Chevron Technology Ventures has rolled out a new $90 million venture capital fund to invest in new technologies in the oil and gas business.
The fund, which is its fifth and is called CTV Fund V, will fund early to mid-stage startups innovating in ways that would improve Chevron’s business performance or create new opportunities for growth.
Barbara Burger, Chevron Technology Venture’s president, declined to name specific startups or projects the energy company has funded but says that “It’s all about how do you get that technology to the point of maturity where we can pilot or deploy it,” she says. “The more we know about what happens in a well, the better.”
Burger says the proximity of Chevron’s headquarters in San Ramon, CA ensures that the company stays plugged in with innovations in the energy sector. Chevron Technology Ventures is based in Houston, where Burger leads a team of what she calls “matchmakers,” people with one foot in the venture community and the other in step with the company’s overall business goals.
Since the first fund was established in 1999, Chevron Technology Ventures has invested in 73 companies, a fraction of the 4,000 it has reviewed. “With many of them we will do more than one round of investments,” Burger says.
