Sustainability is back.
In the early 2000s, a wave of funding referred to as “Clean Tech 1.0” built a generation of climate tech startups, but many of the investments just didn’t pan out. While there was an exodus of VCs from the space after the sector crashed and burned post-financial crisis, a portion of investors doubled down on climate instead of running away.
And those who stuck it out say we’re only in the early innings of climate tech innovation—and returns. “I think the whole psyche of particularly the American public really started to shift from being either skeptical or disinterested in any of the climate science to now seeing wildfires, floods, hurricanes becoming more and more personally present, not just in the news, but really affecting many Americans,” said Abe Yokell, investor at Congruent Ventures.