VoLo Earth’s latest fund attracted investments from a range of global financial institutions, funds and family offices, bucking a downward trend in venture capital fundraising.
Early-stage venture capital firm VoLo Earth Ventures has closed its second climate tech fund after raising $135m (€99.7m) to take its total assets under management to around $250m.
The new fund will focus on innovations in the energy, mobility, building and industry sectors, which VoLo Earth said offer “trillion-dollar opportunities for resilient, decarbonised systems and repeatable financial performance”.
Voloridge Investment Management, which joined Fund II as an anchor investor, was joined by global financial institutions and family offices including Amsterdam-based Carbon Equity, Paris-based Cathay Innovation’s InnoSquare fund, alongside Morgan Stanley, Graystone and WovenEarth Ventures.
Although venture capital fundraising in the US is headed for a decade-low this year according to data by PitchBook, VoLo Earth raised 50% more for its second fund compared to its inaugural fund. The Colorado-based firm said this was “a standout signal of where capital is moving.”
Superior economics
According to Kareem Dabbagh, co-founder and managing partner at VoLo Earth Ventures, the fund “reinforces that energy transition investing is driven by superior economics and large market demand for safer, cleaner, and more resilient technology”.
“Our companies provide better products and services at lower costs, while creating jobs and strengthening supply chains in ways that reach across the aisle. That’s why investors continue to back VoLo Earth,” he added.
Since its launch in 2021, VoLo Earth’s inaugural fund has made two successful exits, with Pearl Street Technologies and Gaiascope, both early-stage climate ventures, being acquired this year for above book value prices. To date, Fund II has invested in XGS Energy, which is scaling next-gen geothermal technology, Cambium Carbon, a producer of cost-effective mass timber, and Reframe Systems, which uses artificial intelligence and robotics to build low-cost, net-zero housing in the US.
