To invest in seed-stage climate tech startups, Australian Investible introduces new US $72 M fund

Investible, an Australian seed investment firm, has announced the creation of a new US $72 million climate technology fund.

This follows the June first closure of Investible’s second sector-agnostic fund, which raised US $38.8 million.

The new climate tech fund will invest in seed-stage businesses throughout the world, with checks ranging from $500,000 to $800,000.

The remaining half of the money will be utilised to compete in follow-on rounds.

Energy, transportation, industry, buildings and cities, food and agriculture, and forest and land use are the fund’s six focus areas. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has identified these as the most critical for attaining a low-carbon, more resilient future.

While the fund will initially focus on Australian firms, it will set aside up to 30% of its money for other foreign markets, according to a news release.

Investible, founded in 2014 by Creel Price and Trevor Folsom, two entrepreneurs-turned-angel investors, combines instinct and insights to back the next generation of game-changers. By reducing the intricacies of early-stage investment into a comprehensive and repeatable methodology, the company has de-risked portfolios.

Graphic design platform Canva, online cosmetics site Ipsy, Singaporean Parcel Perform, and Indonesia’s Eden Farm are among the company’s notable portfolio businesses.

“The numbers show a large and diverse portfolio approach is key to generating stronger returns. Over the last decade, Investible has built a proven screening and investment methodology to both sources high-quality deal flow and offer a compelling proposition to highly sought-after early-stage companies,” said CEO Rod Bristow.

Investible has assembled a climate-focused investment team led by Tom Kline, CEO of New Energy Solar, and Patrick Sieb, an infrastructure and technology investment banker with 22 years of expertise.

A “once-in-a-generation” opportunity for technology investors has arisen as a result of the climate emergency and worldwide regulatory tailwinds in the sector. Investible is believed to be stepping up its attempts to accelerate that expansion.

“The size and urgency of the problem mean that businesses that help solve it will be precious,” said Kline. “The scale of climate action required is so significant that it will require a transformation across almost every industry and country.”

Climate technologies, according to Kline, provide entrepreneurs an unrivalled chance to build successful businesses while solving one of humanity’s most critical challenges.

The UNEP’s study on the emissions gap mirrored this sentiment. It emphasised that quicker technology uptake is crucial for achieving large-scale reductions in global emissions in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C warming goal by 2030.

Investible established Greenhouse, a growth hub devoted to helping climate tech businesses to expand by the end of next year, in August with financing from the City of Sydney.