The French startup Beem, which is developing an ecosystem of products and services to accelerate the energy transition among individuals, has just completed a fundraising of 20 million euros. Business Cool spoke with Manon Bataille, communications manager at Beem, to discover the upcoming projects of this startup.
Everything you need to know about Beem
A pioneer in the field of energy management, the startup Beem is developing an ecosystem of products and services to accelerate the energy transition among individuals. The company was founded in 2019 by Ralph Feghali, Arthur Kenzo and Pierre-Emmanuel Roger.
With its first product, the Beem 300W kit, Beem offered individuals the possibility of covering their consumption bill with an installation ranging from 1 to 3 kits, for a maximum power per socket circuit of 900W (i.e. the maximum recommendation by the French authorities). With the energy transition, “76% of French people say they are interested in a simple solution that allows them to install solar panels without the help of a professional”, according to a study conducted by OpinionWay on “The French and energy self-consumption” in February 2023.
Since April 2023, the startup has updated its Beem kit to offer a power of 420W, in order to offer even more performance and control to individuals. With it, Beemers can make €250 in annual savings on their electricity bill, thanks to solar production (€140) and energy management via the app (€110). Beem’s ambition is to create an ecosystem of innovative products with an unrivaled user experience.
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Beem’s fundraising
Why did you raise 20 million euros?
Beem’s mission is to accelerate the energy transition at home, giving people the power to control their energy, production and consumption. To do this, Beem designs and markets an ecosystem of products and services, focusing on an unrivaled user experience.
Thanks to this fundraising, Beem has set itself the objective of equipping more than 500,000 homes by 2030, with the aim of continuing to conquer European territory, particularly in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. This fundraising has three main objectives:
- Accelerate growth in France
- Develop internationally in a context of European energy crisis (in Italy, for example, the price of kWh has almost doubled over the last year)
- Recruit, particularly in R&D, to continue to enrich our ecosystem
Why did you choose to bring these investors into your capital?
Beem has chosen to bring Cathay Capital, Alter Equity, 360 Capital, BNP Paribas Développement into its capital.
Supported by its historic investors Alter Equity, 360 Capital and BNP Paribas Développement, Beem brings Cathay Innovation through its C.Entrepreneurs fund during this Series A, a real guarantee of confidence in an economic context marked by the slowdown in investments, which underlines the The importance given to renewable energies and new solutions for individuals.
The funds in this series A come mainly from the three historical investors (Alter Equity, 360 Capital and BNP Paribas Développement) from whom Beem had raised 7M euros in 2021. Cathay Innovation was not present in the previous round because the structure invests in more mature companies. It is a source of pride for Beem to have this investment company at its side. This demonstrates the quality, seriousness and progress of the startup in recent years. The international dimension of Cathay Innovation is important for the development of Beem. In addition, they have already supported other companies in the cleantech field.
What will Beem look like in 5 years?
Beem’s mission is to accelerate the energy transition at home, giving people the power to control their energy, production and consumption. With this ambition to democratize energy, Beem has set itself the objective of equipping more than 500,000 homes by 2030, with the aim of continuing to conquer European territory, particularly in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
With 40 employees, half of whom are in R&D, Beem wants to double its workforce this year thanks to this new financial contribution which should also make it possible to strengthen R&D along three lines: “ production, storage and electric mobility“, says Ralph Feghali, CEO and co-founder Beem. More generally, the company intends to offer an ecosystem that extends to data and the management of production and consumption by individuals, to allow everyone to better control their energy at home.