Climate Tech Founders | November 2024

Here's what's on gourd for your November newsletter from At One:

• Photos from our side event at VERGE earlier this week in San Jose
• Our portfolio in the news, including announcements of two new companies
• The #1 mistake deep tech startups make that lands them in the Valley of Death

Events

Makers' Mixer at VERGE (San Jose)

Thanks to all who came out to the Continental Bar & Lounge this past week for our VERGE side event. Was wonderful to see so many founders (over a dozen of you, from 7 different companies!) and introduce you to our co-investor community. We hosted with CEV, Khosla and TDK Ventures, but there were 20-30 additional folks from the climate tech ecosystem present. See photos...

Upcoming Recommended Events

• Web Summit Nov 11-14 | LisbonThis is mostly traditional tech startups but Laurie Menoud will be speaking on a deep tech panel, and there will be some climate and deep tech investorsContact her or Zahlen Titcomb from Ravel (on WhatsApp) if you are considering attendance
• EY Strategic Growth Forum  Nov 12-13 |  Palm Springs
• Heavy Hitters Digital Industrial Summit  Nov 14 | New YorkThis event is run by Ironspring Ventures which specializes in early stage companies in construction, manufacturing, transport & logistics, and alternative energy.This event will be small (100 people) but focused. Contact Ana or Tom if you'd like more information about the firm and event.
• London Climate Tech Show Nov 27-28 | London

In the News

CNBC runs profile piece on Modern Hydrogen

See behind the scenes at the Seattle-based company that is preventing carbon from going into the atmosphere by capturing it onsite – and turning it into asphalt. Watch now. 

Blue Energy raises $45M to build underwater nuclear reactors

Welcome our second nuclear company to the portfolio, Blue Energy. We co-led this round with Engine Ventures. They expect to begin manufacturing its first commercial reactor as soon as 2027, with anticipated CapEx of less than $1B, reports Axios. 

Adden Energy becomes part of the At One portfolio

Another new company! Based in the Boston area, Adden Energy raised $15 million in a Series A round led by us, with participation from Primavera Capital Group, Rhapsody Venture Partners, and MassVentures. They have developed a solid state battery for EVs that can be recharged in just 10 minutes, writes Electrek.

Perspectives

Investor Danaé Robert shares her thoughts on the valley of death, and how you can avoid it, in our Perspectives blog. Below is an excerpt. Read the entire piece here. 

The most common mistake we see, and how to avoid it

Three significant players are involved in this notorious valley: the innovator (often the startup), the investor, and the customer. Each has a role that is intertwined with the others, each inherently with risk, but less so when they work together.

To raise capital, many hardware startups race to generate revenue, often diverting resources towards side products, diluting focus from their core offerings in order to satisfy the market need. Side products are often targeted towards B2C to generate faster revenue and bypass B2B contracts. 

The result is higher R&D, talent and marketing costs, which then reduces available capital for manufacturing and scalability of the main product. What we then see is the company requires even more time to generate stable, annual recurring revenue and a concrete environmentally positive impact. You’re probably now starting to see where it begins to go terribly wrong. Well, investors do, too. Missed milestones and revenue targets do not go unnoticed.

Instead of focusing primarily on generating revenue, startups should focus their resources on the key challenges of the valley of death. To achieve revenue generation, you must demonstrate substantial commercial traction. Focus on reducing unit economics and efficient manufacturing to be able to offer a market-adoptable solution. 

 A robust deep tech company must exhibit three things and three things only:

 1/ A clear path to scalability

 2/ Unit economics at price parity or cheaper than existing market offerings

 3/ Strong customer traction

 Continue reading on our blog: Climate Tech and Navigating Beyond the Valley of Death

About At One Ventures: What We Look For

We back early-stage (Seed, Series A) companies that are using disruptive deep tech to upend the unit economics of established industries while dramatically reducing their planetary footprint. We also look for companies that are pioneering new industries that are actively regenerative to planetary health. Lastly, we look for companies that have significant potential to be healthy, scalable businesses, because the positive impacts we invest in only last as long as the businesses that carry them.