Climate Tech Founders | October 2023
At One Ventures
Investing toward a world where humanity is a net positive to nature by supporting early-stage deep tech ventures.
This month's newsletter features:
Events
At One Ventures' climate tech founders rep-re-sent at the AGM
In the News
3 At One portfolio companies are TIME's "Best Inventions"
You can read about the Cruz Foam Cruz Cool cooler (say that three times fast), Dalan Animal Health, Inc.'s now-world-famous honeybee vaccine, and Monarch Tractor's MK-V that makes the lives of farmers easier, safer, more sustainable, and more profitable.
Mojave to manufacture in South Carolina
New investment Mojave Energy Systems has chosen Anderson County, South Carolina as the site to manufacture its ArctiDry product, creating 200 jobs in the local economy. Watch on FOX Carolina.
Inlyte Energy raises $8M seed round
Antonio Baclig (Stanford Ph.D., Activate ) will "bring sodium-metal-halide batteries into the 21st century," reported TechCrunch. The batteries, when produced at the gigafactory scale, could cost as little as $35 per kWh. The company has also made the Cleantech Group 50 to Watch.
Puna Bio feature story in WIRED UK
The Puna Bio team's microbiologists have been studying how La Puna desert microbes survive under harsh conditions. They now have in-market an inoculant product that is applied to staple food crops around the world, with proven yield increase by 11% in soybeans. Read the profile piece.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Simplifyber named to INSIDER's 'most promising' climate tech 2023
By eliminating waste and pollution while maintaining cost-effectiveness, Simplifyber positions itself as a future leader in eco-friendly clothing production with a real potential to displace polyester, explains lead investor Laurie Menoud . Read their writeup in Insider.
Partner Insights
How many of you have heard Laurie Menoud talk about unit economics?
Well, now you can get the bigger picture on why she cares so much about it.
"There is only one way that brown-field industries will ever adopt green technologies at scale: they must have on-par performances and superior unit economics." This is about stacking up financial wins side by side with decarbonization, she writes in TechCrunch, creating a compelling incentive for widespread adoption by industries.
Funding Guide for Future Founders
Disruptive unit economics is one of the three core pieces we look for when investing in a company but it's not the only one. We first look for disruptive technology (which then leads to those better economics) and then catalyzes the positive environmental impact.
But wait, there's more! A strong founding team, and the right round size for us also matters. To make it easier for climate tech founders to see if we are a good fit for them, we've put together this "funding napkin," a guide to what we look for in new climate tech companies. Pass it on to anyone you think might find it helpful and feel free to share in your networks!
Team Addition
We are pleased to welcome a new manufacturing expert to our team!
Parichit Kumar brings a wealth of experience launching complex hardware solutions globally, with stints in EV charging, consumer electronics, and technology consulting. He has deployed manufacturing lines in over 10 countries across North America, Asia, Europe, and Africa, encompassing a wide spectrum from high-volume production to high-mix environments, from high automation to predominantly manual processes, and various combinations in between.
Pari will join Dilip Goswami as part of our platform operations team, specifically to help founders with manufacturing scale-up.
Video of the Week
We put out these little ditties about each of you across our social channels, and this past week we released this one on Apis Cor. You can also catch our Cuby Technologies video on Instagram and TikTok.
Love the unit economics piece! Leadership that takes our Human Future AND business metrics into account is the new gold standard for leadership. Taking both into consideration is the way forward. Way to lead At One Ventures!