Recently, West Fountain Global Fund LP ("West Fountain"), a parallel fund outside of China, announced it had invested in Posh Robotics Inc. ("Posh"), a Bay Area startup committed to build sustainable energy storage solutions. Posh raised funding exclusively from West Fountain in this round for its business and product-line expansion.
Founded in 2021, Posh had raised its seed funding from Y Combinator, Helium 3 Ventures, as well as from several well-known angel investors. Taking full account of West Fountain’s recourses access in energy industry and the ability of integration, Posh raised funding exclusively from West Fountain in this round.
Wesley Zheng, the co-founder and CEO of Posh, has a deep understanding and strong research background of lithium technology. He has served as an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore and A*STAR Scientist. After completing his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge, Wesley earned his Chemical Engineering PhD focusing on energy storage at Stanford University, where he was tutored by Professor Steven Chu, the former U.S. Secretary of Energy. Wesley's work on batteries has been published in Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) and other journals. As a serial entrepreneur, Wesley was named Innovator Under 35 by MIT Technology Review, and both of his startups were backed by Y Combinator.
Posh is dedicated to provide a full lifecycle management solution for energy storage. Applied to multiple scenarios such as C&I Energy Storage, Posh’s solution can cover the whole lifecycle of energy storage including purchase, use, recycling and re-purchase, and hence optimize utilization rate of energy, improve efficiency, and reduce costs for users. Posh's self-developed Battery Management System (BMS) and Energy Management System (EMS) are able to ensure the long-term safe and efficient operation of its energy storage products, as well as effectively respond to fluctuations in electricity demand and provide a stable supply of energy. In addition, by combining computer vision and robotic arms, Posh provide efficient battery disassembly, reassembly and recycling solutions, which improves battery reuse and reduce the impact to environmental.
The ever-growing demand for electricity calls for the significance of the adoption of energy storage equipment and management solutions. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the U.S. predicts that by 2050, the deployment of utility-scale daytime energy storage will significantly increase. The total installed capacity is projected to exceed 125 gigawatts under moderate cost and performance assumptions, representing over a fivefold increase from today's total capacity.
Posh is now speeding up to commercialize. Its continuous progress on technology and global expansion will strongly support Posh to grow its business in energy management, battery recycling, and virtual power plants in future.
As a long-term believer in sustainable energy industry, West Fountain has been paying close attention and taking strategic moves in this field for several years. Looking into the future, West Fountain will be a committed supporter to its portfolio. West Fountain stated: The trend of sustainable energy is unstoppable. We are committed to engage with the top tier energy enterprises all around the world through investment and resource integration, continuously promote global clean energy industry, and create greater commercial value and good of community.