#93 | Climate tech startups to watch + AMA with Seqana
Understory newsletter on climate and sustainability tech
We have a ton of announcements and content for you this week. Let’s jump right in:
We are hosting an AMA with Jakob Levin, Co-Founder and COO of Seqana, this week. Jakob was unable to present live at our January showcase, so he will be answering all your questions in the #understoryevents Slack channel on Tuesday 2/8 and Wednesday 2/9. You can drop your questions now and return for the answers.
Join us on Wednesday 2/9 to hear about climate tech investment trends in the Southeast. Understory is excited to co-host this ATL Climate & Sustainability Tech Meetup featuring panelists from Footprint Coalition, Venture Atlanta, and cove.tool. In-person and virtual tickets are still available. RSVP here.
Don’t forget to register for Understory’s ‘Startups Driving Sustainability’ Showcase on February 16th. We are featuring talks on ESG solutions, urban gardening, recycling, and sustainable investing. Register here.
If you have news or events to include in our weekly newsletter, drop us a note or post it in our Slack community for inclusion the following week.
📚 Worth Reading
Who are the Climate Tech startups that you need to know? Every week Understory highlights an emerging company that uses technology, science, innovative processes, or new business models to drive sustainable change. Our 'CLIMATE TECH STARTUP SPOTLIGHT 2021 REPORT’ showcases the standouts from 2021.
Last year was a banner year for venture investment into climate and sustainability tech with over $60 billion raised globally in the first half of the year alone. While the majority of funds flowed into sectors such as renewable energy and EV technology, emerging segments also received significant capital as well. Areas like 'net zero', 'ESG' and 'circular economy' have seen increasing innovations and investments.
We identified seven key verticals that warrant attention:
The Understory community shines light on what's next, who are making differences, and together brings value to the innovation and investment communities at large. Our goal is to accelerate the work of these climate and sustainability innovators to help scale the positive impact we can make in our environment and in climate change.
🚀 Funding and Congrats!
Lightsmith Group, a private equity firm, raised a new $186 million Climate Resilience Partners fund. They announced investments in Source Global and Waycool Foods and Products.
Zero Acre Farms raised $37 million and is on a mission to replace vegetable oil with fermented oils and fats.
Novi raised $40 million in funding. The company is a B2B marketplace for sustainable ingredients and packaging.
Modern Electron, a clean hydrogen company, raised a $30 million Series B round.
Zero Grocery, a plastic-free grocery delivery company, raised $11.8 million in seed funding.
Battery tech company Soelect closed a $11 million Series A round.
Bamboo toilet paper company Cloud Paper raised $5 million.
WasteWizer announced an oversubscribed angel round to expand their scrap and waste scale technology.
💡 Startup Spotlight
EnMass Energy - a digital solution for managing sustainable fuel projects, supporting procurement and operations in waste-to-energy supply chains.
🌱 Startup Resources
Apply by February 11th for Cisco’s Global Problem Solver Challenge. Winners can receive up to $250,000 in prizes for solutions using digital technology to positively impact society or the environment.
Balancing sustainable innovation and UX when creating solutions. Here are a few recommendations.
👀 Quick Hits
What’s on retailers’ minds? Sustainability.
The Wall Street Journal looks at the complexities of sustainable investing and the tradeoffs that investors will need to make. In another article, they explain the difficulties climate scientists are having with climate modeling.
Three innovations to make manufacturing more sustainable.
The NewSpace sector is a testing ground for circular economy innovations. And the need for circular adoption in the EV sector.
Snow may smell different as the result of climate change.
🎧 Podcast
Joanne Rodriguez of Mycocycle: regeneration powered by fungi
David Wei of SolarKal: simplifying solar procurement
Ed Thomas of Hazel: climate empowerment with a single click
The Understory Podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Google Podcasts.
⚙️ Jobs
Find and share your open positions on the Understory Slack channel.
🆕 State Climate Policy Network Intern at Climate XChange
🆕 Sustainability Lead, Nature at Ralph Lauren
🆕 Software Engineer and Communications Coordinator at Greenlink Analytics
🆕 Enterprise Account Executive at Cloverly
🆕 Head of Marketing at Solid World DAO
🆕 Principal, Circular Economy at Amazon
🆕 Manager, Strategic Relationships - Circular Economy at TerraCycle
🆕 Director of Sustainability at Assurant
Operations Manager at Atmo Home
Multiple roles at Siklus
Head of Sustainable Products at Boston Materials
Multiple roles at DYPER
Innovation Manager, Sustainability at Crocs
ESG / Sustainability Product Lead at Hartford Funds
Green Economy Associate at JPMorgan
Sustainability Project Coordinator at JLL
Store Managers & Associates at Borobabi
Head of Climate at Diginex
Multiple Roles at MightyFly
Key Account Director at Interface
Senior Position in Late-Stage Technology Investing at Revaia
Finance Intern at Wallet Max
🗓 Events
February 9: ATL Climate Tech Meetup: Investment Trends in Climate Tech
February 16: Understory’s Startups Driving Sustainability - February Showcase
February 23: Pitch Deck Workshop for Climate Startups
March 23: Understory’s Startups Driving Sustainability - March Showcase
April 23: Atlanta Green Business Market Fair
Do you have any events to share? Post them in our Understory Slack community.
📧 Stay in Touch!
You don’t have to wait for our weekly newsletter for all the latest content. Join us on Slack or follow along on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter to see real-time updates.