Business
Climactic launches first fund as its partners eye looming M&A boom in climate tech
A couple years ago, when the pandemic was still in full swing, Raj Kapoor and Josh Felser started making some investments in climate tech startups. They called their operation Climactic, and initially they placed bets using their own money. Both are experienced founders, operators and investors, but they were new to focusing on this particular sector and had began by testing the waters.
Things must have gone well, because now they’re jumping in: The firm today said it has closed a $65 million inaugural fund, using it to back founders who are starting climate tech software businesses.
Both Kapoor and Felser have a long history as investors — Felser co-founded Freestyle Capital, and Kapoor spent seven years as a managing director at Mayfield Fund. They’ve also founded and sold their own software startups.
It’s a bit surprising it took the two so long to work together; their résumés are strikingly similar. Felser founded Spinner in 1997 (sold to AOL) and Crackle in 2004 (sold to Sony). He also started the #Climate nonprofit in 2014 and a public-private COVID task force during the pandemic. Kapoor was previously chief strategy officer at Lyft, and before that, he founded Snapfish (which HP bought) and FitMob (which ClassPass bought). He also started a nonprofit climate social app in 2007.
Those experiences, coupled with a growing concern for the state of Earth’s climate, led the two to form Climactic.
“If we could get the supply chains in the top 50 businesses to hit their net-zero goals, rather than just discuss it, we will have the biggest impact,” Kapoor told TechCrunch+. “To get there, we think the low-hanging fruit is software, because there are a lot of efficiencies that can be gained.”
-
Entertainment5 days ago
‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ review: George Miller’s blazing action folktale might just have outdone ‘Fury Road’
-
Entertainment6 days ago
‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 trailer breakdown: Dragons, Rook’s Rest, and more
-
Entertainment5 days ago
Sex education is under threat in the UK. What’s going on?
-
Business5 days ago
Orange Charger thinks a $750 outlet will solve EV charging for apartment dwellers
-
Business4 days ago
Colab’s collaborative tools for engineers line up $21M in new funding
-
Business5 days ago
Senate study proposes ‘at least’ $32B yearly for AI programs
-
Business4 days ago
A US Trustee wants troubled fintech Synapse to be liquidated via Chapter 7 bankruptcy, cites ‘gross mismanagement’
-
Entertainment7 days ago
Apple iPad Pro 2024 (13-inch) review: The battery life is bonkers