- 6
- September
2019
Smart green VCs you should know
There are many smart green VCs in Europe and the US that back startups in energy, mobility, buildings, cities, materials, food and circular economy to create impact as well as environmental, financial and strategic returns for their fund investors (LPs). In the VC food chain, early stage investors prefer to invest, at lower valuations and higher risk, in the Seed, Series A and Series B financing rounds of young startups working on product market fit and traction (users, customers, revenues). On the other hand, late stage VCs like shorter holding periods and time-to-exit and, consequently, advanced startups with more than €5M revenues, experienced management teams and fast growth. The existence of KPIs, ideally going up over time, makes the life of every investor easier. Facing climate change, technology revolution and global competition, the majority of corporates have adopted corporate venturing and open innovation strategies in order to invest in and do business with startups. The result are different investment strategies and sometimes competing portfolios that startups should know before pitching. Let’s co-invest and meet at Ecosummit Berlin.
Read more- 18
- February
2018
Ecosummit launches in Paris on 6 March 2018 at Bpifrance Le Hub
Their president rocks, the market is huge, the startups are hot, investors go crazy and Paris is the place to be. The more we know about it, the more we love the French innovation factory and ecosystem. It has all the ingredients that are necessary to develop big startups with the help of awesome technology and superior business skills. Paris hosts a lot of VCs and corporates that invest in smart green startups. Above all, the outstanding experience and ambition of the French entrepreneurs make the difference. And now the capital has Station F, a beautiful and inspiring startup campus that was created by the telco billionaire Xavier Niel who is also an investor in Breakthrough Energy Ventures. It is about time that we take a deep dive into smart green France and launch Ecosummit Paris on 6 March 2018 at Bpifrance Le Hub. With the help of our sponsors and local friends we put together an exciting agenda presenting the crème de la crème in smart green energy, mobility and cities.
Read more- 25
- September
2016
Heliatek raises €80M Series D to increase production capacity by a factor of 40
Capital-intensive smart green startups in Europe aiming at building their own hardware factories have a hard time fundraising. Financially motivated VCs require capital efficiency and prefer hardware startups that outsource manufacturing and the necessary CAPEX. Financing new PV factories in Europe is even more difficult due to China’s hegemony. It turns out it can only be done if you develop the next generation of PV technology, continuously improve efficiency and work diligently on building a co-investor syndicate of family offices, corporates and governments. Keep in mind that it was the Chinese government that backed a myriad of Chinese manufacturers to hijack the global PV industry. After a very long fundraising journey, 10-year old Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) pioneer Heliatek finally found the capital to build its second 3G solar factory in Dresden, Germany’s epicentre of photonics and organic semiconductors.
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