# Jonathan Winer

> Jonathan Winer is the co-founder and co-CEO of Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP), a New York-based firm that applies technology to physical infrastructure like power grids, roads, water and digital systems. Backed by Alphabet, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and StepStone, SIP has raised close to $1 billion and incubates operating companies such as virtual power plant Renew Home and grid-flexible data center developer Verrus. Before SIP, Winer ran investments for Alphabet's urban innovation platform Sidewalk Labs, founded the Asian clean-energy fund Nereus, and helped build the private equity business at the D. E. Shaw group. He is known for thematic, first-principles investing in what he calls the 'missing middle' between venture capital and traditional infrastructure.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners
- **Organizations:** Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, Sidewalk Labs / Alphabet, Nereus, D. E. Shaw group, Renew Home, Verrus
- **From:** Boston, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. and B.A. in Philosophy and Computer Science, Yale University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners and raised close to $1 billion from top-tier investors, Personally led more than $3 billion of investments over two decades across three private equity platforms, Built the private equity business at the D. E. Shaw group

## Career timeline

- **1999-2000** — Dropped out of Yale to co-found a natural language processing startup built on neural network technology; later returned to complete his degree
- **2001** — First startup sold in an acquihire-style transaction after the dot-com crash; joined the D. E. Shaw group's technology ventures group
- **2000s** — Helped build D. E. Shaw's private equity business across venture capital, growth equity and structured finance
- **2009** — Founded Nereus, a private equity fund investing in alternative energy infrastructure across Asia, which he ran for nearly a decade
- **2010s** — Joined Sidewalk Labs as Head of Investments for Alphabet's urban innovation platform, managing VC, real estate and infrastructure funds
- **2019** — Co-founded Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP), backed by Alphabet, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and StepStone
- **2020** — SIP committed $100M to help fund one of the largest virtual power plants in the US via OhmConnect
- **2024** — SIP combined Google Nest Renew with OhmConnect to form Renew Home, operating an approximately one-gigawatt virtual power plant, with an initial $100M investment
- **2025** — Launched Verrus, a data center developer emerging from 18 months in stealth, designing grid-flexible facilities targeting first deployments in late 2026

## Achievements

- Co-founded Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners and raised close to $1 billion from top-tier investors
- Personally led more than $3 billion of investments over two decades across three private equity platforms
- Built the private equity business at the D. E. Shaw group
- Founded Nereus, an early mover in subsidy-free distributed renewable energy infrastructure in Asia
- Led investments for Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs urban innovation platform
- Incubated Renew Home, operating an approximately one-gigawatt load-shifting virtual power plant
- Launched Verrus, pioneering data centers designed to act as grid batteries

## Latest updates

- **2025-03** — Launched Verrus, a data center development company emerging from 18 months in stealth, designed to operate as a battery-backed microgrid supporting the grid, with first facilities targeted for late 2026.
- **2024-02** — SIP combined Google Nest Renew with OhmConnect to form Renew Home, a roughly one-gigawatt virtual power plant, with an initial $100 million investment.

## Links

- Website: https://sidewalkinfra.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanwiner
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/sidewalkinfra

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jonathan-winer
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-16