Good day. Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital wants to prove that
climate-tech startups can generate healthy returns. That's one of
the reasons that Mr. Sacca says Lowercarbon, which initially was
funded with the personal money of its founders, turned to outside
investors to help raise $800 million in fresh capital.
The firm's funds, structured as traditional venture funds with
management fees and carry, has 263 investors, he says. About half
of Lowercarbon's capital came from institutions such as
foundations, universities and corporations. Mr. Sacca and his wife
Crystal Sacca, a partner at the firm, are still the largest limited
partners.
"First, by running Lowercarbon Capital as a fund, we're showing
the world that climate tech investments can be evaluated on their
profit potential alone," Mr. Sacca says he wrote to his
investors.
There is already evidence that the performance of recent
investments in this sector is much better than it was in the years
of the clean-tech bubble in the late 2000s.
The total value of investments made into U.S. clean-tech
companies between 2015 and 2019 went up by 80% as of the end of
2020, according to data from investment and advisory firm Cambridge
Associates. That's compared with declining value overall for
investments made in the sector between 2005 and 2009.
The pooled gross investment rate of return, another key metric
for investment performance, was 22.7% for investments made in U.S.
clean-tech companies between 2015 and 2019, per Cambridge
Associates, compared with a negative IRR for investments made a
decade prior.
The climate-tech and clean-tech industry appears to be on an
upward trajectory.
And now on to the news.
Top News
Oil giants turn to startups. Energy giants including BP PLC and
Royal Dutch Shell PLC are bolstering their venture-capital arms --
increasing budgets, hiring more staff and doing more deals --
seeking out new low-carbon technologies to help future-proof their
profits, The Wall Street Journal's Sarah McFarlane reports. The
moves come as several big oil companies work to reduce their
dependence on fossil fuels and expand their low-carbon activities,
partly in response to growing pressure from investors and
governments to cut emissions.
Venture spending by oil companies represents only a small amount
of their multibillion-dollar annual investment budgets. It is also
sometimes aimed at boosting oil-and-gas operations, while some
clean-tech entrepreneurs can be reluctant to sell to fossil fuel
companies.
Nevertheless, BP, Shell and French peer TotalEnergies SE are now
among the most active clean-tech investors by number of deals
closed, according to data provider PitchBook.
Companies Are Hoarding Record Cash Amid Delta Fears
Companies are sitting on a record amount of cash amid lingering
uncertainty about disruptions from Covid-19, defying expectations
earlier this year that a waning pandemic would unleash a spending
spree, the Journal's Anna Hirtenstein reports. Cash and short-term
investments on corporate balance sheets globally are at an all-time
high of $6.84 trillion, according to data from S&P Global,
extrapolated from second-quarter earnings reports. That is 45%
higher than the average in the five years preceding the pandemic
and a 2.6% increase from the previous quarter.
Allbirds to Sell Wool and Tree-Based Workout Clothes, Taking on
Nike and Lululemon
Allbirds Inc., known for its eco-friendly sneakers, is betting
people want to work out in wool. The startup is launching a new
line of athletic gear made of merino wool and yarn created from the
pulp of eucalyptus trees, the Journal's Suzanne Kapner reports. The
fabric, which was two years in the making, is Allbirds' latest
attempt to rethink the apparel industry's longstanding reliance on
polyester and other synthetic fibers. Allbirds' effort to get
people to wear wool shoes was a resounding success, as its sneakers
quickly became a favorite in Silicon Valley. It now has to sell
consumers on the merits of working up a sweat in leggings made of
similar materials, while competing in a sector dominated by
Lululemon Athletica Inc., Nike Inc. and other companies that tout
lightweight, moisture-wicking gear.
InfoSum Raises $65 Million as Companies Prioritize Data
Privacy
InfoSum Ltd. has raised a $65 million Series B funding round, as
the data technology startup aims to support companies' growing need
for customer-data services that adhere to stricter privacy rules,
WSJ's Alexandra Bruell reports. The funding, entirely from
U.K.-based investment firm Chrysalis Investments Ltd., will enable
the company to increase its head count and global presence as it
plans for an initial public offering in the next five years, said
InfoSum Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Brian Lesser. InfoSum
sees an opportunity to boost growth as companies rely on new
techniques for collecting data amid tighter privacy regulations and
a rise in digital media consumption and e-commerce, Mr. Lesser
said.
Industry News
People
M12 appointed Michael Stewart as the firm's newest investment
partner. Based in San Francisco, Mr. Stewart will focus on
early-stage investments in deeptech and enterprise software in
North America. He was most recently an investment director at
Applied Ventures.
Fintech investor Nyca Partners said Tom Brown is joining the
firm as a partner. He was most recently a partner at Paul
Hastings.
Solidia Technologies, which helps manufacturers produce building
and construction materials using low-carbon cement and concrete,
named Russell Hill to the post of chief technology officer. He was
previously group chief innovation officer at Boral. In April,
Piscataway, N.J.-based said it raised a $78 million funding round
led by Imperative Ventures and Zero Carbon Partners.
ForgeRock, an identity-management software provider, appointed
Tschudy Smith as chief people officer. Ms. Smith joins the company
from Cisco, where she was senior vice president of people and
communities. San Francisco-based ForgeRock is backed by investors
including Riverwood Capital, Accenture Ventures, Accel, Meritech
Capital and Foundation Capital.
Exits
Unite US Inc., a builder of coordinated care networks of health
and social service providers, acquired health analytics company
Carrot Health for an undisclosed amount. Earlier this year, New
York-based Unite US raised $150 million in Series C funding from
investors including Iconiq Growth, Define Ventures, Salesforce
Ventures, Emerson Collective and Optum Ventures.
Publicly traded Roblox purchased Guilded Inc., a chat platform
for gaming communities, for an undisclosed sum. Guilded was backed
by investors including Y Combinator, Matrix Partners, Initialized
Capital, Susa Ventures and Liquid 2 Ventures.
Cisco Systems intends to acquire application monitoring provider
Epsagon Ltd. for an undisclosed amount. The company counts U.S.
Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, StageOne Ventures
and DTCP as investors.
New Money
Gelato, an Oslo-based on-demand printing startup, scored $240
million in new funding, giving the company a valuation of just over
$1 billion. Insight Partners led the round, which included
participation from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Dawn Capital, funds
managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and others. Adam Berger,
managing director at Insight Partners, will join Gelato's
board.
Hopper Inc., a travel and financial technology startup based in
Montreal and Boston, raised a $175 million Series G funding round
led by GPI Capital with participation from investors including
Glade Brook Capital, WestCap Group and Goldman Sachs Growth.
Seismic, a San Diego-based sales and marketing platform, closed
a $170 million Series G round, bringing the company's valuation up
to $3 billion. Permira led the funding, which included
participation from JMI Equity, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Jackson
Square Ventures, Ameriprise and funds and accounts advised by T.
Rowe Price Associates Inc. In addition to the new investment,
Seismic acquired workplace training software developer Lessonly for
an undisclosed amount. The company was backed by investors
including AXA Venture Partners, Allos Ventures and Atlas Peak
Capital.
Adverity, a Vienna-based marketing data intelligence provider,
completed a $120 million Series D round. Lead investor SoftBank
Vision Fund 2 was joined by Sapphire Ventures in the new
funding.
Rapido, an Indian bike taxi platform, picked up a $52 million
investment from investors including Shell Ventures, Nexus Venture
Partners and Westbridge Capital.
BrainQ, an Israeli stroke therapy technology startup, landed a
$40 million investment. Hanaco Ventures led the round, which
included additional support from Dexcel Pharma, Peregrine Ventures
and others. Stacey Pugh, chief commercial officer of Butterfly
Network, will join the board.
Ultromics, a cardiovascular imaging startup with offices in the
U.K. and Dallas, raised $33 million in Series B funding. Blue
Venture Fund led the investment, which saw participation from Optum
Ventures, GV and Oxford Sciences Innovation.
Tropic, a New York-based software procurement startup, nabbed
$25 million in new funding led by Canaan Partners.
Baffle Inc., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based cloud data protection
provider, snagged $20 million in Series B financing. Celesta
Capital led the round, which included contributions from National
Grid Partners, Lytical Ventures, Nepenthe Capital, True Ventures,
Greenspring Associates, Clearvision Ventures and Engineering
Capital. Sriram Viswanathan, founding general partner of Celesta
Capital, will join the board.
Latent AI Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif.- and Skillman, N.J.-based
provider of software tools enabling adaptive artificial
intelligence and machine learning at the edge, fetched a $19
million Series A round. Blackhorn Ventures and Future Ventures
co-led the funding, with additional participation from Booz Allen
Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, 40 North Ventures, Pegasus Tech Ventures
and Autotech Ventures. Philip O'Connor, managing partner and
co-founder at Blackhorn Ventures, will join the board.
PBS Biotech Inc., a Camarillo, Calif.-based provider of cell
therapy manufacturing equipment and processes, collected a $10
million investment from BroadOak Capital Partners.
Part Analytics, a Brookfield, Wis.-based supply chain software
startup, nabbed $3 million in funding from MK Capital.
Anchor Yacht Rentals, a St. Petersburg, Fla.-based boat rental
and yacht charter marketplace, was seeded with a $2.5 million
investment led by Silverton Partners.
Tech News
Jeff Bezos' space company escalates push for moon vehicle
work
Facebook backs underwater cable projects to boost internet
connectivity
Bitcoin fans are suddenly a political force
Walmart looks to hire cryptocurrency expert
Tesla's autopilot system to be probed by U.S. auto safety
regulator
Tech hack notification delays can leave corporate customers in
the lurch
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 17, 2021 09:51 ET (13:51 GMT)
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