Last deal

$75.9M

Amount

Series C

Stage

23.12.2008

Date

3

all rounds

$98.9M

Total amount

date founded

Financing round

General

About Company
LUCA Technologies converts oil, shale, and coal into clean energy using microorganisms.

Industry

Sector :

Subsector :

founded date

01.05.2001

Operating Status

Closed (07.08.2013)

Number of employees

Company Type

For Profit

Last funding type

Series C

IPO status

Private

Description

LUCA Technologies provides consulting services to energy producers, helping them evaluate their current oil, shale, and gas holdings for the presence of natural Geobioreactors or the potential for Geobioreactor stimulation. By stimulating native microorganisms in subsurface hydrocarbon deposits, LUCA Technologies accelerates the bioconversion of these resources into methane, which is then sold as natural gas using existing infrastructure. This innovative approach aims to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources.
Contacts
Similar Companies
740
Alga Energy

Alga Energy

AlgaEnergy is a technology-based company that develops, produces, and markets products derived from microalgae.

Sector

Alternative Energy

Subsector

Alternative Fuels

Location

Municipality of Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain

total rounds

5

total raised

$25.8M
Univerve Biofuel

Univerve Biofuel

Univerve Biofuel specializes in creating natural energy replacement resources.

Sector

Alternative Energy

Subsector

Alternative Fuels

Location

Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel

total rounds

4

total raised

$9.5M
Sapphire Energy

Sapphire Energy

Sapphire Energy uses photosynthetic microorganisms to produce renewable solutions and food ingredients.

Sector

Alternative Energy

Subsector

Alternative Fuels

Keywords

Renewable Energy, Biotechnology

Location

San Diego, CA, USA

total rounds

6

total raised

$376.52M
Blue Sky Bio

Blue Sky Bio

Blue Sky Bio is a UK government-backed clean-tech R&D firm developing high-output, renewable energy producing technologies.

Sector

Alternative Energy

Subsector

Alternative Fuels

Keywords

Biotechnology, Energy, Renewable Energy

Location

Chester, UK

total rounds

1

Financials

Funding Rounds
3
3

Number of Funding Rounds

$98.9M

Money Raised

Their latest funding was raised on 23.12.2008. Their latest investor Kleiner Perkins. Their latest round Series C

Date 
Funding Round 
Investors 
Money Raised 
Lead 
Kleiner Perkins

Kleiner Perkins

Kleiner Perkins is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage, incubation and growth companies.

Sector

Investment Banking and Brokerage Services

Subsector

Asset Managers and Custodians

Location

Menlo Park, CA, USA

count Of Investments

1048

count Of Exists

261
Oxford Bioscience Partners

Oxford Bioscience Partners

Oxford Bioscience Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in emerging life sciences and healthcare companies.

Sector

Closed End Investments

Subsector

Closed End Investments

Keywords

Venture Capital, Biotechnology, Life Science

Location

Boston, MA, USA

count Of Investments

92

count Of Exists

36
BASF Venture Capital

BASF Venture Capital

BASF Venture Capital is the corporate venture capital arm of BASF Group, investing in promising startups worldwide.

Sector

Investment Banking and Brokerage Services

Subsector

Asset Managers and Custodians

Keywords

Venture Capital, Financial Services, Environmental Consulting

Location

Ludwigshafen, Germany

count Of Investments

67

count Of Exists

11
Co-Investors
Investors
4
3

Number of lead investors

4

Number of investors

Investor 
Lead 
Round 
Partners 
Yes
Series B, Series C
No
Series C
Kleiner Perkins

Kleiner Perkins

Kleiner Perkins is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage, incubation and growth companies.

Sector

Investment Banking and Brokerage Services

Subsector

Asset Managers and Custodians

Location

Menlo Park, CA, USA

count Of Investments

1048

count Of Exists

261
Ray Lane

Ray Lane

Ray Lane is a Partner Emeritus at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Since joining the firm in 2000, he has focused on helping entrepreneurs with technological and market insight, organizational development, team building, selling and managing growth. Ray sponsored a number of investments for KPCB in enterprise technology and alternative energy. These investments include GreatPoint Energy (coal-to-gas conversion), Aquion (energy storage), Kenandy (cloud based MRP systems), Alert Enterprise (security convergence solutions), Vertica Systems (data warehousing solutions), Virsa Systems (financial systems compliance), Luca Technologies (biologically enhanced gas recovery from fossilized hydrocarbons), Fisker Automotive (extended range electric vehicle), Ausra (solar thermal concentrator) and Xsigo Systems (virtual I/O switch for datacenters). Ray also serves on the board of Hewlett-Packard and was its former Chairman. He presently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Mellon University. Before joining KPCB, Ray was president and chief operating officer of Oracle Corp., one of the world’s largest software companies and a leading enterprise software and services company. During his eight-year tenure, Oracle exhibited phenomenal revenue growth from less than $1 billion in 1992 to more than $10 billion. Ray led Oracle’s business expansion beyond its core database technology into enterprise applications and professional services. Earlier in his career, Ray was a senior partner with Booz Allen Hamilton, where he pioneered and led the Information Systems Group, a worldwide consulting practice targeted at helping senior management achieve better results from information technology. He also served on Booz Allen Hamilton’s board of directors and executive management committee. Ray’s early career also included serving as division vice president with Electronic Data Systems Corp. and spending 10 years with IBM in various product-management, sales and marketing positions. Ray received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and an honorary Ph.D. in science from West Virginia University. He was elected to the Academy of Distinguished Graduates of WVU, served as a director of the WVU Foundation Board, and presently serves on the university’s Board of Governors. WVU honored Ray by naming the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Ray also serves on the board of trustees of Carnegie Mellon University currently as its Chairman. He has been an active campaigner and planner for Carnegie Mellon’s establishment in 2002 of a Silicon Valley campus. He helped create and fund Carnegie Mellon’s Computational Biology Department, one of six permanent degree-granting departments in the School of Computer Science. He serves as vice chairman of Special Olympics International and has served on the international board of Special Olympics for 15 years. He also holds an honorary Ph.D. from Golden Gate University. Ray was recently honored by TechAmerica as the 2011 recipient of the David Packard Medal of Achievement Award.

current job

GreatPoint Ventures
GreatPoint Ventures

count Of Investments

3
One Equity Partners

One Equity Partners

One Equity Partners invests in private equity transactions to create long-term value through strategic and operational changes.

Sector

Investment Banking and Brokerage Services

Subsector

Asset Managers and Custodians

Keywords

Financial Services, Venture Capital, Finance

Location

New York, NY, USA

count Of Investments

32

count Of Exists

16
Oxford Bioscience Partners

Oxford Bioscience Partners

Oxford Bioscience Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in emerging life sciences and healthcare companies.

Sector

Closed End Investments

Subsector

Closed End Investments

Keywords

Venture Capital, Biotechnology, Life Science

Location

Boston, MA, USA

count Of Investments

92

count Of Exists

36
Matthew Gibbs

Matthew Gibbs

current job

CipherBio
CipherBio

People

Founders
2

Jeffrey L. Weber

Jeffrey L. Weber was the Co-Founder of Luca Technologies. He attended Texas A&M University.

organization founded

1

Jeffrey L. Weber

Robert S. Pfeiffer
Robert S. Pfeiffer

Robert S. Pfeiffer

Robert S. Pfeiffer is the founder of [FederalSafetyNet.com](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/federalsafetynet-com). He was previously the chief executive officer of Luca Technologies. Pfeiffer holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Colorado State University.

current job

FederalSafetyNet.com

organization founded

2

Robert S. Pfeiffer

Employee Profiles
11
William R. Mahaffey, Ph.D.

William R. Mahaffey, Ph.D.

CTO

Brian Cree

Brian Cree

Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer

Roland P. DeBruyn

Vice President Engineering Sciences

Activity

Recent News
0