition of Silicon Valley-based startup Evolve Energy in a move that will shake up the US energy market. The $5 million deal is the pivotal element in Octopus’s $100 million investment in the US market and its latest international step, following moves into Australia and Germany last year.

Starting in Texas, Octopus Energy US, as the new business will be known, is targeting 25 million US energy accounts on its technology platform by 2027. They will make up a quarter of the business’s global target of 100 million energy accounts in the same time frame.

The renewable energy supplier is the UK’s fastest growing private company, having gained 1.7 million customers since launching four years ago. In April 2020, Octopus became the country’s latest tech ‘unicorn’, valued at close to $2 billion after Australia’s leading energy company Origin Energy acquired a 20 percent stake for nearly $400 million.

At the heart of Octopus’s success is Kraken, its proprietary cloud-based energy technology (EnTech) platform. The scalable platform provides industry leading operational efficiency and outstanding service quality. But most importantly, Kraken is designed to drive the smart grid, giving customers access to cheaper electricity when renewable energy is abundant. The new partnership with Evolve Energy will enable the company to bring this innovation to the US, speeding up the country’s transition to a cheaper, greener energy system.

Kraken is already licensed as a SAAS+ (software and operating model) provider to other energy companies, allowing them to offer greener, cheaper energy to customers and help the world transition to a clean energy future. Across all its operations and licenses, Kraken is now contracted to serve 17 million energy accounts worldwide, including customers of E.ON UK, Origin Energy in Australia and now Evolve Energy in the US.

Evolve Energy is a Houston and Silicon Valley-based energy startup that uses AI and machine learning to optimise energy usage, providing customers with the best energy prices for renewable power. Launched in 2018 by tech entrepreneur Michael Lee to challenge the country’s legacy suppliers, it has been backed by Matt Rogers, the cofounder of Nest, through his fund Incite. MINI-backed startup accelerator URBAN-X selected Evolve Energy for its 20-week program last year and Texas-based Capital Factory was an investor through Evolve’s first-place finish in the 2019 EarthX startup competition.

Octopus Energy CEO and founder Greg Jackson has been hugely impressed by Evolve’s brilliant team, its commitment to sustainability and its forward-thinking approach.

“We knew that Evolve was a leading innovative energy firm that was doing great things with real-time energy, connected home devices, and renewables. We’re excited to be working with Michael and the Evolve team to bring futuristic technology, green energy and excellent customer service to Texas,” said Jackson. “In just four years, we have attracted 1.7 million customers to our business with a total of 17 million accounts contracted to our platform between ourselves and our license partners. Our ambitions for the US are high, but we haven’t missed a target yet.”

“Octopus Energy is inspirational in growing a customer base of over 1 million households in just four years. It has done so while also achieving customer satisfaction scores similar to Netflix and Amazon. It matches our aspiration for innovation and we’re thrilled to be part of the Octopus family,” said Lee. “The US energy market is rapidly moving towards ultra-low cost renewable energy and is prime for a true digital transformation.”

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Notes for editors:

Press contact UK

Christina Hess

T: +44 7897 699 195

E: christina.hess@octoenergy.com

Press contact US

Molly Hendriksen

T: +1 510 418 2511

E: molly.hendriksen@berlinrosen.com

About Octopus Energy

Octopus Energy Group was launched in 2016 with a vision of using technology to make the green energy revolution affordable whilst transforming customer experiences. Its domestic energy arm already serves 1.7 million customers with cheaper greener power. Octopus Energy for Business manages over 20,000 customers with proprietary energy offerings. Octopus Electric Vehicles is helping make clean transport cheaper and easier, and Octopus Energy Services is bringing smart products to thousands of homes.

All of these are made possible by OEG's tech arm, Kraken Technologies, which offers a proprietary, in-house platform based on advanced data and machine learning capabilities, Kraken automates much of the energy supply chain to allow outstanding service and efficiency as the world transitions to a decentralised, decarbonised energy system. This technology has been licensed to support over 17 million accounts worldwide, through deals with Good Energy, E.ON energy, Origin Energy, and 4hundred.

Octopus Energy is the only Which? Recommended energy supplier for three years in a row, topping the table in 2020. It also recently won Best Utility at the Utility Week Awards and was named ‘the company that’s done the most to advance UK renewables’ by the Renewable Energy Association in 2019.

The business is backed by Octopus Group, a financial services and energy firm, which manages more than £8.6bn of funds and has invested more than £2.7bn in renewable assets across Europe. In April 2020, Octopus Energy Group became a UK tech unicorn, valued at well over £1 billion following an investment from leading Australian energy company Origin Energy. With operations in Germany and Australia, Octopus Energy Group's mission to drive the affordable green revolution is going global.

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