London-based accelerator and venture studio Founders Factory announced that it has unveiled a £100M ‘operator-first’ venture capital fund to support early-stage climate startups.
Backed by media giant Sky, Planet Fund will focus on broad sustainability themes including decarbonisation, resource preservation, climate resilience, and the circular economy.
Henry Lane Fox, Chief Executive Officer at Founders Factory, says, “We felt compelled to build this fund both by the urgency of the problem and the scale of the opportunity. We’ve seen a huge migration of tech talent wanting to work in the climate, and know there is a gap to provide high-conviction capital & hands-on support to the next generation of ambitious planet-focused companies. We’re excited to have Sky, one of Europe’s leading voices on climate, as our first partner.”
Sky’s support for Planet Fund
Sky will support Planet Fund building on decades of successful environmental initiatives, including Sky Zero.
Sky Ocean Ventures and the 25 startups it has invested in since its launch in 2018 will be incorporated into the Planet Fund, which will include the proceeds from the sale of paper bottle maker Choose Packaging to Hewlett Packard.
Planet Fund will be led by:
- Henry Lane Fox – CEO of Founders Factory, Partner at firstminute capital, and Chairman of Creator Fund
- Jamie Rowles – Former Head of Investments at Sky Ocean Ventures), Micol Chiesa – Chief Impact Officer
- Camilla Mazzolini – ClimateTech investor
Debbie Klein, Group Chief Marketing, Corporate Affairs, and People Officer said: “We are delighted to partner with the Founders Factory who are the perfect fit to take forward our work investing in businesses that will accelerate climate technologies and deliver a cleaner, safer future, and more sustainable behaviours. We look forward to the impact that this new fund will have for early-stage climate tech entrepreneurs.”
Solving global problems
Founded by Brent Hoberman, Henry Lane Fox, and George Northcott in 2015, Founders Factory builds and scales technology startups solving global problems. To date, the company has raised over $175M in capital.
The company’s portfolio includes over 300 category-defining tech companies globally, 50+ of which have been built from scratch in its Venture Studio.
Founders Factory has a number of active sustainability investment programs already, including the Mission Studio with the UK government agency, Nesta, in the UK and G-Force in Eastern Europe.
Brent Hoberman, founding advisor, and Founders Factory Executive Chairman said: “We are delighted to partner with Sky and to build on their track record for environmental activism. Their reach and voice coupled with our entrepreneurial DNA will allow us to invest in and nurture the best climate entrepreneurs who can help to unlock a more sustainable future for us all.”
