BP shuts down its venture arm after 20 years

BP is selling the majority of its venture portfolio — more than 10 companies, according to the company — to Verdane, a Nordic private equity firm. The deal marks a definitive end to BP’s on-and-off relationship with climate tech, coming just months after the oil giant pivoted away from clean energy earlier this year.

BP launched its venture arm in 2007, and since then has invested across a wide range of industries, most tied to the energy transition: green hydrogen, e-mobility, ride-hailing, autonomous vehicles, private jet charters, and geothermal energy, among other sectors.

In a press release, BP said it would “retain interests in a small number of investments where the technology has the potential to create value for its businesses.” The company declined to specify which companies it plans to keep. It also declined to comment on the fate of BP Ventures employees, citing local legal and regulatory requirements — though layoffs seem likely. BP expects the portfolio sale to close in the second quarter of 2027.

Financially, the unit’s investments haven’t paid off in a big way: Axios reporter Alan Neuhauser reported last year that the portfolio was valued at about $1.2 billion — roughly the same amount BP had poured into it since establishing the unit in 2006.

Why it matters

The sale shows how quickly oil majors are unwinding the climate-tech bets that once anchored their energy-transition strategies, with BP keeping only a handful of investments it judges directly useful to its core business.