Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) has secured $839 million for its third flagship fund, BEV III, claims a recent regulatory filing. This makes it the largest climate fund closed so far in 2024.
The firm launched BEV III in July 2023, following the closure of its second fund BEV II, which secured $1.25 billion in 2021. Its inaugural fund BEV I closed at $1 billion in 2016. While the final target for the new fund remains undisclosed, LPs have shown a strong preference for early-stage climate funds, even as they pull back from other sectors.
The company’s investors include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Alibaba’s Jack Ma, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Michael Bloomberg.
Funding goals
Similar to the firm’s other funds, the third fund is also set to emphasise innovation in climate technology and support startups focused on emission reductions. It will finance, launch and scale companies that will eliminate greenhouse gas emissions throughout the global economy. A blog post from Gates noted that to be considered for investment, startups must prove they can reduce emissions by at least half a gigaton.
Bill Gates’ climate-focused venture capital initiative belongs to a larger group known as Breakthrough Energy. The billionaire launched it after realising that we need more than VC funding to combat climate challenges. Eventually, the group contains policy teams, a fellows program, and a Catalyst initiative that funds large-scale projects.
Portfolio of investments
It is claimed that Breakthrough Energy Ventures currently has more than $3.5 billion in committed capital to invest in nearly 110 companies ranging from seed to growth stage. Here are some startups backed by the VC fund.
It backed startups, including Type One Energy a stellarator fusion energy company; Terabase Energy, a solar tech energy company; software startup, WeaveGrid; I-ROX, a developer of pulsed-power technology; EV battery maker QuantumScape; electric plane company ZeroAvia; Reactive Technologies, which specialises in grid stability measurements; carbon-free hydrogen-focused Koloma; and fusion-tech startup Xcimer.
