Pan-European early-stage VC Speedinvest has just launched a new €80 million Climate and Industry Opportunity fund. The fund will primarily provide long-term support for Speedinvest’s existing sustainability-oriented startups, while also targeting selected non-portfolio startups that are accelerating European industry efforts to digitise and decarbonise.
Coming off the back of COP26, and as Europe looks to achieve a target of net-zero emissions by 2050, this is an exciting development for startups in the climate tech space. The Vienna-founded business has shown its commitment to supporting Europe’s climate targets with this fund and will boost innovation in this sector.
Speedinvest’s Climate & Industry Opportunity fund has already been used to support two portfolio startups, including a €40m Series B round in mid-November in Packhelp, a Warsaw-based bespoke packaging platform. Packhelp is using the funding to accelerate global expansion of its sustainable packaging solution. The company produces two-thirds of its products from recycled materials and supports customers in minimising the amount of packaging used for shipments.
The fund has also participated in supporting TIER Mobility’s Series D funding, consolidating the company as the best-funded micro-mobility company in Europe, and contributing to their mission for equitable and sustainable European mobility solutions.
Committed to expanding Europe’s growing climate tech market, the fresh fund will co-invest with top tier funds into later-stage rounds of new startups that are developing technology to help the industrial sector digitise, decarbonise and improve sustainability.
With a third of all carbon dioxide emissions coming from the industrial and logistics sectors, Europe’s industrial tech startups will be essential for helping the continent to achieve its climate goals. This fund will go a long way in contributing to new innovations in the climate tech arena.
With a final close scheduled in Q2 2022, cornerstone investors in the fund include US-based New Enterprise Associates (NEA), as well as notable investments, from the industrial sector, including KNAPP, Greiner AG and HEINZEL GROUP.
Marie-Helene Ametsreiter, General Partner at Speedinvest, said: “According to our data, Europe’s industrial tech ecosystem has experienced 81% annualised growth since 2014, more than doubling over the past year to a value of €74 billion overall. It’s unsurprisingly one of the fastest-growing categories in European venture capital and we’re proud to back a number of outstanding businesses in the sector. Industrial and climate tech will provide key growth opportunities in the coming years, while also generating huge benefits for the planet.”
Marie-Helene Ametsreiter, who is a general partner at Speedinvest as well as industrial tech team lead also made it on to our 50 most influential women in the startup and venture capital space earlier this year. We also had the pleasure of having an interview with her – check it out here.
