British Business Bank commits to invest £25m in Kraken, its largest direct investment to date

Press release 20 January 2026

The British Business Bank has committed to invest £25 million in Kraken Technologies as part of its $1 billion demerger from Octopus Energy Group. The investment has been done in partnership with Octopus Group and facilitated by Octopus Ventures.

This is the Bank’s largest direct investment to date and follows reforms to the Bank’s investment capabilities in 2025, allowing it to increase the number and size of investments into strategically important scale-ups.

In October, the Bank announced that it had hit a milestone of co-investing £250 million directly into UK scale ups and had expanded its direct investing team in order to increase its direct investing activity. The round is led by D1 Capital Partners, a leading global investment firm, alongside other new investors such as Fidelity International, Durable Capital Partners and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, via its late-stage growth business Teachers’ Venture Growth.

This round sees new and existing investors acquiring c. $1bn of Kraken equity to fund both Octopus and Kraken. This includes Octopus Group, which initially backed Octopus Energy Group ten years ago and is their largest existing shareholder.

Launched within Octopus Energy Group, Kraken Technologies is an AI powered operating system for energy and utility companies, now contracted to serve over 70 million accounts worldwide through licensing agreements with major utilities. Over the past decade, Kraken has grown into the world’s most advanced, proven data-driven operating system for utilities, processing over 15 billion new data points a day.

Kraken announced in September that its contracted annual revenue exceeded $500 million – growing 4x in just three years.

Following the demerger, Kraken will operate with a separate cap table, independent governance, and leadership. This enables Kraken to operate as a fully independent technology platform for utilities worldwide, accelerating global adoption and deepening partnerships.

Leandros Kalisperas, Chief Investment Officer at British Business Bank, said:

Our investment in Kraken reflects the Bank’s new investment strategy. Whilst our primary focus remains investing through funds, we believe it is critical to support and showcase some of the UK’s fast-growing and strategically important scale ups directly through our co-investment strategy. Kraken clearly falls into that category, and this deal shows that we are being bolder in our support for scale ups. There is more like this to come, and we have some exciting deals in the pipeline across the sectors of the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said,

For too long, Britain’s most promising companies have had to look abroad for the backing they need to grow. Scale-ups that should have become national champions struggle against a system that is too slow and too fragmented. This package changes that. We are placing big bets on the industries where Britain can win, backing our innovators with real firepower, and cutting the red tape that holds them back. This is what decisive government looks like – creating an economy that can grow and deliver prosperity for all.

George Mills, Investment Director at British Business Bank, said,

Kraken is a powerful example of how UK-born tech can snowball into a global business. It has grown within Octopus Energy into a world-leading software platform with the potential to bring down energy costs for consumers across the globe. The Bank is backing the company as it moves from UK champion to global category leader.

Angel Issa, Managing Partner at Octopus Ventures, said,

We’re delighted to have partnered with the British Business Bank as part of this funding round. Kraken is a world-leading technology and energy company, and one of the most exciting and strategically important scale-ups in the UK today. It’s a perfect example of the calibre of growth stage business that my team partners with institutional investors to back.

Greg Jackson, Founder of Kraken, said,

Octopus has become an incubator for world-changing businesses – and Kraken is the first to take flight. Born in Britain, it’s a real powerhouse already growing rapidly across the globe. With backing from the British Business Bank and other incredible investors, Kraken will now scale even faster – a true British tech export leading the energy revolution.

Amir Orad, CEO of Kraken, said,

Kraken is a global company, operating across four continents, with a mission to positively impact a billion lives within the next decade — but our roots are firmly in Britain. That’s why we’re delighted to welcome the backing of the British Business Bank. Alongside our other fantastic investors, they’re helping us modernise global utilities and build an energy system that’s resilient, reliable, affordable and future proof.

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Notes to editors

About the British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK. In doing so, we help capture the economic value of innovation for the UK and create jobs and prosperity for people across the country. The British Business Bank’s core programmes support £23bnRead footnote text 1 of finance to almost 64,000Read footnote text 2 smaller businesses.

British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. It is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. With the exception of BBB Investment Services Limited they are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority. BBB Investment Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at british-business-bank.co.uk.

The transaction described above does not constitute or imply any endorsement, warranty or recommendation by the UK government, the British Business Bank plc, its subsidiaries or any other party in respect of Kraken or its products or services.

About Kraken

Kraken is proven operating system for energy. Powered by Utility-Grade AI™ and deep industry expertise, we help utilities transform their tech and operations so they can lead the energy transition. Kraken supports 70+ million accounts worldwide, from households and businesses to large industrial customers, enabling utilities to innovate faster, unlock revenue, make energy more affordable for customers, and create a smarter, more resilient grid. Trusted by leading utilities like EDF Energy, E.ON Next, Octopus Energy, Origin, Plenitude, Portsmouth Water, National Grid and Tokyo Gas, Kraken consistently delivers measurable results, including up to 40% greater efficiency and 3× improved customer satisfaction.

Our operating system delivers better outcomes from generation, through distribution, to supply — unifying data, automation and AI that’s designed and constantly optimized for utilities in one platform. With a constant stream of new software releases, our clients are equipped for the future. And with an unparalleled track record for speedy, seamless migrations, we’re helping utilities around the world power the possible.

Headquartered in London and New York, with regional centers in Paris, Tokyo and Melbourne, our mission is to make a big, green dent in the universe and improve one billion lives.

• Return to footnote location 1

Figures as at end March 2025

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Figures as at end March 2025, does not include Start Up Loans