Startup Sourcing

Market Research

Competitive Analysis

Investment Memo Writing

AI-Powered Analysis

Strategic Synergy

EIC Energy Transition Venture Capital Market Research Externship

Think like an energy-tech VC. Pick a focus area, map the startups solving it, size the market, and write an investor-ready recommendation on the one company EIC should back, with Perplexity and Claude doing the research heavy lifting.

8 weeks

Live Sessions Start

July 27, 2026

Start Onboarding Today

Somewhere out there, a startup is turning overlooked rock into the cheapest energy on Earth. Your job is to find it.

While everyone watches clean tech, the world quietly spends $540 billion a year just to keep oil and gas production from falling. The easy oil is gone, and what is left sits in rock the industry once wrote off. Technology is what changes that. A sharper drill bit, a smarter downhole sensor, an AI model that reads a reservoir before anyone drills it. The right one turns that overlooked rock into the cheapest barrels on the market.

In this Externship, you'll find the startup with that technology. You'll pick one focus area and go deep until you know it better than almost anyone, map the companies competing to solve it, and recommend the single one you think EIC should invest in. Perplexity and Claude do the heavy research lifting alongside you; you make the judgment. By the end, you'll walk away with two portfolio pieces: a market map a VC firm could route to co-investors, and a final investment recommendation you can stand behind.

Not sure which VC program to join? This one is perfect for beginners without much VC knowledge who want a solid foundation before moving on to some of our more complex programs. No finance degree or energy background required. If you're eyeing venture capital, market research, strategy, consulting, or energy, this is where you start.

Project Output

‍

Pick your focus area and go deep: Choose one focus area within energy and dig into it until you understand it better than almost anyone: the problem, who it affects, and why it matters now. That deep dive makes you the go-to person on your space and sets up everything you build next.
Map the technologies solving it: Find the technologies tackling your focus area, label each by how mature it really is, and flag the most promising ones to carry forward.
Source the startups in the space: Research startups chasing those technologies and organize them into one clean, comparable table.
Build the market landscape: Turn your list into a landscape map, then write the competitive readout that names who is ahead and where the open space is.
Size the opportunity: Estimate the market size from several sources (the whole market, the reachable slice, and the realistic share), and stay honest when the real number is smaller than the headline.
Make your investment recommendation: Pick the most investable company from your own map, build the evidence, weigh the risks, and make the case for why EIC should back it, in a VC deal-memo format.

Get Started with Onboarding Today Before Live Sessions Begin

Join this 8-week Externship with Energy Innovation Capital, find the energy startup worth backing, and walk away with a market map and investment recommendation you can show off!

Start Project Today

This Externship has passed

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What past Externs have to say

Erik Schalk

Beats by Dre Extern

"Extern played a crucial role in bridging the gap between my formal business education & real-world application. The opportunity to present actionable recommendations to the Head of Customer Insights at Beats by Dre was invaluable, propelling my leadership journey and paving the way for my current role at Rolls-Royce.”

Now a Project Lead
at Rolls-Royce

Tori Nguyen

AT&T Extern

“I credit the Externship as the sole reason I was hired to intern at AT&T. I had never heard of the AT&T internship program and would never have applied to it if I hadn’t gone through the Externship. It allowed me to develop my skills, showcase my work and ultimately stand out so I was awarded the opportunity to interview the CEO of AT&T!”

Became an intern
at AT&T

Richard Wilson

Meta Extern

"The Externship is a great way to introduce students to what it is like to work on a project. I became a lot more data-focused and analytical in my approach. As an industrial engineering major, people questioned how the externship was related to my studies. My journey has shown me that you don’t have to be limited by your major."

Now a Technical
Program Manager at Meta

Maisa Mirza

HP Tech Ventures Externship

“During my venture capital externship, I learned how to use industry-standard metrics and tools like SQL and Tableau to determine startup success potential.This opportunity helped me stand out as a candidate and opened new doors for me - including offers from EY and Accenture."

Now an Analyst
at Accenture

Garrett Boyce

HP Tech Ventures Externship

“If I hadn’t done a VC externship during term time, I know I’d be spending hours watching YouTube videos just to understand which careers I might enjoy! I don’t think I fully understood the value of an externship till I actually did one and now I want to argue that externships should be a part of the college experience for every student.”

Now an Analyst at Boston Consulting Group

Diego Juarez

Crafted Capital Externship

“My Externship really changed my career trajectory. As students, we often chase after Fortune 500 work experiences, but the intimate experience of getting to work with a startup can actually really help you learn a lot and level up what you can bring to the table. My cohort even had the opportunity to speak with the founder of Crafted Capital and learn from his firsthand experience.”

Now a CLDP Analyst at
JP Morgan Chase & Co

Skills You'll Gain

Conducting AI-assisted market research and synthesizing many cited sources into clear findings.

Assessing a technology's maturity and readiness to scale, from a lab prototype to commercial deployment.

Building a competitive market map of the companies in a space and spotting the open gaps.

Estimating a market's real size by cross-checking several sources instead of trusting one figure.

Sourcing and screening startups against EIC's investment thesis.

Writing a clear investment recommendation.

Your Schedule

8 weeks

Project 1

—

Sourcing Startups (Week 1-2)

Project 2

—

Conducting Due Diligence (Week 3-4)

Project 3

—

Synthesizing Insights for Strategic Decision-Making (Week 5-6)

Project 4

—

Crafting an Investment Memo & Presenting to Leadership (Week 7–8)

About Energy Innovation Capital

Energy Innovation Capital (EIC) is a venture capital firm investing in companies developing the next generation of technology to ensure abundant, clean, and accessible energy. With offices in San Francisco, Houston, Boston, and New York, the EIC team is made up of multiple-time CEOs and experienced technology investors who have collectively led over 150 investments across the energy tech landscape. To date, EIC has backed more than 30 early-stage companies through three funds, supporting founders focused on innovation in energy transition, digital technologies, and sustainability.

The Home Depot is not accepting or considering any applications for this Externship through other channels.

Meet Your Host

Yucen Xie

Sr. Principal at Energy Innovation Capital

I'm passionate about investing in and helping build impactful companies. I partner with exceptional entrepreneurs and investors across the venture ecosystem to scale software and hardware solutions spanning diverse industries, drawing from the investment, strategy and operating experience at Energy Innovation Capital and my previous roles at BCG and as an engineer.

Meet Your Host

Yucen Xie

Sr. Principal at Energy Innovation Capital

Get Started Today

Join this 8-week Externship with Energy Innovation Capital, find the energy startup worth backing, and walk away with a market map and investment recommendation you can show off!

Start Project Today