Spanish VC Seaya has closed Seaya Andromeda, the first Article 9 climate-tech fund based in Southern Europe at €300 million. LPs in the new fund include Iberdrola, Nortia, Santander, BNP Paribas Group (which backed Fnality and Bolt), Next Tech Fund, and Bpifrance (which backed Gamestream and H). This brings Seaya’s total assets under management to over €650 million, making it the largest VC investor in Spain.
Purpose of new fund
The VC firm has set up ‘Andromeda’ to invest in impact-driven growth companies specialised in energy transition, decarbonisation, sustainable food value chain, and circular economy.
The fund invests only in companies that promote a sustainable society by reducing waste and pollution. The fund subscribes to SFDR’s Article 9, which ensures that all investments the firm makes have a positive impact on society or the environment.
Investment plans
The new fund – Andromeda will invest between €7 million to €40 million as a first cheque, and will retain capital for follow-ons. It plans to make a total of 25 investments between now and the end of 2027, including around five more deals lined up for this year.
Portfolio companies
Already, it made its first five investments from the fund into a range of impact technology companies as follows:
- Spanish AR skill training solution Seabery has developed AR software and hardware for training welders to reduce raw material waste and emissions.
- UK-based AI-powered waste management startup Recycleye builds robots to sort rubbish for recycling.
- Spain-based sustainable construction platform 011h, a tech-enabled next-generation construction firm that creates low-carbon-emitting, high-quality wood residential buildings.
- San Francisco-based Pachama, a climate-tech company uses data to verify the quality of carbon credits and enable the launch of new carbon credit projects.
- Copenhagen-based Aegir Insights, a Danish provider of software, data, and intelligence for offshore wind investors that curbs tonnes of CO2 emissions.
By investing at the Series B+ stage in British, Danish, Spanish, and US companies, Seaya has helped in the global expansion of portfolio companies such as unicorns Glovo, Cabify, and Wallbox and companies such as RatedPower, Alma, and Descartes.
Carlos Fisch, partner at Seaya, added: “In addition to investors that can provide capital, there is a need for experienced investors with a proven track record who can support startups navigating the growth challenges in this space. Since we started investing, we have backed 12 climate tech companies and have successfully exited three of them: Wallbox, RatedPower, and Ecoalf.”
Female-led VC firm
Seaya is one of the few female-founded venture capital firms in Europe. It was launched in 2013 by former private equity investor Beatriz González. Before this, she worked at Morgan Stanley in London and at private equity firms, Excel Partners in Spain and Darby Overseas Investments in the US. She then became a director of Telefonica’s pension fund, leading its alternative assets programme.
Beatriz González, Founder and Managing Partner of Seaya, said, “From day one we were focused on impact and climate. We have a strong technological background in this space. We started in 2012 backing climate tech companies and have successfully guided three of them right through to exit. We have 12 years of experience in this space and we can bring this knowledge and expertise to founders through this specialised vehicle.”
Pablo Pedrejón, partner at Seaya, said: “Deep-tech climate entrepreneurs face a unique set of challenges compared to software-tech entrepreneurs. Climate-tech companies must translate research into a working product, bring it to market, and then scale it.”
What do we think about Seaya?
By focusing on energy transition, decarbonisation, and sustainable practices, the female-led VC Seaya supports innovative impact-driven solutions. With a proven track record and strong technological expertise, Seaya significantly contributes to a sustainable future and global expansion of its portfolio companies.
