RIL-backed venture capital fund inks pact with US energy firm

Reliance Industries-backed venture capital fund GenNext Ventures and US-based energy management technology firm Ecorithm have agreed to collaborate in environmental design and optimise energy efficiency in buildings in India.
The two entities have signed an agreement to bring the US company's technologies to India to raise the standard of environmental design and optimise energy efficiency in structures.
Ecorithm's suite of technologies help analyse complex, dynamic systems through physics-based pattern recognition and can be applied to building systems and various other enterprise solutions to improve operations and minimise energy use, a statement said here today.
The partnership marks a significant step for profit and sustainability in buildings, which account for nearly 40 per cent of global energy consumption (as per United Nations Environment Programme) and produce a larger carbon footprint than all transportation systems combined, it said.

"As we bring Ecorithm into India, we are keen to deploy its technologies to optimise the energy efficiency of our buildings and raise the standard of environmental design and operation for buildings and enterprises to global levels," said Vivek Rai Gupta, Managing Director, GenNext Ventures.
"We believe that smart technologies will form the base for the Government of India's smart city initiative. Ecorithm's technology will be one of those smart technologies," he added.
"We know that the Internet of Things (IoT) represents an enormous opportunity to change the way businesses are run and systems are optimised across virtually every industry. We make the Internet of Things make sense," said Chris Tagge, President of Ecorithm.