Grace Ashiru
Many venture investors, much like a groundhog and its shadow, recognize a weakening economy and retreat, putting off the act of writing checks until conditions improve.
But venture capital firms focusing on climate change have recently been on a roll, investing more than a billion dollars every three months in startups to reduce emissions as the planet heats up.
One such company that is helping to develop momentum for the sector is Buoyant Ventures. The investor, which has its headquarters in Chicago, disclosed to the relevant authorities this week via a filing with the SEC that it had secured slightly more than $50 million for a new fund. When contacted by TechCrunch via email, Buoyant declined to comment; nevertheless, the registration reveals that the company has been soliciting financial contributions for the fund since at least May last year.
The first contract that Buoyant closed went back to the summer of 2020 and was led by Amy Francetic, a former employee of Electronic Arts and Energize Ventures, and Allison Myers, a former executive at Accenture. This was when it decided to invest in Raptor Maps, a company whose mission is to assist solar farms in extracting more energy from the sun by identifying problems, such as panel deterioration and shadowing, using drones and sensors.
According to statements by Buoyant in 2021, the company intends to deliver “solutions for the firms providing carbon emissions majorly.”” These industries include agriculture, power generation, building construction, and transportation. Since that time, it has provided funding to at least four additional early-ish stage firms, some of which, like FloodFlash and StormSensor, are attempting to capitalize on climate adaption emissions mitigation.
In recent weeks, our office has been aware of several other necessary venture capital fundraises relating to climate change and related topics. Notable investments include the USD 500 M fund managed by Fifth Wall, the USD 57 million managed by Climentum Capital, the USD 94.8 million managed by Equal Ventures, and the USD 70 million managed by Systemic Capital.
