Women-led tech venture secures $152M investment: 'No one else is doing what we're doing'

A new women-led climate tech venture just closed its first fund, worth $152 million, reported Axios.

Palo Alto-based WovenEarth Ventures, a fund of funds, plans to invest its first fund into early-stage climate tech startups. These pioneering companies are building cutting-edge solutions to atmospheric pollution linked to rising global temperatures and extreme weather events.

Also exciting is who spearheaded this potentially game-changing fund. Founder Jane Woodward has spent much of her career guiding money toward a cleaner future. Now, she's fostering the next generation of planet-saving companies alongside Mauricia Geissler, the former chief investment officer of Amherst College, and energy transition strategist Denise Miller, according to Axios.

WovenEarth aims to pick promising startups in a "carefully crafted" portfolio, and, per a news release, "seeks to break down the barriers to investing in U.S. early-stage climate tech, which remains difficult for many investors to enter due to the dynamic, technical, and emerging nature of the space." It effectively opens the door so that investors can pool resources and gain access to "highly diversified" climate-sector ventures that are judged to be viable.

This reportedly first-of-its-kind fund fills a crucial gap. Now, people without specialized knowledge can chip into innovation that pays dividends back to us and Mother Nature.

So, when people invest with WovenEarth, where does their money go?

WovenEarth picks venture capital fund managers to invest with. These VC managers put money toward the top startups with innovative technology from energy-saving software to agricultural tech.

So far, WovenEarth has invested with 13 U.S.-based early-stage climate tech venture capital managers generalizing in reducing carbon pollution, plus others focused on specific areas such as water or wildlife — and WovenEarth is not slowing down soon.

WovenEarth also plans to offer workshops so everyday investors can engage with world-changing work. Imagine picking the brains of experts who are working toward a carbon-free future with higher-quality air for all.

So, ask not what your planet can do for you, but what you can do for your planet.

"The fundamental thesis of WovenEarth Ventures is that we're building a bridge, that's a risk-adjusted product, that in one investment, you get exposure to three or 400 companies, instead of 20 to 30," Woodward told Axios.

"No one else is doing what we're doing," she added.

Reporter Andrew Freedman of Axios agreed.

"The fund-of-funds approach is not all that common in the climate tech investing scene, where big venture firms like Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and others put money directly into companies," he wrote.

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