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Fort Worth-based Energy Domain announced the closure of a $5 million Series A funding round.
The company will deploy the funds to finalize development of Energy Domain Data, a soon-to-be-launched second platform, while exploring synergies between that platform and their existing marketplace platform.
Founded by Ryan Vinson and the 5Ms Technologies team that created MineralWare and Energy Freelance (now Energy Hire), the Energy Domain marketplace platform has parlayed dedication to technology, speed, and efficiency into nearly three years of triple-digit growth, integrating data, analytics, and alerts to improve the way oil and gas properties are bought, sold, and leased, according to the company.
“We’ve become well-known as a tech-enabled marketplace for upstream oil and gas deals,” said Energy Domain CEO Ben Heinzelmann in a statement. “So, we understand how essential accurate and timely data is to our clients. Currently, investors in the oil and gas space have to rely on costly third-party data platforms to gain intelligence and underwrite deals.
“With this capital raise and our proprietary data sets, we’re poised to transform into an upstream technology platform with two products, Energy Domain Marketplace and Energy Domain Data — a synergistic data platform that can affordably and efficiently serve our clients’ intelligence needs.”
With an eye to that expansion, Energy Domain took a unique approach toward completing the Series A round. Instead of relying on large sums from a handful of venture capitalists, the company divided the round into smaller increments and sought support from individuals and companies actively engaged in the oil and gas industry.
“We’ve put together a diverse group, including mineral and non-op aggregators, operators, and contractors with expertise in most major basins across the lower 48,” said Energy Domain COO Malcolm Smith. “Plugging those partners in as beta users on the data platform brings all that varied and in-depth expertise to bear on our pre-launch testing. When we launch later this year, Energy Domain Data will have been thoroughly reviewed by industry experts who understand its importance and are committed to its success."
In preparation for the expansion, Energy Domain has occupied new offices in the Cattle Raisers Building in the heart of downtown Fort Worth. With 4,000 square feet available in the new space, the company looks to significantly scale both the business development and software/data engineering teams.
“We’re looking forward to becoming a significant tech company here in Fort Worth,” Heinzelmann said. “This city has a tremendous history in the energy sector, and also boasts a business-friendly environment and a commitment to tech innovation and education. As someone who was born and raised here, it means a lot to me to be bringing both sides of that equation to Fort Worth.”