A consortium of 14 venture capital and growth equity investment firms has unveiled a collaborative fund to support clean energy and decarbonisation technology companies, facilitating their transition to commercial scale. Spearheaded by TED Conferences curator Chris Anderson, the newly formed “All Aboard Coalition” seeks to assist clean tech companies in overcoming the “valley of death,” a phase where early-stage companies face challenges in securing funding for commercial-scale projects. These projects are often deemed too large for early-stage venture capitalists and too risky for late-stage investors.
Chris Anderson emphasised the urgent need for collective action to ensure that companies capable of building a low-emissions global economy receive the necessary funding. He stated, “By acting as a community, we can help propel these exciting vanguard companies to true global scale.”
The All Aboard Coalition includes firms such as Ara Partners, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Clean Energy Ventures, Congruent Ventures, DCVC, Energy Impact Partners, Future Ventures, Gigascale Capital, Khosla Ventures, NGP Energy Capital Management, Obvious Ventures, Prelude Ventures, and Spring Lane Capital. Together, these firms manage over $60 billion in assets.
The coalition aims to bridge the middle-stage funding gap for clean tech startups, aspiring to “create the next Microsofts and Nvidias of the climate era.” Stan Miranda, Founder of Partners Capital and Co-founder of All Aboard, remarked on the coalition’s commitment, indicating it sends a strong signal to the climate-tech investment community about the companies poised to shape the future.
The All Aboard Fund, currently being raised, will invest alongside coalition members through a semi-automatic matching mechanism to bolster the financing of growth-stage companies. The coalition targets raising $300 million for its initial fund by October, as reported by Bloomberg.
Vinod Khosla, Founder and CEO of Khosla Ventures, highlighted the coalition’s approach: “The idea is simple: more collaborative investing, fewer fragmented bets. Together, we can help more energy technologies make it through the valley of death.”
The fund will focus on technology areas that address rising demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including long-duration energy storage, geothermal, nuclear, carbon capture, clean hydrogen, and marine decarbonisation.
