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☆ Exclusive: Biodiversity startup Dendra Systems has secured a $15.7 million Series B
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

British biodiversity startup Dendra Systems announced Wednesday it has raised a $15.76 million Series B, as investors continue to pour capital into climate tech. The $15.76 million Series B round was led by Zouk Capital, a London-based private equity firm that has previously backed climate-tech companies such as Green Hedge and Orb Energy. Dendra Systems previously raised $10 million Series A in 2020 from At One Ventures, Airbus Ventures, Future Positive Capital, Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital, and others. Climate tech proved to be more resilient than other sectors in a cool market in 2023, with European climate tech startups bucking the trend in declining investment and raising a collective $20 billion. Dendra Systems is among the first batch of European climate startups to get VC backing.

Persons: Susan Graham, Graham, Chris Sacca's Organizations: Systems, Zouk, Orb Energy, Aramco Ventures, Airbus Ventures, Understorey, Business, Tech News, Dendra, One Ventures, Positive, Natural Capital Research Locations: London, Rio Tinto, North America

☆ Safi just raised $19.5 million for its B2B recycling marketplace. We got an exclusive look at the pitch memo it used to secure the funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A London-based startup using AI to increase recycling rates has just raised a $19.5 million Series A funding round. Safi, which was founded in 2021, has built a B2B marketplace for trading recyclable materials such as plastic, paper, and metal. Only then will buyers move to use recycled materials whenever possible, he added. Using recycled material to make things creates significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions versus virgin sources, Stocker noted. That's thanks in part to pressure from manufacturers, consumers, and policymakers to use more recycled material, Stocker said.

Persons: Rishi Stocker, Revolut, Stocker, Safi Organizations: Business, Europe –, Italy –, Nosara, Lowercarbon Capital Locations: London, WhatsApp, Europe, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, India

☆ Climate tech startups Treefera, ReSeed, Vaulted Deep, and Skyqraft raised a combined $18.6 million this month. Check out the pitch decks they used to raise the funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Early-stage climate tech startups Treefera, ReSeed, Vaulted Deep, and Skyqraft have raised a collective $18.6 million in fresh funds this month. It can monitor tree health, carbon sequestration, and the likelihood of a forest fire or drought, which may put the project at risk, in "near-time." Check out the 21-slide redacted pitch deck they used to raise the funds below:ReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedCarbon sequestration company Vaulted Deep raised $8 millionVaulted Deep, a Texas-based carbon removal and sequestration company, raised an $8 million seed round from Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital. Vaulted Deep already has two injection sites, where waste is injected deep into the Earth. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck below:Vaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepSkyqraft raised $3.8 million to monitor energy infrastructureSkyqraft, a Stockholm-based startup hoping to improve the resilience of energy infrastructure, also secured $3.8 million earlier this month.

Persons: Morgan, Jonathan Horn, Caroline Grey, Greg Lavender, ReSeed, Baratunde Thurston, Chris Sacca's, Advantek, Louise Gauffin, Gauffin Organizations: Global, Concept Ventures, Twin Path Ventures, Ventures, Thorn Partners, Earthshot Ventures, E.ON, Subvenio, Neptunia Invest Locations: London, New York, The Pennsylvania, Texas, Stockholm

☆ Bill Gates-backed Antora is making big batteries to help factories transition to clean energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Now, companies like Form Energy, AtmosZero and a Silicon Valley-based startup called Antora Energy are tackling the challenge with more affordable battery technology. "Because of that we're able to store energy at much lower costs." Christina Karapataki of Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which was founded by Bill Gates, says this business could be particularly lucrative. There are now about a dozen thermal energy storage companies using sand, rock, brick or other types of ceramic to store energy as heat. Along with funding from Breakthrough energy, Antora is also backed by Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital, Shell Ventures, BHP Ventures, Grok Ventures and Trust Ventures.

Persons: We've, Justin Briggs, We're, Briggs, Christina Karapataki, Bill Gates, Karapataki, Antora, Chris Sacca's Organizations: Energy, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Shell Ventures, BHP Ventures, Grok Ventures, Trust Ventures Locations: Fresno , California

☆ Meet the 33-year-old Canadian chemist and the renowned MIT professor who are building the 'electric vehicle of cement making'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

An electric vehicle replaces a combustion engine with an electric motor, and that's what Sublime Systems does in the cement-making process. So he moved to eastern Canada, where they don't have a lot of rabbis," Ellis told CNBC of her father's move. And I think we both sort of gravitate to things that are challenging," Ellis told CNBC. I think the best way we have to get around fossil fuels is to use electrons," Ellis told CNBC. There will be numerous approaches, all of which have challenges and most of which deserve to be tested," Chiang told CNBC.

Persons: Leah Ellis, Ming Chiang, Ellis, Chiang, Sublime, she's, haven't, It's, Leah Ellis Ellis, it's, Mark Mutter, Mutter, Clay Dumas, Dumas, Katie Rae, Rae, Timothy McCaffery, McCaffery, Scott Carmichael It's, I'm Organizations: Sublime Systems, Sublime, CNBC, Battery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bloomberg, Getty, Jamcem Consulting, LowerCarbon, Siam Cement, SCG, American Society for Testing Locations: Texas, South Africa, Israel, Jerusalem, Canada, Houston , Texas, Europe, Boston, Africa

☆ Why investors pumped $100 million into a startup using microbial fungi to turn soil into a crucial tool in the fight against climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The startup Loam Bio wants to use fungi to boost soil health and help keep carbon in the ground. But soil carbon is in a sorry state, in part due to current agricultural practices. There are different types of soil carbon; some decompose easily while others can take thousands of years to break down. The soil microbiome could also change to start breaking down the carbon that gets fixed in soil, Bailey added. "The most important thing is that we're really accurately measuring the carbon that we store in the soil," Hudson said.

Persons: Guy Hudson, Chris Sacca's, Hacking, It's, Hudson, Monique, Britt Koskella, Koskella, Andy Bailey, Bailey, we're, Chris Shafto, Dr Brooke Bruning, you've Organizations: Green Tech, Service, Australian, Lowercarbon Capital, Lowercarbon, UC Berkeley, University of Bristol Locations: Australia, Brazil

☆ Legendary VC Vinod Khosla predicted in 2016 that AI would eventually transform healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In a 2016 paper, Vinod Khosla predicted that there will be some form of automation in healthcare. Buzzy healthcare startups utilizing AI are now capturing the attention of VCs amid a broader wave of AI interest. Hippocratic AI, which recently raised $50 million for its seed round, plans to use machine learning to train AI models for use in healthcare. Carta Healthcare, which uses AI to help healthcare providers cut costs, announced this month it raised $25 million. And New York-based startup Hyro, raised $20 million to replace outdated chatbots in healthcare with conversational AI.

Persons: Vinod Khosla, Khosla, OpenAI, Kleiner Perkins, Chris Sacca's Organizations: –, Carta Healthcare, Harvard Locations: York

☆ This startup making the electricity grid more resilient while reducing wildfires just raised $10.5 million. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Gridware used to land the fresh funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

California startup Gridware is working to prevent forest fires and make the grid more resilient. But Timothy Barat, the cofounder and CEO of risk management and wildfire mitigation startup Gridware, does exactly that. On a huge plot of land outside California's Bay area, Gridware has its own electricity grid complete with full-size 40-foot poles and power lines spanning 200 feet. Wildfires can be sparked by a number of things, including downed power lines. For example, the startup can detect vegetation striking power lines as soon as it happens.

Persons: JP Morgan, Timothy Barat, Chris Sacca's, Gridware's Barat, Barat, Gridware, Chris Sacca, we've, Seth Bannon Organizations: Lowercarbon Capital, UC Berkeley, Lowercarbon, Fifty Locations: California, California's, Barat, Gridware's, San Francisco, NYC

☆ Why the 'Mother of Dragons' at SpaceX left her job building rockets to work on nuclear fusion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"In one role in particular, my unofficial title was 'Mother of Dragons,'" Dunn told CNBC in an interview in Devens, Massachusetts. But in January 2019, Dunn started work at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a startup that is attempting to commercialize nuclear fusion as an energy source. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards The advanced manufacturing facility located at the Commonwealth Fusion Systems campus in Devens, Massachusetts, where magnets are manufactured. "The biggest thing I think about a lot is time, about how fast can we go," Dunn told CNBC. And we have a poster in the back stairwell that says, 'Keep calm and fuse on," Dunn told CNBC.

Persons: Darby Dunn, of, Dunn, Darby Dunn Dunn, I've, Don Quixote, Elon, Elon Musk, it's, Bill Gates, that's Organizations: Commonwealth Fusion Systems, SpaceX, CNBC, International, Commonwealth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, SPARC, Google, Khosla Ventures, Lowercarbon, ARC, United Nations Locations: Devens , Massachusetts, California, Devens , Mass, Commonwealth

☆ This startup uses volcanic rock to capture carbon for the likes of Stripe and Microsoft. Check out the 20-slide pitch deck Undo used to raise $12 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A startup speeding up a natural rock weathering process for carbon removal just raised $12 million. A startup spreading volcanic rock on farms as a form of carbon dioxide removal has just secured $12 million in its first institutional round led by Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital. "We get a 50,000-times increase in rates of reaction versus that natural process, and we can absorb far more CO2," Mann said. The startup makes money by selling carbon removal credits. Mann wants to help regulate the industry before others try selling enhanced rock weathering without fully understanding the process and what is required.

☆ Pledge, a carbon accounting startup founded by ex-Revolut and Freetrade staffers, just raised $10 million with this 10-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

London-based carbon accounting startup Pledge just secured a $10 million Series A round. A startup founded by former staffers at Revolut and Freetrade has raised $10 million to build out its carbon accounting product aimed at the logistics industry. London-based Pledge, set up in 2021, enables businesses in the sector to track, reduce, and manage their carbon footprint. Some 70% of a company's emissions sit in its supply chain, which are referred to as scope three emissions. Pledge adheres to the Global Logistics Emissions Council framework, the only globally-recognized methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions in the logistics supply chain.

☆ Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital just invested $20 million in Woodoo, a startup making wooden alternatives to steel, cement, and glass, after seeing this pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Woodoo is a biotech startup creating alternatives to leather, glass, cement, and steel using wood. We got a peek inside the 8-slide pitch deck it used to raise from Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital. Now his company, a biotech converting wood into alternatives for emissions-intensive materials such as concrete and steel, has just secured $31 million. Boitouzet is set on becoming the go-to option for building materials, having already seen traction in the luxury goods market. Woodoo's materials are currently more expensive than conventional but costs will come down when the company reaches scale, Boitouzet said.

☆ French tech company Woodoo raises $31 million, led by Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Sudip Kar-Gupta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 23 (Reuters) - French start-up technology company Woodoo said it had raised $31 million, led by Lowercarbon Capital, which is a fund co-founded by ex-Google executive and early Twitter investor Chris Sacca. The fund-raising for Woodoo highlights the growing importance of companies involved in recycling raw materials to protect the environment, as well as growth in France's tech sector. Last year President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted a surge in the number of French tech 'unicorns' or start-ups by 2030. Paris has traditionally lagged New York, California and also London as a technology and finance hub, but the French technology sector has recently notched up several high-profile fundraising rounds for some companies. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Zero Carbon Capital just reached third close on its $37 million fund dedicated to hardware and science-based companies. We got an exclusive look at the LP deck it used to raise from Isomer and Extanti
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zero Carbon Capital reached third close on its £30 million ($37 million) fund. We got an exclusive look at the 10-slide LP deck the climate tech firm used to raise the funds. UK-based Zero Carbon Capital has closed £13 million, around $16.2 million, of its £30 million, about $37.5 million, second fund. Zero Carbon Capital wants to be the first check to lead pre-seed and smaller seed rounds, with tickets ranging £100,000 to £1 million. Isomer has previously backed hardware funds but Zero Carbon Capital is its first dedicated climate fund.

☆ Startup aims to help climate companies unlock billions in Inflation Reduction Act tax credits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

There's a problem with tax credits, though. A September report from Credit Suisse estimates approximately $500 billion of tax credits will be monetized over the next decade. "There are a few institutional players in the market that purchase tax credits at discount to market value in exchange for buying at volume. Sellers can list their tax credits on option, get bids on those credits, and compare offers. Tax credits have a wide base of support politically because a lot of very diverse stakeholders benefit from them.

Friday's dramatic failure of the bank, which focuses on tech startups, was the biggest since the 2008 financial crisis. Even small startups are getting in on the action to help others. Aleem Mawani, founder of Streak, a company with about 30 employees, tweeted Friday he would lend his personal cash free of any terms to other small startups worried about paying staff. Some, including Lowercarbon Capital, have offered loans to portfolio companies that have funds stuck at SVB. Gurson estimated "conservatively" that Altman has given more than $1 million to support other startups in similar need.

☆ This kitchen composter turns your leftovers into chicken feed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

More than one-third of the food produced in the United States is never eaten, and all that wasted food is contributing to global warming. Rogers, who also co-founded Nest smart home systems, says Mill differentiates itself among kitchen composters by keeping food as food… turning it into chicken feed. Not only does it reduce waste in landfills, but the goal is to reduce the amount of chicken feed that needs to be produced, thereby reducing those carbon emissions as well. "We sell our feed to farmers as an ingredient to chicken feed, which actually helps subsidize the membership," Rogers said. "There are millions of people that already compost across the United States.

☆ VC firm Counteract just reached first close on its $42 million carbon removal fund. We got an exclusive look at the 11-slide LP deck it used to secure cash from The Grantham Foundation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

VC firm Counteract has reached first close on its inaugural £35 million fund. It plans to back 40 global companies across all elements of carbon removal. London-based firm Counteract, founded in 2021, has just reached first close on its inaugural £35 million, about $41.9 million, fund. Direct air capture is one of the best-known carbon removal technologies thanks to Swiss company Climeworks. Isaacs stressed the importance of exploring all potential technologies as carbon removal evolves alongside policy, making it inherently risky.

☆ This Y Combinator-backed startup wants to help scale the nascent insect protein sector. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Entocycle used to raise $5 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Insect protein could displace 20% of the UK's annual soy imports for animal feed by 2050. We got an exclusive look at the 15-slide deck Entocycle used to raise the Series A round. A Y Combinator-backed startup that has developed insect farming technology to help scale the nascent sector has just nabbed $5 million from European climate tech fund Climentum Capital. Insect protein has long been tipped as a way to alleviate pressure on the food system amid a growing population that is also grappling with climate change. Global insect protein startups raised just $146 million in venture capital in 2022, compared with $200 million the year prior, according to PitchBook.

☆ We got an exclusive look at the 18-slide pitch deck Living Carbon, a startup developing 'supertrees' for CO2 removal, used to raise $21 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Climate startup Living Carbon has developed trees that grow faster to ultimately store more CO2. Carbon removal typically sits in two buckets: engineered – or technological – removal and nature-based removal. Living Carbon, founded in 2019, reported its engineered trees grow 50% faster and soak up 27% more carbon than traditional trees. Living Carbon is also running its own carbon removal projects and is currently partnering with landowners in Pennsylvania and Georgia, who get a percentage of the carbon credits generated from the projects. Check out the redacted 18-slide pitch deck Living Carbon used to secure the funds below.

☆ Check out the exclusive pitch deck food waste startup Mill used to raise $100 million from Google Ventures and others
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The startup has already raised about $100 million from investors like Google Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Lowercarbon, and Prelude. "There's a lot of parallels to the story of Nest," Rogers said. However, because Mill handles the entire process from homes to farms, it faces many challenges not found in other food waste startups, Rogers said. And although the company's coffers are well-stocked in a tough market environment, Rogers told Insider that he's always open to conversations with investors. Here's an exclusive look at the 7-slide pitch deck Mill used to raise $100 million from Google Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Lowercarbon, and Prelude:

☆ Microsoft-backed start-up Heirloom uses limestone to capture CO2
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

California-based startup Heirloom has a different approach: using limestone to capture CO2 from the atmosphere. Heirloom removes that CO2 by heating the limestone into a powder and stores the extracted CO2 underground. Heirloom spread that powder out on trays, with a robot determining location for maximum CO2 absorption. "We basically just give super powers to limestone to pull a lot more CO2 much, much faster," said Samala. Heirloom says it plans to deploy its first site next year and aims to remove 1 billion tons of CO2 by 2035.

☆ Twitter early investor Chris Sacca says Elon Musk is 'alone right now and winging this'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In a tweet thread on Monday, Sacca said he's always admired Musk and he referred to electric carmaker Tesla as "world positive." "His success to date is not an accident," Sacca wrote to his 1.6 million followers. But the challenges that come with running a popular social-messaging service like Twitter require a level of nuance and human understanding that Musk so far has not demonstrated, Sacca wrote. "Batteries and motors and rockets and tunnels and solar panels have definitively right and wrong answers," Sacca wrote. The "hard truth" for Musk is that "he is straight-up alone right now and winging this," Sacca wrote.

☆ We visited Chris Sacca-backed Epoch Biodesign's London HQ. The startup wants to clamp down on pollution with plastic eating enzymes.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Epoch Biodesign, a startup converting plastic to chemicals using enzymes, has raised $14.5 million. Epoch Biodesign uses plastic-eating enzymes as a base and scientifically alters them to produce a specific chemical from the consumed plastic. Epoch Biodesign is also developing enabling technologies to do this cheaper, faster, better, and at greater scale. This is a colony picker, one the machines used test and select Epoch Biodesign's enzymes in the lab. In the long run, Epoch Biodesign expects to license out its technology so it isn't running facilities itself.

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