- Chicago-based S2G Investments has closed its $1 billion Solutions Fund I, which is the firm’s first fund focused on growth-stage companies.
- The fund aims to fill a gap in financing between early-stage venture capital and large-scale infrastructure funding.
- $300 million from the fund has been invested in ten companies.
S2G Investments has closed its $1 billion Solutions Fund I, which focuses on growth-stage companies in food and agriculture, energy, and oceans. The fund attracted investments from pension funds, funds of funds, and family offices in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
The Chicago fund was founded in 2014 by Aaron Rudberg, Chuck Templeton, and Sanjeev Krishnan. The firm manages $2.8 billion in assets and has invested in more than 120 companies.
Solutions Fund I is its first fund focused on growth-stage investments, marking a strategic move into an underserved segment of the market. The firm refers to this gap as the ‘missing middle,’ the space between early-stage venture capital, which supports new ideas and prototypes, and large-scale infrastructure funding, which backs fully developed projects.
Many established businesses with proven models and real revenue fall into this gap, as they are seen as too mature for venture funds and too early for infrastructure funds. Growth equity firms that lack expertise in the food, energy, or maritime sectors often find it hard to assess companies in these sectors. S2G believes this gap is more than just a funding issue; it is a real barrier to bringing important new technologies to market.
“This Fund expands our ability to provide the growth capital required to commercialise transformative technologies at a pivotal moment in the global economy. By investing at the seams where food, energy, and ocean systems intersect, we see opportunities to accelerate solutions that are both economically superior and more resilient than legacy models,” says Rudberg.
The fund’s portfolio features Urbint, an AI platform for utility risk management; ANA, Inc, a hybrid generator with battery storage; Exacto, which improves herbicide performance by up to 90%; and Echandia, which supplies batteries for ships.
Unlike most climate and sustainability funds that focus on just one area, S2G looks for opportunities where energy, food, and ocean systems overlap. For instance, energy infrastructure choices affect food system strength, ocean health impacts farming cycles, and electrifying ships connects to the power grid.
The fund helps companies with various forms of financing, including growth equity and structured finance, and sometimes serves as their first institutional investor. S2G’s team of more than 60 experts supports portfolio companies with partnerships, policy work, operational advice, and AI tools to handle complex market changes. By the fund’s final close, $300 million had been invested in ten companies.
