Kiko Ventures from London, the world’s first evergreen cleantech venture investor, has launched a £375 million platform. The funds will be used to invest in the next generation of climate tech visionaries and create new possibilities for a regenerative future.
Next-gen climate tech investments
The team plans to deploy £200 million over the next five years using IP Group’s flexible capital platform. Kiko Ventures will launch with existing assets, valued at over £175 million and a number of new investments are yet to be announced.
As one of the largest climate-tech investors in Europe, Kiko Ventures will primarily invest directly, and on occasion indirectly through selected funds. It will combine this structural flexibility with a focus on thematic areas where it can build deep expertise and value.
Robert Trezona, Founding Partner of Kiko Ventures said: “I believe in the transformative power of climate technologies and have worked my whole career to elevate ideas from the lab into practical usable solutions that can make our world a better place. We’ve launched Kiko to unleash the full power of human ingenuity by uniting ideas, expertise and capital to unlock a sustainable future. To do this, we’ve created an investment model of truly flexible capital that empowers change, rather than hindering it.”
Jamie Vollbracht, Founding Partner of Kiko Ventures said: “My realisation about the urgency of the climate crisis came shortly after leaving University and I decided to devote my career to doing what I could to help. I found I was most useful in commercialising innovative clean technologies and have sought to develop better ways to help those technologies flourish ever since. Kiko brings together all the insight I’ve been fortunate to glean over the past two decades and I hope it will make an outsized positive impact on the journey to a sustainable future.
Arne Morteani, Founding Partner of Kiko Ventures said: “The climate crisis is the greatest challenge of our generation and from that challenge come new and life-changing possibilities for a regenerative world. I have been a part of the cleantech ecosystem for 20 years, most recently as a partner at a traditional VC. With Kiko we are now adding a new approach providing flexible, regenerative capital to address some of the most difficult challenges. We strive to be an investor that is fit for purpose as well as profit.”
World’s first evergreen cleantech VC
Global investment in cleantech reached an all-time high of $40 billion in 2021 and events during 2022 have further increased momentum for sustainable technologies. However, there are structural constraints on the existing funding landscape.
The ecosystem lacks the flexibility required to optimally address the climate challenge. This is what Kiko Ventures intends to resolve with its team having decades investing in climate tech.
The world’s first evergreen cleantech venture investor, Kiko was launched by the FTSE 250 listed investment firm IP Group. The founding team combines the established IP Group cleantech team, led by veterans Robert Trezona and Jamie Vollbracht and a new Partner Arne Morteani.
The team has designed Kiko Ventures, which leverages IP Group’s evergreen platform to take a more flexible approach, without the short time horizons, fixed capital constraints, and narrow mandates that are common in the industry. It aims to enrich the existing ecosystem and become a reliable partner, to both entrepreneurs and fellow investors, in building a regenerative future.
The team has made ambitious investments include fuel cell firm Ceres Power, First Light Fusion, and Oxbotica, a pioneer in autonomous mobility software.
