Best Energy Efficiency Tech Companies in Chicago, United States
The 32 best Energy Efficiency Tech companies in Chicago, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: SMS Assist.
Our analysis of 50 Energy Efficiency Tech companies
$7.8b in tracked funding; 86% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Energy Efficiency Tech companies in Chicago
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMS Assist 🦄 Provider of SaaS-driven maintenance management solutions for commercial spaces | $255M | 125 mo ago | Acquired | Jay McKee CEO | 2003 | Apple iCloud MailEnvoyBootstrap+8 | 4 patents Geographic service area generation for field service scheduling software | — |
| 2 | Azumo Manufacturer of front-lit liquid crystal technology for displays | $56M | 53 mo ago | Series B | — | 2004 | WordPressMySQLPHP+24 | 43 patents Film-based lightguide optics and edge coupling for advanced display backlighting | — |
| 3 | Cohesion Provider of a platform for smart building management and operations 48Growth top 20%Funding top 35%Tech top 37%Talent top 38% All 12 signals ▾Growthtop 20% Fundingtop 35% Techtop 37% Talenttop 38% Moattop 41% Producttop 47% Globalbottom 40% Innovationbottom 36% Marketbottom 35% Patentsbottom 34% Newsbottom 21% Customersbottom 9% Growth: Headcount 21 → 44 (+110%) across vintages · 1 acquisition/expansion move in 24 mo Funding: Raised $30.2M across 4 rounds · 4 rounds over 6 yrs (0.7/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 48/100 | $30M | 11 mo ago | Series A | Nick Lawrence Co-Founder | 2018 | WebflowZohoZepto+25 | 3 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 4 | Buildings As Batteries Developer of thermal energy storage system for commercial building applications | $8M | 100 mo ago | Series A | Gregor Henze Co-Founder | 2007 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Goby SaaS-driven platform offering energy management solutions | $7M | 69 mo ago | Acquired | — | 2008 | — | 2 patents Wireless inductive charging stands for modular, hygienic handheld device accessories | — |
| 6 | Mezo Provider of AI-powered property maintenance software | $6M | 47 mo ago | Acquired | Mike Travalini Co-Founder & CEO | 2020 | SentryFirebasestyled-components+15 | 4 patents AI-powered chatbot systems for automated maintenance diagnosis and troubleshooting | — |
| 7 | Sigora International Provider of smart micro grid platform and smart meters | $3M | 107 mo ago | Seed | Andy Bogdan Bindea Founder & CEO | 2015 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Eta Vision Offers data center energy management solutions | $2M | 100 mo ago | Seed | Michael Lingle CEO & Cofounder | 2015 | — | — | — |
| 9 | SmarterShade Developer of user-controlled, powerless, affordable smart glass for privacy and energy | $200K | 162 mo ago | Seed | Will McLeod Founder | 2007 | — | 14 patents Adjustable optical transmission devices for smart shading and variable light filtering | — |
| 10 | Route SaaS-driven business management platform for the building services industry | $100K | 51 mo ago | Funding Raised | Ricardo Regalado Founder & CEO | 2007 | WordPress Site EditorElementorWordPress+32 | 5 patents Remote desktop access solutions and email routing technologies for enterprise communications | — |
Top 12 Energy Efficiency Tech companies in Chicago
#1
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2018 · 44 employees$30.2Mraised▾
Provider of a platform for smart building management and operations. The platform offers solutions for access control, experience enhancement, and maintenance. It consolidates data from building systems, software, and sensors into a unified platform. The platform also provides advisory services for planning, solution design, and system integrations.
- Nov 2025Series A$250K
- Nov 2021Series A$15M
- Jul 2021Seed$7M
- Jul 2020Seed$8.2M
#2
Series B · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2004 · 41 employees$56.1Mraised▾
Manufacturer of front-lit liquid crystal technology for displays. It develops front-lit reflective LCDs that consume low power. Its features include a thin display stack, power efficiency, ambient light utilization, colour enhancement, and low-powered light-emitting diodes. It has applications in medical, educational, industrial, wearables, automotive, consumer electronics, and IoT systems.
- May 2022Series B$30M
- Dec 2020Series B$9M
- Nov 2018Series B$9M
- Aug 2017Series A$3.1M
#3
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2003 · 782 employees$255Mraised▾
Provider of SaaS-driven maintenance management solutions for commercial spaces. It integrates clients, affiliates, and employees in one online tech-enabled platform. It offers various managed like vendor management, facility management, work order management, call center management, quality assurance, and asset management. It also offers training and education programs to its technicians.
- Jun 2016Series D$150M
- May 2015Series C$45M
- Oct 2013Series B$45M
- Jun 2011Series A$15M
#4
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2020 · 29 employees$6Mraised▾
Provider of AI-powered property maintenance software. This software integrates with existing property management systems to improve communication between residents and maintenance teams. It facilitates faster issue resolution through resident coaching and provides technicians with detailed information before arriving on-site. The platform leverages data to anticipate maintenance needs and optimize resource allocation, ultimately reducing costs and enhancing efficiency. The software offers features such as intelligent intake, asset tag matching, and real-time problem classification.
- Dec 2022Seed$6M
#5
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2008 · 33 employees$7.4Mraised▾
SaaS-driven platform offering energy management solutions. The platform helps building owners, architects, management companies, tenant representatives, tenants, and contractors integrate green thinking into their decision-making processes and policies. It facilitates owners to manage their entire portfolio on the cloud, turning data into actionable information.
- Jan 2021Series A$1.9M
- Sep 2019Series A—
- Dec 2015Series A$5M
- Aug 2014Seed$500K
#6
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2007$7.6Mraised▾
Developer of thermal energy storage system for commercial building applications. The system utilizes building materials as a thermal energy storage medium. It manages thermal load profiles to reduce energy consumption. The system aims to reduce carbon emissions as a byproduct.
- Jul 2018Grant (prize money)$1.1M
- Jul 2011Series A$7.2M
- Oct 2010Seed$450K
#7
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2015 · 36 employees$2.9Mraised▾
Sigora International has developed a smart microgrid management system enabled with smart meters for rural households and microgrid areas. It offers proprietary pre-pay enabled smart meters and cloud-based network system which can identify thefts, demand control with secure RF communications. Its subsidiary Signora Haiti has developed a smart micro utility system in Haiti to demonstrate its technology.
- Dec 2017Seed$2M
- Oct 2016Seed$649.7K
- Dec 2015Conventional Debt$50K
- Seed$200K
#8
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2015 · 8 employees$2Mraised▾
Offers data center energy management solutions It works with data centers and utilities to maximize infrastructure flexibility, reliability, and efficiency and improve operator visibility through a smart zero management sensor network and control system. Their system offers real-time physical visualization, monitoring, and also cloud and API connectivity.
- Jun 2018Seed$2M
- Seed—
#9
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2007 · 11 employees$100Kraised▾
SaaS-driven business management platform for the building services industry. The platform enables users to automate building workflow operations with features such as job scheduling, team management, proposal generator, workflow management, inspection reports, and more. It earns revenue through monthly/yearly subscription-based plans. Their apps are available for Android and iOS devices.
- Jul 2022Grant (prize money)$100K
#10
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2007 · 2 employees$200Kraised▾
Developer of user-controlled, powerless, affordable smart glass for privacy and energy. The technology is designed for interior partitions in offices and conference rooms. It also has residential and commercial applications for doors, skylights, and windows. Additional applications include transportation such as trains, buses, sunroofs, and aircraft. The glass can also be used for advertising and branding purposes.
- Apr 2013Grant (prize money)$50K
- Aug 2012Seed$200K
- Dec 2011Grant (prize money)$100K
- Oct 2011Grant (prize money)$50K
#11
Deadpooled · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2012 · 6 employees$20Kraised▾
Effortless energy provides a software platform to analyze the energy usage in buildings. They also provide upgrades and lease energy equipments to perform efficiently. As per the company there will be 20% energy savings by using their platform and suggestions.
- Aug 2012Seed$20K
#12
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2011 · 2 employees—raised▾
Provider of cloud-based building energy management solution for residential and commercial spaces. Their products include an energy assessment service that collects data from all energy systems and compiles it into an easy-to-understand report and runs analytics to measure and assess the entire energy management efforts. Also provides Balance - software that runs multifactor engineering analysis, Elevate - software leverages data to gain insight into energy operations and do strategic planning faster.
- Apr 2013Seed—
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Energy Efficiency Tech coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Energy Efficiency & Buildings is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Energy Efficiency & Buildings — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 2,722 United States-affiliated papers.
- Purdue University West Lafayette140
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory127
- National Laboratory of the Rockies80
- Georgia Institute of Technology53
- Electric Power Research Institute53
- Radiative cooling1→50
- Passive cooling7→42
- Emissivity1→26
- Renewable energy14→38
- Thermal6→27
- Radiative cooling10→39
- Renewable energy63→89
- Energy storage22→48
- Photovoltaic system35→53
- Thermal35→53
- Renewable energy7→17
- Electricity2→9
- Heat pump40→47
- Energy management14→18
- Microgrid2→6
Where energy efficiency is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing energy efficiency patents in the United States
United States energy efficiency patent filing is accelerating — 3,337 filings from 1,859 assignees (2016–2025), led by Carrier, Intel, Rheem MFG; annual filings 315→449.
- Carrier430
- Intel178
- Rheem MFG177
- General Electric172
- Johnson Controls TECH123
- Haier US Appliance Solutions108
- FORD Global TECH108
- Lennox IND79
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.