Private Capital Journal’s Post

Closed Loop Partners' Ventures Group is thrilled to announce our investment in Neutreeno, a deep tech startup spinning out of the University of Cambridge. Neutreeno's platform is transforming scope 3 emissions measurement, delivering best-in-class carbon insights and visualizations to drive efficiency and seamlessly integrate circularity and decarbonization in supply chains––while requiring minimal data points from suppliers. The $5M #seed financing is led by Regeneration.VC, with a strong syndicate of strategic mission-aligned investors including Closed Loop Partners, Remarkable Ventures, Scania Group, Beacon Venture Capital and Prequel Ventures. With this funding, Neutreeno will continue to accelerate its commercial growth, moving the needle on carbon emissions measurement and further advancing circularity and decarbonization. Spencer Brennan Jonathan Cullen Jobey Meacham Read more: https://hubs.la/Q02RRh9_0 #circulareconomy #supplychain #decarbonization #innovation #venturecapital #carbon #UniversityofCambridge

💡 Ready to learn more about the differences between Spin-ins and Spin-outs?   🔎 In our latest blog post, Ricarda Schulte shares valuable insights how the distinction between a spin-in and spin-out impact the development of new ventures and what factors guide the decisions to choose one over the other.   As a Venture Team is near the end of their initial 3-month Validation Phase, the choice is made between rejoining BASF or becoming and independent entity. In this blog post, we delve into the world of spin-ins versus spin-offs, exploring the critical factors that drive this decision. 🙌     Are you curious how our Alumni Team Qritos handled these questions? 🙏 Check out our blog post to learn more! #spinin #spinout #startup #impact

Fuel Me Secures $18M in Series A Funding Fuel Me, a Chicago, IL-based provider of a fuel procurement and management platform, raised $18M in Series A funding. The round was led by Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Tribeca Venture Partners. Other investors included Bessemer Venture Partners, Interplay Venture Capital, FJ Labs, HPA (Hyde Park Angels), Bridge Ventures, Correlation Ventures, Forefront Venture Partners, and Gaingels. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the development of advanced technology while continuing to deliver services to its customers. Co-founded by CEO Carlo Passacantando and COO Boy Schook, Fuel Me provides the fuel procurement industry with solutions that utilize technology to streamline fuel management and distribution, ensuring operational efficiency, cost savings, and sustainability. The company has completed over 20,000 fuel deliveries and now serves an expanding roster of Fortune 500 clients. Commenting on the news, Carlo Passacantando said: “This funding marks a significant milestone, enabling Fuel Me to accelerate the development of advanced technology while continuing to deliver unparalleled service to our customers. With the support of our investors, we are poised to rapidly expand our market share as we redefine fuel procurement to meet the evolving needs of both the U.S. and global energy markets.” credit: FinSMEs #businessfunding #startupseedraising

Pangaea Ventures has successfully closed its fifth fund, the Pangaea Ventures Impact Fund, at $85 million. This fund is the largest in the firm’s history and reflects a growing investor interest in hard tech solutions that address planetary health. The fund will focus on innovations in advanced materials, chemistry, and biology, aiming to support startups that can deliver both financial returns and meaningful environmental impact. Pangaea Ventures has already invested in five companies through this fund, targeting areas such as clean energy, sustainable agriculture, and biosciences https://lnkd.in/edNiDxb3

Refactor Capital Closes $50M Fund 4 to Propel Bio, Climate, and Hard Tech Startups Learn more & get our take 👇 https://lnkd.in/gnUqynYg "I’m excited to continue backing founders solving hard but not impossible problems in an effort to create a better future for society." — Zal Bilimoria, Founder at Refactor "Having Zal as an investor has been a game-changer for Solugen, both in our early days and now." — Gaurab Chakrabarti, MD, PhD, CEO at Solugen "With less than fifteen percent of venture firms making it to a fourth fund, Zal has cracked the code to running a successful firm.” — Kevin Irwin, CIO at Knollwood Investment Advisory #funding #hardtech #SoFNews

For those interested in investing in the water sector, please see below article. However, note that the time for investing in water, particularly transformative technologies that are not simply improvements over existing technologies is NOW. As I've mentioned before, we are at the stage of a very positive (hyperbolic?) inflection point in the water sector. Technologies including AI, solutions, services, financing models, integration programs (WaaS) are all leading the way. After being in the space for quite some time, water as an investment sector has arrived. But it's not for those unwilling to appreciate and understand the landscape and which parts of the US$1.0 trillion annual global market are most appropriate for your investment size time, stage of enterprise and time horizon. more than happy to discuss in detail.

What do cicadas and venture capital have in common? A golden opportunity that comes in cycles. Owen Reynolds, our friend from TEKLAS Ventures, has drawn a wonderful comparison between the two and highlighted why the venture ecosystem is at a juncture of several cycles, much like cicadas do. https://lnkd.in/eSMfpWNT #venturecapital #angelinvesting #startupfunding #Europe

Introducing IsraelTech's first Venture Partner interview with Gil Shai from Meron Capital. Meron Capital stands as a prominent venture capital firm, carving out a significant niche in the tech industry landscape with its strategic investments and forward-thinking approach. Specializing in early-stage startups, Meron Capital not only provides the essential capital needed for growth but also offers invaluable guidance and support to its portfolio companies, nurturing them through the challenging phases of development and scale. Gil Shai's involvement in climate technologies through Meron underscores a critical mission: to accelerate the transition toward a more sustainable and eco-friendly global economy. By backing startups that are at the forefront of climate innovation, Shai and Meron Capital are contributing to the development of solutions that address pressing environmental challenges, from renewable energy and energy efficiency to sustainable agriculture and water management. Hosted by Yoel Israel.

⬇ These 3 VC Investors earned a sizeable buck in #WaterTech (at least, for all I know 😉) 1️⃣ In 2013, Keith Wilson and Arunas Chesonis invested 1.4 million dollars in Gradiant. ( 🦄 In case you're just back from a several-year mission in Antarctica, ten years later, Gradiant became the first-ever water unicorn!) How much of the company does Cranberry Capital still own ten years later? By my conservative estimate (assuming they only got diluted from their Seed investment), about 3.3%. 📈 So, at today's billion-dollar valuation of the company, that makes for a 24x on their initial investment! (... informed sources tell me I'm conservative with that estimate 🤫) Yes, I know. To quote Tom Ferguson there's no "moolah in the coolah" as no one exited from Gradiant. 💰 But still, that's impressive, right? 2️⃣ In 2007, Khosla Ventures invested $5 million in NanoH2O, with Samir Kaul as the lead investor. (Yes, the same Khosla Ventures that's a lead investor in OpenAI nowadays 🤯) In 2014, LG Chem acquired the company for (an estimated amount of) $200 million. Sure, Khosla Ventures continued investing in the company's 2011 and 2012 investment rounds, which somewhat reduced the multiple on their 2014 cash out. ↪ But if I only take the diluted 2007 round into consideration, I'd believe they 6xed! 😅 They'll probably do better when they exit Stripe, but that's an amazing water result, isn't it? 3️⃣ In 2004, Emerald Technology Ventures invested in Inge for an undisclosed amount (I'd nevertheless estimate to 2.4 million 😉) In 2011, BASF acquired the company for $106 Million. As for my previous example, Emerald kept investing in the subsequent rounds, so their global multiple is probably lower, but if I only focus on their first shot, I'd estimate they did a 7x! I know Helge Daebel mentioned in the comments of my last post that he "doesn't qualify to the 5-10x criterion," so as for all my estimates, take it with a pinch of salt. ↪ Yet, I trust my rationale on this (very objectively, of course 😅). If you want to follow my entire reasoning, check out my bonus episode out today on the podcast and my YouTube channel! 🙋♂️ Why does all of this matter? Not so much to prove Brian V. Iversen wrong ( ➡ let's be clear: he's not!) But rather to underline how, even in different eras and contexts, #VentureCapital has been successful in the water sector. And it will be even more in the future. Happy World Water Day!

You might not immediately associate decarbonisation and the energy transition with a venture corporate arm of an energy major, but that’s where Shell Ventures might surprise you. Beyond raising capital, one of the key draws of the fund is the help it gives its portfolio companies to find deployment opportunities within Shell’s assets and businesses. Why are so many startups scaling up with Shell Ventures? To find out, we asked two of its portfolio companies, Akselos and Cumulus Digital Systems. #Ad with Shell Ventures #Venturecapital #Sustainability Featuring Geert van de Wouw, managing partner at Shell Ventures. Thomas Leurent, cofounder and CEO of Akselos and Matthew Kleiman, CEO and cofounder at Cumulus Digital Systems.