TED leader’s $300M ‘valley of death’ fund might be just what later-stage climate tech needs | TechCrunch

Like many startups, climate tech companies often face “Death Valley”The technology that helps to verify between capital and growth capital in the early stages reaches commercial scale.

But because climate technology startups are often hardware–after all, physical problems often require physical solutions, this Death Valley tends to be more extensive. Financing a power plant or factory first could cost tens of millions of dollars.

Now, a new fund wants to bridge this financing gap, also known as the “missing middle.” Called All in the leagueit aims to raise $300 million by October to help startups ensure the $100 million to $200 million needed to build their first project.

People familiar with the fund told TechCrunch that all assets on board would write checks for equity or convertible interests, but it would not offer loans or return specific items. This approach puts everything firmly in the VC column rather than in project financing, which is occasionally considered a way to bridge the Death Valley.

The fund is led by Chris Anderson, a well-known curator and former head of TED Talks. Anderson, who has transformed from a small conference to a global platform for spreading ideas, is now using his network building capabilities to bridge the gap in climate technology investment. The group includes ARA Partners, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Clean Energy Ventures, DCVC, Energy Impact Partners, Future Ventures, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Gigascale Capital, Khosla Ventures, Khosla Ventures, NGP Energy Capital Management, Clear Ventures, Clear Ventures, Prelude Ventures, S2G, and Spring Lane Capital.

Some partners of the companies listed above are investing in new funds, although this does not require participation, said one person familiar with the plan.

They said the new fund will act as a “sequoia-like” signal in the field, meaning that other experienced funds will follow suit when all ship-in investment companies.

For climate technology startups looking to cross the Death Valley, they will collectively say they are over $300 million, and may well exceed the $60 billion of assets currently managed by all onboard members. Finding generalist investors who want to join is crucial to success on all ships, while the broader climate technology sector has achieved some commercial success.