Nexant announced today that it added $43 million to its coffers, and that Intel Capital isn’t the only VC that has taken an interest in the smart energy software firm.

In addition to Intel, Oak Investment Partners has joined existing investors TeleSoft and Beacon in funding the new round. According to Nexant’s Executive Chairman, Arjun Gupta, the capital infusion with go toward developing and deploying “GridSmart, and multiple new applications like TrakSmart for the next-generation power grid. In addition, we will strengthen and expand our Chemsystems offerings worldwide.”

And as I mentioned last week, Intel Capital’s interest in Nexant is all about the data center. Steve Eichenlaub, Managing Director, Intel Capital, made it clear in the following statement:

“As global data center energy consumption soars, utilities are increasingly looking at technologies that could bring about big energy savings to relieve pressure on their grids. Nexant’s established presence in the energy software and services space has given the company a deep understanding of the many complex issues facing public and private sector participants in the energy industry. Intel Capital’s investment, combined with collaboration with Intel, aims to further define and expand Nexant’s data center efficiency offerings by pairing Nexant’s established relationships in the utility sector with Intel’s deep knowledge of datacenter technologies.”

Should be interesting to watch what effect, if any, the combination of Intel’s chip expertise and Nexant’s energy saving software has on the data center energy management marketplace.