The British Business Bank has committed to invest £25 million in Kraken Technologies as part of Kraken’s $1 billion demerger from Octopus Energy Group, in a deal done in partnership with Octopus Group and facilitated by Octopus Ventures.
The commitment represents the Bank’s largest direct investment to date and follows 2025 reforms to its investment capabilities, which expanded its ability to make a greater number of larger direct investments into strategically important UK scale-ups. The Bank said it previously reached a milestone of £250 million of direct co-investments into UK scale-ups and has expanded its direct investing team to increase activity.
The broader financing round is led by D1 Capital Partners, alongside new investors including Fidelity International, Durable Capital Partners, and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board through its late-stage growth business Teachers’ Venture Growth. The transaction involves new and existing investors acquiring approximately $1 billion of Kraken equity, with proceeds intended to fund both Octopus and Kraken. Octopus Group, which initially backed Octopus Energy Group around a decade ago and remains its largest existing shareholder, is included among participants.
Kraken, launched within Octopus Energy Group, positions itself as an AI-powered operating system for energy and utility companies and says it is contracted to serve more than 70 million accounts worldwide via licensing agreements with major utilities. The company also said it processes more than 15 billion new data points a day and that its contracted annual revenue exceeded $500 million as of September, representing a fourfold increase over three years.
Following the demerger, Kraken will operate with a separate cap table, independent governance, and leadership, a structure aimed at positioning it as an independent technology platform for utilities globally while accelerating adoption and deepening partnerships.
Kraken says its platform is used by utilities including EDF Energy, E.ON Next, Octopus Energy, Origin, Plenitude, Portsmouth Water, National Grid, and Tokyo Gas, and that customers have seen measurable improvements such as increased efficiency and higher customer satisfaction.
