Sightline Climate (CTVC)

Today, we’re proud to unveil Sightline Climate, our new market intelligence platform for the new climate economy. Built on the foundation of the CTVC newsletter, Sightline Climate’s subscription intelligence product goes beyond the inbox with data, tools, and frameworks to bring clarity to industry professionals navigating climate transition decisions. More than 20 leading investors, corporates, and governments already use the platform including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), BHP, and Galvanize Climate Solutions. 👉 Explore Sightline Climate here: https://lnkd.in/eppSXmJY The highlights: 🚀 Launching the Sightline Climate platform. We’ve launched a new market intelligence product for investors, corporates, and governments building and financing the new climate economy. Use Sightline Climate to chart your path across the evolving climate landscape and spot when inflection points happen in climate sectors and technologies. 👋 Introducing “CTVC, by Sightline Climate”. We’ve rebranded our [parent] company name to Sightline Climate. After all, the new climate economy has grown beyond VC. But that’s all just an FYI, the name of this CTVC Newsletter won’t change. 🏁 The platform is live! The Sightline platform is already up and running, used daily by 20+ clients, from energy and industrial corporates, climate investors, major financial institutions, and governments, including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), BHP, Galvanize Climate Solutions, B Capital , Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and Acario Tokyo Gas. P.S. We're hiring! https://lnkd.in/eu4rCxnG (And don’t worry—the free CTVC newsletter isn’t going anywhere…well, except to get better and better 😉). As seen in the CTVC newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eZzSCHp8 Press release: https://lnkd.in/eWgzQjxt https://lnkd.in/eppSXmJY

In this edition, we’re doing a postmortem of the short and sweet life of the SEC’s climate disclosure rules, which burned bright and faded fast. In deals: 🔋 $150m for air energy storage manufacturing 🌾  $115 for vertical farming ✈️ and $83m for CO2 to chemical transformation technology. Plus, in other news: 🗳️ political pullback at the EPA 🇪🇺 a new European AI initiative (with climate provisions) 💸 and UK energy subsidies try to balance renewables projects. And ICYMI, check out our Friday feature on working capital for climate startups, and take our readership survey! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gsDQZATc

Happy Monday! The Super Bowl got us hyped this weekend, and now, we’re taking on some other hype: the arrival of DeepSeek’s new AI model, and what its actual impacts will be on projected power demand. In deals:  🏠 $45m for IoT-based building management 🧪 $36m for RNA-based technology for agriculture health  🥩 $32m for alternative protein fermentation technology. In other news: ⚡ the Baltic States go energy independent 💱 US-China tariffs take effect 💸 and energy companies are cutting renewables investments. And don’t forget — take our readership survey to tell us what you want to see from CTVC going forward! We want to hear from you. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gfVhZX3K . . . . #ClimateTransition #Energy #PowerDemand #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #PowerGrid #CleanFirmPower

The Groundhog might have predicted another six weeks of winter, but this week, we're focusing on another kind of freeze. We've got a new deep dive into what Trump’s federal funding freeze — and its rescission — mean for projects. In other news: 🏬 the rise of natural gas to meet data center power demand 🌲 new BECCs projects 🔋 and Volvo is still pushing ahead on its Northvolt JV. In deals:  ⚡ $425m for fusion 🔌 $144m for grid technologies across three deals 🔋 and $78m in energy storage development. And don’t forget — we want to hear from you! Take our <5-minute readership survey, so we can make sure we’re delivering the content you want. All that and more in here: https://lnkd.in/ggnUv2K5 #ClimateTech #EnergyTransition #ClimateInvestment #DepartmentofEnergy #ProjectFinance #Batteries

Happy Tuesday! Our newsletter is out, and big news (after our fundraising announcement yesterday): We’re launching a readership survey! Tell us know what you want to see from us this year. In other news, what DeepSeek’s new model could do to power demand, banks leaving climate groups, and the USDA's new guidance for clean fuel credits. In deals, $70m for renewable energy management platforms across three deals, $30m for an agritech credit provider, and $16m for energy storage manufacturing. Read the full newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gxCb7jHx

🚀 We’re excited to officially announce Sightline’s $5.5M Seed Round! 🚀 We’ve raised $5.5m in Seed funding to scale Sightline — our market intelligence platform powering strategic decision-making and capital allocation across the global transition economy. The round was co-led by The Westly Group and Molten Ventures, who join existing investors including ACCELR8, John Doerr, and Tom Steyer. In just one year since launching, Sightline has grown to over 70 international customers across leading corporates, financiers, and governments — including HSBC, Southern Company, BHP, Galvanize Climate Solutions, and the US Department of Energy. This fundraise comes at a critical moment in the transition — as more than ever, companies and investors need trusted information and a clear line of sight to build competitive strategies and deploy capital. The new funding will be used to expand Sightline’s AI-powered tools, empowering customers with the actionable intelligence needed to compete and win in the transition that is rapidly transforming energy, transport, and industry. “A competitive transition hinges on matching the right strategies and capital with the right solutions at the right time," said Kim Zou, CEO and co-founder of Sightline. “As solutions mature, stakeholders need clarity, precision, and tools to understand, monitor, predict, and act effectively. We’re developing the deeper analytics and tools to power decision-making and capital allocation in the transition economy.” George Chalmers, CFA, Head of Climate at Molten Ventures said: “Sightline is rapidly emerging as the trusted benchmark for market participants navigating the climate transition. While it's widely recognized that this shift will require a massive reallocation of capital, we currently lack the necessary data, insights, and tools to guide the right actions at points of the cycle. We're excited to partner with the Sightline team as they scale their industry-leading data and analytics platform for the emerging climate economy.” “Global enterprises, governments, and financial institutions don’t need more experiments aimed at distant 2040 or 2050 milestones. They need relevant insights and innovative technologies that deliver a competitive edge, now.” said Jason Kalira, Partner and Head of Seed Fund at The Westly Group. “We’re proud to support Sightline as they redefine how businesses navigate the transition economy, providing scalable solutions that align profitability with sustainability.” Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gcyR248U #EnergyTransition #ClimateTech #FundingAnnouncement #AI #MarketIntelligence

We’re diving into the news trumping everything else this week — that’s right, the start of the Trump administration and what this all might mean for climate. In other news, the UK is investing more in nuclear fission and fusion; the first underground injection CCS permit in California; and big climate bond news. In deals, $7bn for EVs, $2bn in lithium extract across two deals, and $260m in sustainable space vehicle components. Plus, if you want to hear our takes live, tune into our Line of Sight webinar this Thursday, 23 January, from 11am-12pm ET / 3pm-4pm UK time, for the State of the Climate Capital Stack and Investment Trends, and what’s in store for 2025. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gprbb_Wh #ClimateTech #EnergyTransition #USPolitics #ClimatePolicy

🚨 Sneak Peek Alert: The 2024 Investor Leaderboard is here! 🚨 We're pulling back the curtain on our exclusive investor leaderboard charts in our 2024 Sightline Climate Investment Report — usually reserved for clients only. Reminder to register for our public webinar next Thursday 23 January where we’ll go over insights from both our Capital Stack and Investment Trends reports and what’s to come in 2025. Three key charts highlight trends reshaping the investment landscape: 1️⃣ Most Active Investors by Vertical, 2024 Energy leads the charge, with Breakthrough Energy Ventures completing 13 deals — over 50% more than the next investor. Meanwhile, Transportation sees fewer core climate investors but heavy government participation, with Bpifrance and the UK’s British International Investment at the top. Four funds rank in the top five across multiple verticals: Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy , SOSV, and Energy Impact Partners 2️⃣ CVCs Become Less Concentrated Overall, top-10 CVC deal activity dropped to 79 deals in 2024 (vs. 86 in 2023 and 108 in 2022), as O&G VC activity slowed. However, M&A in the sector increased, with corporates snapping up near-term bargains. Oil majors remain dominant, claiming 5/10 of the top CVC slots and 45% of deals in 2024. But Big Tech surges with two players, marking its highest share to date. Top active CVCs included Shell Ventures, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Chevron, Microsoft, Toyota Ventures, bp Ventures, National Grid Partners, Cavallo Ventures, Aramco Ventures, and Equinor. 3️⃣ Most Active Investors by Stage Climate and growth investors are making a strong comeback, overtaking institutional players from 2023. Growth-stage favorites like Breakthrough, EIP, SOSV and DCVC showcased their chops by following up on earlier bets, joining forces in major rounds like Zap Energy’s $130M Series D and Fervo Energy’s $135M Growth round. Lowercarbon Capital tops the early-stage leaderboard with 19 deals in 2024, though down from its 2023 peak.  But it was Breakthrough Energy that led across all stages — early, late, and growth — cementing its position as a powerhouse shepherding startups from lab to scale. 🌍 The takeaway: Climate investment is evolving, with sharper focus and deeper engagement across sectors and stages. 🧐 Dive deeper into these trends by exploring our full 2024 Investment Report at the link in the comments. #ClimateTech #Investing #VentureCapital #CVC #GrowthInvesting #2024Trends #ClimateTransition #ClimateCapitalStack #InvestorLeaderboards

🌎🔮 Your 2025 Climate Tech Oracle results are in! In our latest newsletter, we've got what you said would happen in the year ahead — and how accurate your predictions from last year were. You answered: Which sector will break out? What sectors will decline? Which tax credit is most likely to be repealed? Which region will see the fastest climate tech investment growth? What’s the climate tech buzzword of 2025? And so much more — see the full results at the link in the comments below ⬇️ #ClimateTech #IPO #ClimateSolutions #Geothermal #Nuclear #AI #CarbonCapture

🗓️ Mark your calendars: Our webinar on 2024 climate tech investment trends, the climate capital stack, and new funds is this Thursday, January 23, at 4pm GMT / 1pm EST / 8am PST. Join our team, Kim Zou, Mark Taylor, Julia Attwood, and Sophie Purdom, for this interactive session where we’ll go over insights from both our Capital Stack and Investment Trends reports, as well as what’s to come in 2025. Register at the link in the comments below 👇