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☆ Illumen Capital just closed its second fund worth $168 million to tackle racial and gender bias in asset management using this 10-slide LP deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A fund of funds investing to make venture capital more equitable just closed its second fund. Oakland-based Illumen Capital secured $168 million to back people of color and women. An impact fund of funds tackling racial and gender bias in asset management has just closed its second $168 million fund with the Ford Foundation and W.K. As a fund of funds, Illumen Capital hopes to solve this by addressing implicit biases. When looking at the data, Illumen Capital found that they had the same revenue marks as white entrepreneurs not considered too early.

☆ 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.

☆ Meet 11 women who were promoted to partner or higher in Europe's male-dominated VC industry in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Women held just 13.5% of general partner roles in Europe's VC industry last year, per Atomico. Europe's venture capital ecosystem has long boasted a dire track record when it comes to diversity. The lack of representation in top-level positions has a trickle-down effect with female-founded startups securing a meager 1.1% of VC funding in 2022. VC firms can widen "the candidate pool, require diverse shortlists, and interview candidates with competency-based assessment techniques," she said. This year, we have spotlighted 11 contenders who have landed top roles at European VC firms.

☆ How Biden's $369 billion sell to the climate tech industry is luring Europe's hottest startups to the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

President Biden's $369 billion climate sell is attracting some of Europe's biggest startups. Battery maker Northvolt and carbon removal firm Climeworks are both lining up US expansions. President Biden's $369 billion play to make the US the new hub for climate-friendly companies caused consternation among international allies. Europe's EV battery darling Northvolt is set to announce its highly anticipated US expansion in the coming weeks while carbon removal company Climeworks has already revealed plans to scale up Stateside. The company is also watching Europe's efforts to create a regulatory framework for the certification of carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

☆ Microsoft M12 boss departs tech giant's VC arm to help turn London-based investor Systemiq Capital into the Sequoia of climate tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A founding partner at Microsoft's VC arm M12 has left to take up a GP role at a climate tech investor. Goldstein has joined Systemiq Capital and plans to turn it into the Sequoia of climate tech. One of the founding partners of Microsoft's venture arm M12 has left the company to join London-based investor Systemiq Capital, which he wants to help turn into the Sequoia of climate tech. Systemiq Capital, meanwhile, was spun out of advisory firm Systemiq in 2022 to allow it to thrive on its own, Goldstein said. The climate tech investor expects to reach final close on its second fund, worth $200 million, towards the end of 2023.

☆ Meet the urban investor combining real estate, venture capital, and private equity to spend $5.5 billion making cities more liveable
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Urban Partners will combine real estate, venture capital, private equity, and credit under one company. "We started thinking about what real estate investing can do beyond just a piece of investment," Claus Mathisen, CEO of Urban Partners, told Insider. "You start thinking about servicing customers – the stakeholders who actually use the real estate – and you design around them." Urban Partners is working with mayors to figure out what they need to make their cities more livable. Cobe ArchitectsInstead of focusing on financial return on investment, Urban Partners is also using environmental impact as a KPI.

☆ Ocean acidification is destroying coral reefs. Here's how 2 scientists are using bone research to protect them against climate change.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

It's becoming more acidic — hitting marine ecosystems and causing coral reefs to crumble. Increased acidity could devastate marine ecosystems, which are built upon coral reefs, and in turn, affect the fish and seafood humans eat. Ocean acidification: Lophelia pertusa coral in noncorrosive water off the Southern California Bight. The research began in January and will run for one year, with data collected in monthly intervals to help understand coral responses to ocean acidification and timescales. That's not just ocean acidification, but carbon-dioxide emissions, deforestation near coral reefs, and fishing practices like trawling, he said.

☆ 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.

☆ Climate startups and investors raised billions in 2022. See 31 of the hottest pitch decks used to land funding.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Climate entrepreneurs and VCs raised $54 billion in 2022 — check out the decks they used. The importance of impact investing, plus friendlier legislation, has fueled the rush to climate tech both in the US and Europe. Globally, climate and clean tech startups raised $54 billion in 2022, according to PitchBook. Clean tech refers to startups trying to reduce human impact on the environment, while climate tech covers those on mitigation, adaptation, and decarbonization. Insider has collected 31 pitch decks that founders and investors used to raise billions in 2022.

☆ This startup founded by ex-Tesla, Google, and SolarCity staffers uses the ocean for carbon removal. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck Ebb Carbon used to raise $20 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ebb Carbon has found a way to remove carbon from the atmosphere while making the ocean less acidic. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck Ebb Carbon used to nab $20 million in Series A funding. California-based Ebb Carbon, founded in 2021, aims to capture and store carbon dioxide in the ocean while simultaneously tackling ocean acidification. Ebb Carbon has developed an electrochemical process that removes acidity from seawater while enhancing its ability to store carbon dioxide. Ebb CarbonThe alkaline release then helps to balance the pH of seawater locally, Ebb Carbon claims.

☆ 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.

☆ Construction is bad for the planet. This startup's solution is to assemble buildings like they're flatpack furniture.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Spanish startup 011h is betting on timber as a humble hero to ease the climate and housing crises. Now, a Spanish construction company is hoping to spearhead the adoption of flat-pack buildings. When it is cut down for timber, carbon remains stored in the wood until it burns or decays. For Brennan, cost remains a big "but" — even if sustainable buildings are a no-brainer. If it's not affordable, if people cannot pay for it, then it's not sustainable," Carné said.

☆ This startup helps early-stage forestry projects get funded. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck carbon credit marketplace Xilva used to raise $2 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zurich-based Xilva helps early-stage forestry projects access the capital they need to scale up. The startup has developed its own propriety vetting process to help build trust in the carbon market. A startup helping forestry projects access capital has just raised 1.8 million euros in fresh funds. The voluntary carbon market, where carbon credits are bought and sold, has been plagued by quality issues. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck Xilva used to raise the funds below:

☆ This Y Combinator-backed startup helps reduce climate-warming methane in cow burps. Check out the pitch deck Alga Biosciences used to secure $4 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Y Combinator startup Algo Biosciences has developed a way to reduce methane in cow burps. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck the company used to secure $4 million from Collaborative Fund. A Y Combinator-backed startup trying to curb methane spewing cow burps has just landed $4 million in its first institutional funding round. Berkeley-based Alga Biosciences, founded in 2021, has developed a feed additive to reduce methane from cow burps using biochemically modified kelp. Check out the 11 slide pitch deck the company used to raise the funds.

☆ HeatTransformers, a one-stop-shop for heat pumps, just raised $16 million. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck it used to raise the fresh funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

HeatTransformers, a Dutch one-stop-shop for heat pumps, has just secured $16 million. A startup positioning itself as a one-stop-shop for heat pumps has just secured 15 million euros (around $16 million) in a Series A round. They ended up reevaluating the homes of some referrals, which Otten said had been quoted for the wrong heat pumps. Heat pump sales across Europe grew by almost 38% in 2022 with 3 million units sold, according to the European Heat Pump Association. Still, heat pumps heat just 16% of homes and commercial buildings, the association found.

☆ Northvolt, a $12 billion startup founded by an ex-Tesla VP, thinks crushing and shredding old batteries is the way to make electric vehicles truly sustainable
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

NorthvoltHow Northvolt's process worksNorthvolt's recycling process, which was dreamed up in 2018 and planned and tested in the following years, involves crushing, shredding, and filtering dismantled batteries. Northvolt is left with a black powder called black mass, which contains nickel, manganese, cobalt, and lithium. Once Northvolt's latest venture, Revolt Ett, is up and running at full capacity, it's expected to recycle 125,000 tons of battery materials each year. Cylindrical cells; shredded pieces of steel, copper, aluminium, plastic, and black mass from mechanical recycling; black mass; and a mix of nickel, manganese, and cobalt sulfates. The Hydrovolt pilot runs Northvolt's recycling process up to the black-mass stage.

☆ This concrete chemist-turned-CEO wants to decarbonize concrete. Check out the 17-slide pitch deck his startup Carbonaide used to raise new funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Concrete accounts for 8% of global CO2 emissions every year and Carbonaide wants to change that. The startup is headed up by a concrete chemist set on decarbonizing an industry he spent 20 years in. Tapio Vehmas' dad, uncle, and brother work in the concrete industry. So far Carbonaide has run a small pilot where it demonstrated a CO2 emissions reduction of 45% compared with traditional concrete, Vehmas said. We got an exclusive look at the pitch deck 17-slide pitch deck the startup used to secure the funds.

☆ Corporations desperate to avoid poor quality carbon credits and are starting up their own climate funds to offset emissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The voluntary carbon market has a problem with bad quality carbon credits. "Headline after headline is published exposing these offsets for poor quality," Michelle You, CEO and cofounder of carbon removal platform Supercritical told Insider. The London Stock Exchange has also done this for investors - instead of getting dividends, they get carbon credits. He expects bespoke funds will phase out when the quality of carbon credits is better assured. Frontier Fund has brought widespread attention to the carbon removal space and sends critical demand signals to early carbon removal companies, Supercritical's You said.

☆ Y Combinator-backed headless commerce startup Vue Storefront just raised $20 million with this 14-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Y Combinator-backed Vue Storefront has developed a frontend system for e-commerce sites. Vue Storefront, a Y Combinator-backed startup that aims to improve customers' experiences with e-commerce sites, just raised $20 million in fresh funds. The Polish company, founded in 2020, has built a plug-and-play frontend system for marketplace sites. This is what customers see and interact with, rather than the behind-the-scenes backend system, and is known as "headless commerce". Vue Storefront is rooted in open-source development, having spun out from a design agency.

☆ Amogy retrofits vehicles ranging from drones to tractors to make them run on sustainable ammonia. It just raised $139 million with this 18-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

We got an exclusive look at the 18-slide deck Amogy used to raise the money. A startup betting on ammonia as a next-generation fuel has just secured $139 million in an all-equity Series B extension. New York-based Amogy has created a retrofit energy system to replace engines, which allows ammonia to be used as a fuel. Ammonia is predicted to account for 45% of all shipping fuel in a net zero 2050 scenario modeled by the International Energy Agency. The company is also working with upstream players to help decarbonize the fuel, Woo said.

The sale means UK startups and investors will be able to access their money. Like its US parent, SVB UK mostly served tech startups and their investors. Insider understands from a person close to SVB UK that there is some internal frustration at the bank run. The feeling is that SVB UK was sold off simply because of groupthink. That evening, it looked feasible that the government would allow SVB UK to collapse.

☆ This startup wants to replace oil and gas with Co2 and hydrogen captured from the air. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck Greenlyte Carbon Technologies used to raise $3.5 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Greenlyte Carbon Technologies wants to replace oil and gas with Co2 and hydrogen captured from the air. The direct air capture startup just raised a $3.5 million round co-led by N26 investor Earlybird. The team behind Greenlyte Carbon Technologies pass old coal towers every day on their way to the company's office in Essen, Germany's historical industrial center. Greenlyte Carbon Technologies' device can be turned on and off, meaning it will work well with intermittent renewables like solar and wind, he added. Greenlyte Carbon Technologies will use the cash to build out its team to 15 by summer and continue developing its tech.

At least 10 European VC funds have told their founders to pull funds out of Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley Bank's woes spread overseas on Friday morning as tech investors in Europe followed their US peers and advised founders to pull their cash from the bank. The bank's shares plummeted 60% amid concerns among investors and founders about the safety of their cash. The bank has been a stalwart in the tech industry over the past 40 years, acting as a banking partner and investor for startups across the world. Castiglione said that UK funds were only "screwed" if Europe followed suit with the "US panic contagion."

☆ Chip startup QuantWare wants to become the Intel of quantum computing. Check out the redacted 9-slide pitch deck it used to raise $6.3 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Dutch startup QuantWare has just raised 6 million euros (around $6.3 million). A Dutch startup that wants to become the "Intel of quantum computing" just raised 6 million euros (around $6.3 million) in fresh funds. Quantum computers use quantum physics to store data, run calculations, and essentially solve problems. By focusing on one element – the processing chip – QuantWare sees itself becoming the go-to provider for quantum computers, as Intel was for classical computers. Quantum computers store information in "qubits," which can be stored in two states at the same time: 0 and 1.

☆ This startup converts carbon into chemicals used in everything from cars to furniture. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck ViridiCO2 used to raise $3.5 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

UK startup ViridiCO2 is helping chemical manufacturers cut fossil fuel use with captured carbon. A startup helping chemical manufacturers cut their use of fossil fuels has just raised £3 million (around $3.5 million) in seed funding from EQT Ventures. It is one piece of the carbon capture, storage, and utilization puzzle. ViridiCO2 doesn't capture carbon itself but works with point-source carbon capture companies to do so. "These are big chemical manufacturers and also consumer product manufacturers," Stewart added.

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