New Hawaii climate technology fund to be unveiled

Hawaii-founded Elemental Excelerator plans to unveil a $60 million early-stage venture capital fund today called Earthshot Ventures that will be the first climate technology fund with roots in the state.

The fund, which will invest in both hardware and software companies, is being launched to support entrepreneurs tackling climate change.

Earthshot Ventures is being spun off from Elemental Excelerator, a global climate tech organization that pioneered the use of the accelerator model for climate technologies. Since 2012, Elemental has evaluated over 5,000 companies, invested alongside 2,000 co-investors, and built an inclusive community to advance climate investing.

Three of Elemental’s team members will lead the fund: Dawn Lippert, Elemental founder and CEO; Mike Jackson, who has served as Elemental’s investor-in-residence since 2017; and Ramsay Siegal, former head of Elemental’s portfolio.

Earthshot Venture is being financially backed by Emerson Collective, John Doerr, Tom Steyer, McKinley Alaska, Microsoft, Employees’ Retirement System of Hawaii, Stafford Capital Partners, and Chris Cox.

“We built Earthshot Ventures to increase catalytic funding for bold and diverse founders who are transforming markets,” Lippert said. “Earthshot gives us a new tool to help founders tackle enormous challenges, while providing investors access to the world’s biggest growth opportunity: combating climate change.”

In addition, Launch Alaska, a clean technology accelerator and deployment engine that has worked closely with Elemental since its founding, also has partnered with Earthshot to provide assistance with the rate at which deals are being received, as well as help with access to customer networks.