Top 15 Must-Pitch VC Powerhouses for Climate Innovators
In 2023, the climate-tech sector demonstrated that it is gaining a mainstream hold by raising a staggering $51 billion in venture capital and private equity funding. This substantial amount was distributed across over a thousand deals, with the majority in low-carbon energy and transportation technologies.
Meticulously tracked by BloombergNEF, the sector has witnessed a dip in investment compared to the high of 2021-2022. However, that investor pullback is still roughly half of the decline of the broader global VC investment market. Notably, Pitchbook found that 34% of international investors abstained from dealmaking in 2023, yet within climate tech, BNEF has tracked a 26% growth in the number of active investors.
Why we created this list
With an influx of new funds and VC firms, researching and evaluating the opportunities they present can be an endless struggle. That’s why we are highlighting who we think is worth talking to. Through our work as communicators, marketers, and advisors to climate tech startups, we have worked closely over the years with some of the industry’s most active investors. Technica founder Lisa Ann Pinkerton recalls “Cleantech 1.0” and frequently provides insights to current and prospective clients seeking to position themselves in the best possible light as they seek their Series A or later rounds.
As such, and as part of our 15th anniversary celebration, Technica has curated a list of the top 15 VC funds that are focused on climate ventures. This comprehensive list is designed to equip you with the knowledge and insights you need to confidently navigate potential funding opportunities for your next round or simply to gather more intel about the industry.
Our criteria for creating this list
We did not select or rank the firms on this list based solely on the size of their assets under management (AUM) or on the brand names of the companies in their portfolios. (In fact, the AUM is often non-public.)
Instead, we selected the firms on this list because of Technica’s relationships with the principals, our experience working with their portfolio companies, or our knowledge of the firms’ influence in financing the next generation of startups actively working to decarbonize our world.
Not all firms on this list are exclusively VC; some invest in different asset classes or are divisions of professional services firms that provide services for companies looking to participate in the energy transition.
Choosing the right VC firm is a strategic decision that goes beyond the capital it brings. It’s about accessing a wealth of resources and expertise that can add value to a small, growing business. VC founders and principals, with their extensive networks, can unlock doors to additional investors and opportunities, laying a robust foundation for a company to flourish.
Let’s dive in!
1. Breakthrough Energy Ventures
Leadership/Managing Partners: Rodi Guidero
Breakthrough Energy aims to inspire the world to develop and scale the critical solutions needed to reach net-zero emissions so everyone can enjoy affordable, abundant, clean energy. Founded in 2015 by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, now known as Breakthrough Energy, as the firm has expanded beyond venture capital, has raised more than $2 billion in committed capital to support more than 100 companies.
Some of Breakthrough Energy Ventures’ portfolio companies include 44.01, Baseload Capital, Electric Hydrogen, Fourth Power, and ZeroAvia.
2. Khosla Ventures
Leadership/Managing Partners: Samir Kaul, Vinod Khosla, Keith Rabois, Sven Strohband, David Weiden
Khosla Ventures invests in companies that are bold, early and impactful. The firm was started in 2004 by Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, to provide venture assistance to entrepreneurs. Headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., Khosla Ventures does not exclusively invest in climate tech but rather invests in a range of areas, including AI, climate, sustainability, enterprise, consumer, fintech, digital health, medtech and diagnostics, therapeutics and frontier technology.
Notable climate tech investments from Khosla Ventures include Fortera, Koloma, LanzaTech, Verdagy, Terra AI, Spiritus, Blue River Technology, Ceibo, and Caelux.
3. Obvious Ventures
Leadership/Managing Partners: Andrew Beebe, Rohan Ganesh, James Joaquin, Vishal Vasishth, Ev Williams
Obvious Ventures finds that decarbonization is the solution to planetary health. The firm backs founders who are combining traditional industries with new technologies that improve our world. Obvious also invests in two other health sectors: human health and economic health.
Notable companies Obvious has worked with include Proterra, which later went public, and Amply Power, which was acquired by bp.
4. Generate Capital
Leadership/Managing Partners: Scott Jacobs, Bill Sonneborn, Jack Stark
Founded in 2014, Generate is not a pure-play VC. Instead, the company is involved in transactions related to building, financing, and even owning and operating sustainable infrastructure. The goal is to deliver affordable and reliable resource solutions for companies, governments, and communities.
5. Blue Bear Capital
Leadership/Managing Partners: Vaughn Blake, Carolin Funk, Ernst Theodor Sack
Blue Bear Capital is a venture and growth equity investor in fast-growing private companies that apply data-driven technologies and innovative business models to the energy supply chain. Most of Blue Bear’s portfolio companies focus on solving the climate crisis with software, data, and analytics platforms, including Omnidian, Raptor Maps, Copper Labs, and Urbint.
6. Congruent Ventures
Leadership/Managing Partners: Tanuj Dutta, Jackie Kossmann, Joshua Posamentier, Abe Yokell
Congruent Ventures is a venture capital firm that seeks to invest in the Mobility and Urbanization, Energy Transition, Food and Agriculture, and Sustainable Production and Consumption sectors.
Notable portfolio companies of Congruent include Avalanche Energy, Fervo Energy, Climate Robotics, and Dispatch Goods.
7. Prime Impact Fund
Leadership/Managing Partners: Amy Duffuor, Matthew Nordan, Dr. Johanna Wolfson
Prime Impact Fund invests in transformative technology companies with the potential for gigaton-scale climate impact. Drawing on catalytic capital with a long-term lens, the fund is purpose-built to support high-risk, high-reward ventures at the earliest stages.
Notable portfolio companies include Lilac Solutions, C-Motive Technologies, Gradient, and Charm Industrial.
8. Energy Transition Ventures
Leadership/Managing Partners: Neal Dikeman, Craig Lawerance, Kyu Song
Energy Transition Ventures is an early-stage venture capital investor in startups benefiting from or driving the energy transition, founded by veteran cleantech investors. Notable portfolio companies include electrochemistry company RenewCO2, green hydrogen purveyor Ohmium, commercial real estate data company Zeitview, and EV charging technology developer Resilient Power.
9. DCVC
Leadership/Managing Partners: Irfan Ahmad, Zachary Bogue, Matt Ocko, Spencer Punter
For 13 years, DCVC has brought a unique model of investing that unites a team of experienced venture capitalists with technology executives and experts, including CTOs, CIOs, Chief Scientists, Principal Engineers, and Professors at Stanford and Berkeley. DCVC backs early and growth-stage companies using deep tech “to solve the biggest problems that matter.” The firm’s investments address climate change, human health, the operations of physically intensive industries, defense, security, space, and more.
DCVC’s portfolio companies include AbCellera, Agility Robotics, Blue River Technology (acquired by John Deere), and Fervo Energy.
10. Lowercarbon Capital
Leadership/Managing Partners: Clay Dumas, Chris Sacca, Crystal Sacca
According to its website, Lowercarbon Capital irreverently explains that it backs “kicka*s companies that make real money slashing CO₂ emissions, sucking carbon out of the sky, and buying us time to unf**ck the planet.” A diverse investor, Lowercarbon Capital has backed specialty chemical company Solugen and lab-grown meat developer Mosa, among others.
11. Energize Capital
Leadership/Managing Partners: Katie McClain, John Muldoon, John Tough
As a niche player in the space, Energize Capital specializes in climate software investing. The firm partners with best-in-class innovators to accelerate the energy and sustainability transition. Founded in 2016 and based in Chicago, Energize is backed by LPs representing world-class institutional, strategic, impact and family office investors.
Energize Capital’s portfolio companies include Amperon, Aurora, DroneDeploy, Jupiter Intelligence, Sinai, and Sourcemap.
12. Buoyant Ventures
Leadership/Managing Partners: Amy Francetic, Allison Myers
Buoyant Ventures is a woman-owned, early-stage venture fund that invests in digital-focused, diverse teams developing solutions to mitigate climate risk. Portfolio companies include Audette, Canopy Climate, Ocient, Raptor Maps, and Supply Shift.
13. S2G (Seed to Growth) Ventures
Leadership/Managing Partners: Sanjeev Krishnan, Aaron Rudberg, Chuck Templeton
S2G Ventures partners with entrepreneurs who are developing solutions to some of the world’s most significant challenges in the food, agriculture, oceans, and clean energy markets. The firm provides capital, mentorship, and value-added resources to companies pursuing innovative market-based solutions that generate positive social, environmental, and financial returns. As its name implies, S2G’s capital ranges from seed and venture funding but can also extend through growth equity to debt and infrastructure financing.
S2G’s portfolio companies include Carbon America, Bluestar Energy Capital, Common Energy, Electra, Matter, and Nova Clean Energy.
14. Clean Energy Ventures
Leadership/Managing Partners: Temple Fennell, Dan Goldman, Dave Miller, Ph.D.
Clean Energy Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in companies commercializing disruptive advanced energy technologies and business model innovations. The firm’s principals have been investing in, supporting and mentoring early-stage clean energy startups together since 2005 and work with a deep bench of venture partners who, together with the principals, represent more than 300 years of combined clean energy operating and investing experience.
Notable portfolio companies of Clean Energy Ventures include Nth Cycle, LineVision, ClearFlame, OXCCU, Nitrofix, and Evari.
15. Energy Impact Partners
Leadership/Managing Partners: Matthias Dill, Hans Kobler, Lindsay Luger
Energy Impact Partners LP is not a VC firm per se, but it is still worth investigating. EIP is a global investment firm leading the transition to a sustainable future. To advance innovation, EIP brings together entrepreneurs and some of the world’s most forward-looking energy and industrial companies. With over $4 billion in assets under management, EIP invests globally across venture, growth and credit.
Some notable portfolio companies include ChargerHelp, EV Energy, Greenly, Tesco, Aeroseal, Carbon America, AtmosZero, and GridX.
Honorable Mentions:
Sightline Climate (Formerly Climatetech VC)
Leadership: Mark Taylor, Kim Zou
Sightline Climate is not a venture capital fund, but it’s worth mentioning in a discussion of the venture capital firms driving the clean energy economy. Founders Sophie Purdom and Kim Zou started with a newsletter, CTVC, that, despite its name, is not a VC but is now a 60,000-strong subscriber list. Sightline Climate is a market intelligence platform bringing clarity to the new climate economy and is considered the first place to learn about climate deals and trends in funding. Built on the foundation of the CTVC newsletter, Sightline Climate’s subscription intelligence product provides data, tools, and frameworks to help investors, corporations, and governments build and finance the new climate economy.
Powerhouse Ventures
Leadership/Managing Partners: Emily Kirsch, Marie Thompson
Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize global energy and mobility systems. Powerhouse Ventures is part of Powerhouse, an innovation firm that works with corporations like Google, Enel, and Mitsubishi to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. With a database of thousands of climate tech startups, Powerhouse provides scouting and consulting services to convert clients’ business goals and decarbonization commitments into meaningful outcomes.
Portfolio companies of Powerhouse Ventures include Sesame Sustainability, ThinkLabs, Specific, Helio, Granular Energy, Carbon Collective, and Sust Global,
Keyframe Capital
Leadership/Managing Partners: Benjamin Birnbaum, Alex BrownEthan GoldsmithJoe Kronsberg
Keyframe Capital is a NYC-based cross-asset investment firm. The firm’s generalist, cross-asset mandate allows it to invest across diverse business models and capital structures. Keyframe looks to build long-term partnerships with companies and leverage its flexibility to help solve their most complex asset and corporate financing requirements.
Some of Keyframe’s portfolio companies include Wunder, Buildings IOT, Logical Buildings, and Utilidata.
We hope you found this list useful. Of course, there are many, many more firms dedicated to funding the fight against climate change, and we simply couldn’t list them all. If you’ve had the opportunity to work with any of these funds, we’d love to hear about your experiences. Drop us a line here.
