GMO VenturePartners has made a follow-on investment in Sharing Energy, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kazuyuki Uemura), whose mission is to “transform the energy system through the creation of distributed energy resources.” The company provides “Share Denki,” a third-party ownership service for residential solar power systems. This Series C second close was conducted alongside Dai-ichi Life Insurance, Mitsui Chemicals CVC Fund, Tokyu Construction CVC Fund, Kiraboshi Capital, Joyo Bank CVC Fund, AG Capital, and Fintech Global (listed in no particular order, titles omitted). The round totaled ¥862 million, bringing the company’s cumulative funding to ¥27.652 billion.
(Related link: https://sharing-energy.co.jp/article/news-20260417)
Since 2018, Sharing Energy has offered “Share Denki,” a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) service that installs rooftop solar systems at zero upfront cost, allowing homeowners to use the generated electricity at competitive rates. The service has attracted over 24,000 contract applications nationwide and built a network of more than 1,800 partners, establishing itself as one of Japan’s leading residential solar PPA providers. Beyond its core residential offering, the company has expanded into “Share Denki for Biz” for commercial clients and “Share Denki FLAT,” a battery storage solution, steadily evolving into a comprehensive distributed energy platform.
GMO VenturePartners first invested in the company during its Series B Extension round in April 2024, and this Series C second close marks our follow-on commitment. Sharing Energy’s business model embodies a powerful alignment of interests — delivering tangible cost savings for end users, sustainable profitability as a business, and measurable contributions to decarbonization. This structural strength is the primary reason behind our continued investment.
What makes the company truly scalable is its operational excellence in building and managing a nationwide partnership network spanning financial institutions and homebuilders. The company has pioneered Japan’s first project bond financing backed by small-scale distributed rooftop solar assets, and its cumulative funding of over ¥27.6 billion stands as a testament to that execution capability. Under the leadership of CEO Uemura, a seasoned serial entrepreneur, we see significant room for expansion into adjacent fintech-related areas such as battery storage, virtual power plants (VPP), and carbon credits. We remain committed to supporting Sharing Energy as it works toward a future where distributed energy functions as essential social infrastructure. (Lead: Kawano)
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*1 Project bond: A bond issued against the cash flows generated by a specific project. Sharing Energy established Japan’s first such scheme backed by small-scale residential rooftop solar assets.
*2 VPP (Virtual Power Plant): A system that aggregates distributed energy resources — such as solar panels and batteries — and coordinates them via IoT technology so they function collectively as a single power plant.