Startup journeys are not simple or straight-lined. Challenges of time, technology, and markets can cause business fatigue, test the team, see the best & worst from investors and watch markets fluctuate. These rides are not for the faint of heart or startup tourist types. These challenges are particularly true when not around Vermont’s largest city of Burlington. But, every now and again ROV (Rest of Vermont) punches back to remind us all that there is talent, grit, and technology in these hills and valleys. You just gotta be curious enough to look, not be afraid of dirt roads, and open to finding solutions to big problems in unexpected places. That’s the magic of Vermont and its people.
Over the last four weeks in Waterbury, VT, KORE Power Solutions and NOMAD Transportable Power Systems announced transactions with two public companies for their next chapters. And nobody in the Burlington area seemed to notice. Let that sink in for a second. T1 Energy (NYSE: TE) is acquiring KORE to bring Battery Energy Storage Solutions (BESS) capabilities to its lineup and provide the capital resources for this world-leading BESS team to reach its potential. T1 reported $176M in revenue just in the first quarter of 2026. To fuel its growth, NOMAD is undergoing a reverse merger with NASDAQ-listed LIXTE to pivot it from biotech into an energy storage solutions company to shave peak energy use off the grid and support global hyperscalers. The public company is rebranding as NOMAD, injecting new capital and already hiring again to meet its order backlog.
Public companies are important, too rare, and thrilling to see (think Beta, GMCR, IDX, Casella, etc). We need a new generation of “pillar” companies to thrive across Vermont to provide wealth and income possibilities. So easy for me to write and brutally difficult for founders & teams to perform. So if you’re passing through Waterbury this holiday week, honk your horn for these teams and this ROV community. Let them know that they are seen.
*VCET led the initial investment in 2013 into the predecessor company, Northern Reliability, that spawned both KORE and NOMAD. Fund 1 is an evergreen early-stage venture fund.
-Dave
