Our 2022 Climate Fund Annual Report

For a change, let’s start with this team :)

Note from Kunal: 2021 was a unique year for Prithvi as it was our first year in operations. Rather than using it to define us, we evolved in 2022 to create a greater impact for our investors and prithvi (earth). We now are writing larger and fewer checks, taking board positions, focusing on areas where we’re experts, and other new strategies that became core to our thesis in 2022 that we will continue to employ in 2023 — we believe these strategies will lead to what we call climate wealth for our LPs and founders. The biggest change this year that will massively improve the success of our fund was promoting Vivek and Eric to partners. We’re fortunate to have Vivek as our PhD and carbon removal backbone, Eric as our philosopher and bio economy lead, and Park as our behind-the-scenes legal counsel. They have earned this and are integral to our success.

Before we dive in, I want to share my journey so far with you on climate action. Through this, you’ll better understand what we do, why we do it, and how we got here. Until recently, anger was a big part of my journey. It fueled my efforts, and it also held me back. Someone once told me, “Kunal, stop making every problem in the world your own. You won’t survive this way for long.” However, living in denial and ignoring the issues facing our (home) planet, isn’t who I am. Even though I survived the first wave of what I call CleanTech 1.0, the financial and environmental struggles left me angry and disappointed. This team’s climate action as our inner calling changed it all, and now I channel that energy into a driver. My personal failure to adequately fund vertical innovation taught me a valuable lesson and sparked a newfound energy within me. I began to educate myself further on the relationship between science & society, and cultural aspects of climate change by speaking with experts on the front lines. This helped me better understand the impacts of climate change and the fear holding back progress. I also learned the importance of creating jobs and revenue, while navigating challenges like regulations and inefficiencies in the public & private markets. Overall, I found a way to channel my inner calling.

I made mistakes in my early approach due to my naivety, I learned from them and created my own playbook. My planned fatherhood experience to provide my future children with a climate-friendly future motivated me to promise myself I would give it my all to address climate change in my lifetime. It wasn’t until we made our first few climate investments in 2020 that my anger was replaced by this powerful determination to achieve my climate goals. As a result, my soul is at peace and I am now able to focus on climate wealth, while supporting generational change for our investors and founders using our own unique approach. Come for the impact, stay for the returns. In 2020, we began as generalists and have since evolved into specialists. As an ordinary human and sometimes a misfit who is not an academic, I just love working with academics, founders with grit and resilience, and forming partnerships rather than just executing transactions. In Hindi we call this type of person an aam log, a mango man. This mango man enjoys investing in the unknowns in the climate space and seeks authenticity and effortless synergies based on a love for the climate instead of fear and noise.

The education and experiences I have gained from my mistakes have led me to believe that a traditional venture model, which focuses on chasing management fees and prioritizing clauses like MFNs and liquidation preferences, is not conducive to advancing the funding of climate innovation. I have come to realize that public market inefficiencies and lack of transparency in venture are not in line with mine or the values of this team. We are committed to our promise to never forget why we’re here — to support climate innovation and make an outsized positive impact while returning significant returns to our LPs. We do not need to be climate investor hawks in order to do so. It is our belief that most young technologies without a clear commercial roadmap will fail. GHG measurement, evaluation, tracking, and reporting will play a crucial role in our work going forward. We believe a commercial focus is necessary in order to scale and succeed.

In the bioeconomy, we’re focused on reducing carbon emissions in the short term, and finding ways to scale up DAC (Direct Air Capture) technology to remove carbon from the atmosphere in the long term. Carbon accounting and offsets are not our primary focus. Instead, we will be focusing on investing in technologies such as fusion electricity generation and grid-enabling technologies, cleaning up mining and finding new chemistries. We enjoy rolling up our sleeves and working closely with our hardtech founders onsite, learning from them. We believe it is important for founders to send regular investor updates that include their climate focus, and to communicate openly and transparently with all stakeholders, not just board members. In 2023, we know that we will all be challenged to the core, let’s get ready. Climate venture is a long-term journey for our team, and we’re committed to work closely with our founders.

Lastly, and most importantly, we have simplified our approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by focusing on our mandate of investing in fearless climate founders. Our investments in founders of all genders and ethnicities across the globe are a testament to this commitment. As someone who was raised by a single mother, yes I personally do prioritize supporting women founders. As a person of Indian origin, the systemic gaps are not lost on me hence the importance of diversity and inclusion remains a key value for me, and I am committed to addressing systemic challenges in climate and recognizing technology alone will not solve the problem of climate change.

Note from Vivek: It has been a real pleasure to be associated with the Prithvi Team. I have known Kunal for more than four years now and we have developed a successful method of supporting climate tech founders with funding and our expertise. Kunal deserves a lot of credit for successfully guiding Prithvi through the fundraising process and raising investor and founder awareness. He has been genuinely committed to helping entrepreneurs in this sector and has helped refine the strategy to focus on bigger and more audacious greenhouse gas reduction goals than when we started, resulting in some of the most ambitious climate goals for funds in this sector.

Eric has helped us build out our focus on food and ag related sectors for climate tech which has been very important. While I am based in the Boston area which has a strong climate tech ecosystem, and Kunal is based in NYC, Eric has helped our small team have a great national footprint by being active in the Bay Area.

As a team we have an excellent handle on investing in climatetech. We are very selective with our investments, do very deep technical due diligence and have a good sense of a wide range of industries; and have a great appreciation for what it takes to develop technologies and to scale them to a real business that can scale and have the climate impact we want to see. We have very rich deal experience on our team and are familiar with developing technologies in partnership with academics, growing companies and managing and advising real mature companies.

As I look at our portfolio, it is an impressive collection of companies addressing a wide range of solutions that are necessary to address climate change. Going forward, I see us being more focused on the bigger GHG goals and working with companies that have to do the heavy lift that is necessary as mentioned later in this report. I am glad to see us being recognized as serious investors in the ecosystem and look forward to working with entrepreneurs and LPs who want to make a difference.

Note from Eric: My journey from a team member to a partner at Prithvi Ventures has been a rewarding one, and I am proud to be part of a fund that is committed to addressing climate change. My passion for climate technologies stems from my love for nature and the outdoors, and my desire to protect the planet for future generations. Growing up in California, I saw firsthand the impact of climate change on the natural world with wildfires and drought, and I knew that I wanted to be part of the solution. I’ve also been lucky to have the opportunity to work with a talented and dedicated team of professionals who shared my commitment to making a positive impact. Vivek is absolutely brilliant and truly brings a technical vision and Kunal is our compass who gives us direction.

Over the last year, I have learned that writing fewer, more concentrated checks is the better approach to achieve better returns for our investors. This is because a more concentrated approach allows us to focus our resources and expertise on a smaller number of companies, giving them the support and guidance they need to succeed. It also allows us to build deeper relationships with the founders and teams we invest in, which is crucial to their success. We have also learned that it is important to only invest in founders who truly want our investment, rather than simply looking to fill their round. This means we must take the time to build relationships with founders early, getting to know their business, and understanding their goals and needs. By investing in founders who are truly interested in what we bring to the table and align with our values, we can increase the likelihood of success for both ourselves and the companies we invest in.

We are always looking for opportunities to invest in innovative companies that are working to address some of the world’s most pressing climate challenges, and we believe that the bioeconomy offers significant promise in this regard. The bioeconomy encompasses a wide range of industries and fields, including traditional agriculture, cellular agriculture and other processes that use renewable biological resources to produce a variety of products and services, including food, chemicals, and materials. By replacing fossil-based products with bio-based alternatives, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the transition to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy. We believe that these industries have the potential to grow significantly in the coming years and are well-positioned to make a meaningful impact on climate change.

In addition to identifying promising investment opportunities, we are also committed to supporting the companies in our portfolio and helping them scale and succeed. We believe that by providing strategic guidance and access to our network, we can help these companies realize their full potential and make a positive impact on the world. Overall, we are optimistic about the potential of novel climate technologies to address climate change and are excited to make great investments in the year ahead.

The Problems Facing Prithvi/Earth: (The following information is based on reporting from the IPCC’s Global Warming of 1.5 ºC Report and the UN’s Causes and Effects of Climate Change)

According to the recent IPCC report, human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, with a likely range of 0.8°C to 1.2°C. Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2050 if it continues to increase at the current rate. As humans, we are facing a number of catastrophic consequences as greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise. These consequences range from environmental, economic, and human health impacts. Some of the key impacts of climate change that we’re focusing on are:

Hotter Temperatures

● The last decade (2011–2020) has been the warmest on record, and each decade since the 1980s has been warmer than the previous one. This warming trend is being seen across nearly all land areas, leading to more hot days and heatwaves. Higher temperatures increase the risk of heat-related illnesses and make it more difficult to work outdoors. Wildfires also start more easily and spread more rapidly in hot conditions. Additionally, The Arctic has warmed at least twice as fast as the global average.

● Human activity has been the main cause of the observed warming of the planet since the mid-20th century. Global average surface temperature has risen by 0.85°C between 1880 and 2012, according to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). Many parts of the world have experienced even greater regional-scale warming, with 20–40% of the global population (depending on the temperature dataset used) experiencing more than 1.5°C of warming in at least one season. Since 2000, the estimated level of human-induced warming has been equal to the level of observed warming, with a likely range of ±20% to account for uncertainty due to solar and volcanic activity. This has been assessed with high confidence.

More Severe Storms

● Destructive storms have become more intense and more frequent in many regions. As temperatures rise, more moisture evaporates, leading to more extreme rainfall and flooding. This exacerbates the severity of storms, and the frequency and extent of tropical storms are also being impacted by warming oceans. Cyclones, hurricanes, and typhoons feed on warm waters at the ocean surface. These storms often destroy homes and communities, causing deaths and huge economic losses.

Increased Drought

Climate change is impacting water availability, making it scarcer in more regions. Global warming exacerbates water shortages in already water-stressed areas, leading to an increased risk of agricultural droughts that affect crops and ecological droughts that increase the vulnerability of ecosystems. Droughts can also cause destructive sand and dust storms that can ● move billions of tons of sand across continents. Deserts are also expanding, reducing land available for growing food.

A Warming, Rising Ocean

● The ocean absorbs most of the heat from global warming, and the rate at which it is warming has strongly increased over the past two decades, at all depths. As the ocean warms, its volume increases as water expands when heated. Melting ice sheets also cause sea levels to rise, threatening coastal and island communities. Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the ocean are making it more acidic, endangering marine life and coral reefs.

Loss of Species

● Climate change poses risks to the survival of species on land and in the ocean. These risks increase as temperatures climb. Climate change is exacerbating the loss of species at a rate 1,000 times greater than at any other time in recorded human history, with one million species at risk of extinction in the coming decades.

Food Shortage

● The global rise in hunger and poor nutrition is being driven in part by climate change and extreme weather events. These events can destroy or reduce the productivity of fisheries, crops, and livestock. The increasing acidity of the ocean is putting the marine resources that feed billions of people at risk. Changes in snow and ice cover are disrupting food supplies from herding, hunting, and fishing. Heat stress can reduce water and grasslands for grazing, leading to declining crop yields and impacting livestock.

Health Risks

● Climate change poses risks to human health. It already impacts millions of peoples’ health through air pollution, disease, extreme weather events, forced displacement, pressures on mental health, increased hunger, and poor nutrition. Every year, environmental factors take the lives of around 13 million people. Changing weather patterns are expanding diseases, and extreme weather events increase deaths and make it difficult for health care systems to keep up.

Poverty and Displacement

● Climate change is a major contributor to poverty. Floods can destroy urban slums and homes, leaving people without a place to live or earn a living. Extreme heat can make it difficult to work outdoors, and water scarcity can affect crops. Over the past decade (2010–2019), weather-related events have displaced an average of 23.1 million people each year, leaving many more vulnerable to poverty. Most refugees come from countries that are the most vulnerable and least able to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Equity is a key ethical consideration in addressing climate change. The impacts of warming up to and beyond 1.5°C, as well as the potential impacts of the actions needed to limit warming to ● 1.5°C, disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable. We must take this into account as we develop and implement solutions to the climate crisis.

It is important to realize that the impact is cumulative because of the long lifetime of the various greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Simply put the high GHG level causes higher surface and ocean temperatures which raises sea level and the amount of moisture in the atmosphere that leads to changing weather patterns and more severe storms and change in rainfall patterns, flooding and drought which results in change in disruption of agricultural patterns.

What we are seeing around the world is a result of numerous processes which involve a large number of people, industries and practices as shown in the diagram in the previous page from the World Resources Institute. This chart offers a comprehensive view of GHG emissions. It describes the sources and activities across the global economy that produce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the type and volume of gasses associated with each activity and is their most recent chart posted in June 2022.

Addressing the challenges of climate change will require a long-term and concerted effort to tackle a range of issues. While there is no consensus on the best way forward, many individuals, companies, and governments are working towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The chart below, published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, shows one potential pathway for different sectors to reach net zero emissions. Policies are already in place to drive GHG reduction in the power and transportation sectors; however, there is still much work to be done in other areas to achieve our goal. As a small team, we are focused on bending the curve for more difficult sub sectors — primarily regarding materials. This involves a significant focus on cement, metals and carbon removal.

Prithvi Ventures: On a Mission to Stop This Catastrophe: At Prithvi Ventures, we operate with the values of “come for the impact, stay for the returns” because our planet — the Earth — is at the heart of what we do — पृथ्वी / Pṛthvī means Earth in Sanskrit. Our climate journey began as a syndicate with our first investment in Amprius Technologies’ Series E+ in February 2021. We then launched the Prithvi Ventures Early Stage Fund and made our first fund investment in Kiverdi’s Series A+. In November 2021, we launched the Prithvi Ventures Opportunity Fund with our investment in Novoloop’s Series A.

In 2022, we wrote larger checks on average than we did in 2021, averaging approximately twice the size of our 2021 investments (excluding any stand alone SPVs). Furthermore, once we created a model of GHG assessments, evaluation & reporting, we took up board observer positions and/or major investor/information rights in startups like 6K and Tandem Repeat Technologies, to name a few. We continue to invest in our core sectors within climate technology, including companies working on reducing or removing greenhouse gas emissions in traditional agriculture, the bioeconomy, industrial materials, and clean energy production. A key part of our due diligence process is ensuring that our portfolio startups have or will have a commercial roadmap. We have set a goal for our portfolio companies to mitigate a cumulative 2.5 gigatons of GHG emissions by 2050. This is an ambitious target, with bold principles to address climate change and add real value to our stakeholders. We believe in getting our hands dirty and going on site visits or installations. We recognize that relying solely on Zoom and spreadsheets will only take us so far. Building a carbon tech ecosystem with our founders on site is our legacy. Investing in capital-intensive climate startups is our passion, and we plan to continue raising and investing in 2023 and beyond. Our ask for our LPs is to help us grow the fund, increase their fund commitments and refer other climate-focused limited partners to our climate fund.

Thesis: Software is necessary, and we have a couple of software-based startups in our portfolio, but that’s not our sweet spot. We focus more on hard tech, materials, and boring climate tech that requires strong domain knowledge, technical teams that take a monopolistic approach to reduce or remove GHG emissions. 6K is a great example of the type of company we would like our younger portfolio companies to emulate and Carbon Upcycling Technologies is an example of one of our early stage investments that we are doubling down with the conviction that it is another breakout winner. Prithvi Ventures as a whole has transitioned from a generalist in climate to becoming a carbon reduction and removal fund. We have become more selective in our focus and are now specialize in finding better ways to generate, grow, and consume resources such as food and electricity. Our portfolio reflects this focus, with investments in companies working to decarbonize the chemicals, plastics, and textiles industries. In 2023, we plan to expand our focus to include the agriculture and grid management sectors, as well as the dirty steel industry.

We are actively building relationships with stakeholders at academic institutions like MIT and UCLA, as well as organizations like Greentown Labs to identify strong technical teams led by passionate and fearless founders. We are looking for founders who are committed to regular communication and transparency, and who understand the importance of prioritizing a focus on climate solutions over potential trade sales or short-term upticks. We understand building a company is hard work, add to that one protecting our planet and that’s what we help with.

The Year Ahead for Prithvi Ventures: We’re a group of ordinary people working on extraordinary things, with full transparency in the public domain. Some may consider this risky, we simply love our bold approach in climate. We’re constantly evolving through our mistakes and learnings, including:

1) Our sweet spot is in big, impactful, and boring hard tech. The bigger the impact, the higher the returns.

2) We found investing in fearless founders with domain knowledge is our passion. These founders have a strong inner calling to address climate change, just like us.

3) Being a founder is hard, lonely so unless they want a partnership instead of a transactional relationship, we’re not the best fit.

4) Investing in the unknown is what we signed up for, and everything else is just noise to us.

5) We prefer to communicate regularly rather than on a seasonal basis.

6) We do not fight for allocation and do not suffer from fomo.

7) Accepting our controversy as misfits is our brand in the climate sector.

In their recent report on investing in climate technologies, Silicon Valley Bank published their Climate Tech Innovation Hype Cycle, modeling the Gartner Hype cycle for Innovative Technologies which is shown below:

We believe that new federal grants and loans will help accelerate the deployment of a range of green technologies, including green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels, energy storage, EV charging, air source heat pumps, and battery recycling. While we see electric aviation as a long-term solution, we also recognize the need for short-term fixes such as sustainable aviation fuels. We do not subscribe to the idea that funding short-term solutions undermine the long-term ones. Instead, we believe that there is room for both, and time will tell which approach is most effective. We also believe that it is important to address the environmental impacts of mining and to fund research into new battery chemistries. Going forward, the topics that are of particular interest to us to invest in, where this team will be spending the most time, include:

● Carbon capture and upcycling (carbon capture, direct air capture, and carbon utilization)

● Reducing carbon intensity in heavy industries (such as steel and aluminum, cement, mining, chemicals, and textiles) and in the food and agriculture sectors through a robust bioeconomy that replaces outdated parts of the global supply chain

● Increasing the resilience of the increasingly green grid (through hardware solutions that enhance grid resilience)

Although the economy is currently facing challenges and market valuations are normalizing, we believe that venture investing is a long-term game with a 10-year cycle. This means that the current market conditions can improve our potential returns on investment. Our team continues to raise new capital for new investments, and to double down on the most promising companies in our portfolio. We expect market conditions to remain challenging in 2023, and are committed to our 10-year cycle to build climate unicorns. We made a promise to our families and to ourselves to take action on climate change, and no economic cycle will deter us from creating new jobs and supporting the people on the front lines of this crisis.

Prithvi Ventures Fund Reporting: To date, our fund has achieved a TVPI performance that puts us in the top 65th percentile according to the AngelList Fund Performance Calculator. As a relatively young fund, we’re humbled with the strong performance that we have achieved so far and are confident in our ability to continue to deliver even better results. We have demonstrated our commitment to our LPs and Founders by reinvesting a portion of our management fees, amounting to ~10% of the fund. In 2021, we invested in 20 companies, and in 2022, we invested in eight companies:

Bucha Bio is an early-stage sustainable luxury biomaterials startup based in the United States commercializing biopolymers starting with faux leather with applications in apparel, footwear, automotive, design, and packaging, and more. Prithvi Ventures invested in their Seed round in April 2022 via the fund. Bucha Bio was founded by CEO Zimri Hinshaw, who founded Bucha Bio while in college as an undergraduate at Temple University. He is supported by a team of scientists and engineers.

Capra Biosciences is an early-stage sustainable biochemical startup based in the United States using a proprietary process and bioreactor to produce lubricants, adhesives, surfactants/detergents, pigments, and other ingredients with broader applications in personal care/cosmetics, fashion, industrial materials and manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and more. Prithvi Ventures invested in their Pre-Seed round in January 2022 via the fund and SPV. Capra Biosciences was founded by CEO Elizabeth Onderko, a Bowdoin College-trained chemist and former U.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientist with a PhD in Bioinorganic Chemistry from Penn State University and co-founder Dr. Andrew Magyar, a materials scientist with a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. They are supported by team members in biochemistry, synthetic biology, and operational roles.

Carbon Upcycling Technologies is an early-stage sustainable construction materials startup based in Canada commercializing climate-friendly cement. Prithvi Ventures invested in their Seed+ round in January 2022 via the fund and SPV. Carbon Upcycling Technologies was founded by CEO Apoorv Sinha, a Georgia Institute of Technology-trained chemical and biomolecular engineer and former R&D executive at TOHL and Zerocor as well as fellow at Energy Futures Lab. He is supported by a team of people in engineering, scientist, sales, strategy, and operations roles.

Jellatech is an early-stage cellular agriculture startup based in the United States producing biosynthetic ingredients with applications in fashion, beauty, food, biomedical industries, and more. Prithvi Ventures invested in their Pre-Seed round in March 2022 via the fund. Jellatech was founded by CEO Stephanie Michelsen, a biotechnologist and former Juvena Therapeutics and Wild Earth researcher. She is supported by Head of Science Rob Schutte, former Executive Director of Process Development at Humacyte with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University. They have the additional help of a team of scientists.

Khepra is an early-stage sustainable chemical technologies and materials startup based in the United States using novel bioreactors to produce agrochemicals, lubricants, and thermoplastics for personal care products and more. Prithvi Ventures invested in their Seed round in April 2022 and doubled-down in August 2022 via the fund and SPV. Khepra was founded by CEO Julie Kring, a University of California, San Diego-trained biochemist and former researcher at Vir Biotechnology and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She is supported by Acoustic Engineer and PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, Pierre Dal, and an interim CTO.

Mars Materials is an early-stage sustainable biochemicals startup based in the United States using a proprietary nitrilation process to produce acrylonitrile, acrylamide, and carbon fiber with applications in industrial materials and manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, and more. Prithvi Ventures invested in their Pre-Seed round in March 2022 via the fund and SPV. Mars Materials was founded by CEO Aaron Fitzgerald, a Breakthrough Energy Innovation Fellow, former entrepreneur-in-residence at Carbon180 and Prime Coalition, and former product manager at Kairos Aerospace and co-founder Kristian Gubsch, a Washington State University-trained chemical engineer and Marshall Scholar in the field of carbon capture. They are supported by additional engineers and advisors.

Novoloop is a Series A upcycling startup based in the United States that is turning plastic waste into high-performance chemicals and materials with applications in apparel, footwear, automotive, electronics, sporting goods, and more. Prithvi Ventures invested in their Series A+ in April 2022 via the fund and SPV, following on to an original investment made by Prithvi Ventures in the Series A in November 2021 via the fund. Novoloop was founded by CEO Miranda Wang, a University of Pennsylvania-trained molecular biologist and COO and co-founder Jeanny Yao, a University of Toronto-trained biochemist and environmental scientist. They are supported by Chief Technology Officer Jennifer Le Roy, a former University of Oxford researcher and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Ottawa, and a team of people in engineering, sales, and customer success roles. Novoloop was born out of a high school science fair project between best friends Miranda and Jeanny.

Tandem Repeat Technologies is an early-stage sustainable biomaterials startup based in the United States commercializing a bio-manufactured protein fiber blend to replace cotton/polyester/elastane blends with applications in apparel, footwear, automotive, electronics, sporting goods, and more. Prithvi Ventures invested in their Pre-Seed round in July 2022 and doubled-down in October 2022 via the fund and SPV. Tandem Repeat Technologies was founded by Prof. Dr. Melik Demirel, a biomaterial scientist and Lloyd and Dorothy Huck Chair in Biomimetic Materials and Director of the Center for Research on Advanced Fiber Technologies at Penn State University with a PhD in Material Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University who invented Tandem’s core technology, co-founder and President Gözde Şenel-Ayaz, a textile engineering scientist with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Drexel University, and co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Benjamin Allen, a biochemist and former assistant professor at Penn State with a PhD in Chemistry from CalTech. They are supported by a team of people in finance, operations, business development, and engineering roles.

Most of the companies in our fund portfolio have a healthy runway of more than 12 months, despite the ongoing challenges of hiring. Some of our stand-alone SPVs, like Mission Barns, have experienced significant increases in their priced round valuation, and others like Amprius have gone public or raised significant follow-on rounds. We are proud of the work that we have done in this ecosystem, and we will continue to push the boundaries of innovation until we have earned our seat at the table and the right to have a say in the future of our planet. To highlight our strategy of investing early and doubling down on the breakout winners, we are pleased to announce that we will be doubling down on Carbon Upcycling Technologies. This is our commitment to invest early in science without fear and follow on in those making significant progress to achieve their Net Zero goals by scaling up commercially. The exact details will be formally announced upon closure of the investment.

Since we began our journey nearly two years ago, we have built a strong portfolio of 28 startups working fearlessly to develop solutions to the climate crisis. Despite the challenging economic environment, we continue to deploy capital regularly and are using this opportunity to challenge ourselves to better understand how we can add the most value and generate even greater returns for our stakeholders, our LPs & Founders. For further information or if you liked what you read so far and are interested in learning more about our approach to investing in climate, please contact us at numberoneks@hey.com

Quotes from Founders:

I couldn’t be more delighted to partner with Prithvi Ventures. As CEO and Co-Founder of Mars Materials, I sought investor partners who understood the unique challenges faced by climatetech startups, and even more unique challenges faced by companies seeking to disrupt heavy industry. Since becoming a portfolio company for Prithvi, not only have we found patient and understanding investors — but we’ve found a group of people committed to our/my well-being. It’s not always easy being a founder — the demands of the job can be overwhelming — but I can always expect a check-in text from Kunal or the team when he senses the going is getting tough. That kind of empathy along with the team’s industry expertise is why I refer founders to the firm. — Mars Materials Founder and CEO, Aaron Fitzgerald

I’m new to the portfolio but I received a warm welcome. Kunal enthusiastically emphasizes authenticity and that’s very aligned with my values. I don’t know where the hell he came from but I’m glad he’s on the team. Prithvi clearly rolls up its sleeves in ways that others do not, and I respect that. – Khepra Co-founder and CEO, Julie Kring

Prithvi Ventures Team:

Kunal Sethi, Philosopher & General Partner

Vivek Soni, PhD & Carbon Removal Partner

Eric Brook, Biomaterials & Carbon Reduction Partner

Parkins Burger, Legal