Samsung Ventures Leads $17M Round In Lithium-Polymer Battery Maker Seeo

Seeo, a Hayward, California-based company that makes lithium-polymer batteries, has closed a $17M round led by new investor Samsung Ventures, the investment arm of Samsung Group. Existing investors Khosla Ventures and GSR Ventures also participated. This brings the total Seeo has raised so far to $40.6 million.

Seeo’s rechargeable lithium batteries are built using a proprietary non-flammable polymer electrolyte it calls “DryLyte,” which it claims is safer than traditional lithium-ion batteries. The company says that its batteries are smaller, but capable of maintaining the same performance regardless of outside conditions like temperature. Seeo is currently developing batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles; electric grids; telecom infrastructure like data centers; and consumer electronics.

This is not the first clean-tech investment that Samsung Ventures has made. Earlier this year, it led a $37 million investment in Distech Controls, which develops technology that manages energy efficiency in buildings. Since Samsung Group’s verticals range from consumer electronics to industrial engineering, investing in companies that might give it access to cheaper and more environmentally-friendly sources of power makes sense.