Ferguson Ventures bets on HVAC, plumbing technology

While Ferguson is known as an HVAC and plumbing distributor, it’s also quietly in another business: Venture capital. 

• In 2018, the company launched Ferguson Ventures, an in-house investment arm to back technology startups serving builders and HVAC and plumbing contractors, allowing it to capitalize on the growing adoption of technology across the industries. 

What they’re saying: “We started looking at innovation and wanted a way to really get after it… to identify innovation for our customers,” Blake Luse, Ferguson Ventures’ managing director, told Homepros. “How can we help a customer get more jobs in a day, streamline their projects, and succeed in their business?”

What’s happening: Ferguson Ventures has made 20 investments since launching — five in other venture capital funds and 15 directly in startups — including Bluon, Pearl Certification, and software companies Payzer and ConnectM, which have since exited and gone public, respectively. 

• “We invest off [Ferguson’s] balance sheet,” Luse said, which showed $526 million in cash and cash equivalents as of October 31, 2025, according to its latest earnings report. 
• He declined to share specifics, but said the fund’s total value is “around” $100 million. 

The yardsticks: Ferguson Ventures is “doing well from a financial return perspective,” Luse said, but added that the company also measures “strategic returns.”

• “So that would be, ‘Do we put together a solution that our customers value? How much adoption are we getting?’ We might track revenue and utilization,” he explained. 

Between the lines: On Ferguson’s territory managers recommending products to contractors that the company has a vested interest in, “We’ve got to give our customers a choice,” Luse noted. “We might position one that we’ve invested in, but we want to support what they’re using and find valuable as well.”

Zoom out: The growing number of software — and now AI — companies has created a flood of options for contractors. 

• Yes, but: “The beauty” of the slew of AI tools being built, for instance, is they can “dive deep, be great at one thing, and then partner with ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, or whoever with an integration,” Luse said.
• “So I think you’re going to get more point solutions and niche players, and a larger platform can roll them up to make it feel like one experience,” he added.

Looking ahead: According to its website, “contractor efficiency” is one of Ferguson Ventures’ three focus areas.

• Within that, “One [exciting area for us] is around inventory management and replenishment,” Luse noted. “It’s something that Ferguson is well-positioned to solve, being a distributor.”
• “Then two, it’s how AI might come in and help make takeoffs more efficient,” he added. “Some of this stuff is still early days, but that’s what we’re looking at.”