Stanford-backed Autogrid, an energy management software developer, increased its overall funding to more than $40m.

E.ON Venture Partners, the corporate venturing arm of energy utility E.ON, was among the investors in a $20m round closed by US-based energy management technology developer AutoGrid Systems on Tuesday.

Investment fund Energy Impact Partners (EIP) led the round, which also included venture capital firms Envision Ventures, Foundation Capital and Voyager Capital.

AutoGrid provides software that enables utilities, electricity retailers, renewable energy power providers and energy service providers to manage the resources of a distributed grid to supply cleaner and more cost-effective energy.

The company’s Energy Data Platform utilises data sourced from smart meters, building sensors and third parties, and combines it with data science and computing algorithms to manage a diverse range of energy assets.

Michael Donnelly, partner at EIP and AutoGrid’s latest board member, said: “AutoGrid offers unparalleled real-time connectivity and control with its software platform.

“Big data analytics and automated control of grid operations allow utilities to adapt to the increasingly complex distributed energy environment. Having these capabilities in a system that is both scalable to millions of endpoints and rapidly deployable is a game changer.”

The round brought AutoGrid’s overall funding to approximately $42m. It received $9m from Foundation Capital, Voyager Capital and Stanford University in 2012 before E.ON, Foundation and Voyager added $12.8m in early 2014.

– This article first appeared on our sister site Global Corporate Venturing.