Intellectual Ventures spinoff Modern Electron raising cash for heat-to-electricity tech
Summary
New funding: Modern Electron, a spinoff from Intellectual Ventures, is raising cash. According to PitchBook, the Bothell, Wash.-based startup had previously raised an estimated $40 million, including a round last year with backing from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Metaplanet Holdings, and others. The history: Modern Electron started in 2015 at Intellectual Ventures, the Bellevue, Wash.-based innovation hub created by former Microsoft researcher Nathan Myhrvold that is also backed by Gates. The take: Modern Electron has developed a heat-to-electricity converter that can generate power from sources including natural gas, biogas and green hydrogen. Its devices are paired with home furnaces and hot water tanks, capturing the appliances’ wasted heat and turning it into electricity.