Sarah Applebaum

Freeline and Swan to Spur new AAV Development... I couldn't resist. Syncona announced they are combining Freeline and Swan Bio to create Spur Therapeutics to advance the most viable components of the latter two companies' pipelines. That pipeline will be headlined by Freeline's Gaucher program (on the cusp of starting Ph3), and Swan's candidate in adrenomyeloneuropathy. Syncona previously took Freeline private to create new optionality for the company. This was after AAV headwinds had battered the stock and other candidates reached approval first in their prior lead therapies (hemophilia). This shows there's still interest in AAV and its proven delivery capability to diverse tissues and cells. But there is continuing culling in the industry's pipeline. Want to take a look at that pipeline? or think about how it impacts your own prioritization? Reach out and we can discuss! #venturecapital #genetherapy #pharma https://lnkd.in/g8-ZKp4C

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"There's plenty of capital available in multiple flavors for Climate Tech Companies..." 🌍💸 Did you know that in 2023, 50 VC deals for climate tech companies exceeded $150 million, with nine of those surpassing $500 million? Venture capitalists are increasingly turning their focus toward startups to tackle the climate crisis, marking a significant shift in investment priorities. Despite the challenging environment for venture capital in 2023, with overall investment in climate tech falling by 14.5% to $41.1 billion, the commitment to climate solutions remains robust. Key trends and insights are shaping the evolving landscape of climate tech investment. Are you an early-stage Climate Tech founder looking to fundraise? Curious about the main drivers for the industry? ⬇ Dive into my latest Forbes article to learn more. Special thanks to Hannah Sieber & Arun Gupta for sharing your invaluable insights! https://lnkd.in/gNhe8jew #ClimateTech #VentureCapital #Forbes Artyc Skyven Technologies

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Yesterday I joined the AI Powering the New Energy Era summit, which was dedicated to exploring the impact of artificial intelligence on the energy sector. It was a true honor to share the stage with industry veterans Edwina Kelly of CPP Investments | Investissements RPC, Raymond Wood of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Emily Sanford Fisher of Edison Electric Institute, on a panel hosted by Brian Boland of BrightNight. How is AI impacting the energy space? There are two major trends emerging: 1. The use of AI is very energy intensive, creating an unexpected surge in power demand, just at the time when we need to decrease emissions from electric power, and when power demand is also growing from sources like electric vehicles. 2. Technology enabled by AI can also help make the electric power system far more efficient, and help manage the transition to a grid dominated by renewables and other zero-emissions sources. The first trend represents a big challenge, and the second represents a big opportunity. As the panel went on, it became clear that large institutions in the energy sector have a real interest in the new innovation that we support at MUUS Climate Partners. If that innovation can scale, it could provide solutions to some of the greatest challenges in energy today, such as growing power demand from data centers, and the expanding share of intermittent renewable generation. We talked about companies such as Harvest, 3E Nano Inc, and BrightNight. The talk can be viewed here: https://lnkd.in/eEa8ERxa

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In the latest Carbon Brief newsletter, the team highlights a recent study from #NatureClimateChange that reminds us of the six components of feasibility that could inhibit the world’s ability to limit #warming to #1.5C, according to the IPCC's special report on 1.5C. They are: 1) #Geophysical: What global emission pathways could be consistent with conditions of a 1.5°C warmer world? What are the physical potentials for adaptation? 2) #Environmental-#ecological: What are the #ecosystemservices and resources, including #geological storage capacity and related rate of needed #landusechange, available to promote transformations, and to what extent are they compatible with enhanced #resilience? 3) #Technological: What #technologies are available to support transformation? 4) #Economic: What economic conditions could support transformation? 5) #Socio-#cultural: What conditions could support transformations in #behaviour and lifestyles? To what extent are the transformations socially acceptable and consistent with #equity? 6) #Institutional: What institutional conditions are in place to support transformations, including multi-level #governance, institutional capacity, and #political support? In the analysis, it is noted that "The future warming pathways used by the IPCC suggest that holding warming to 1.5C is unlikely, but still possible, when considering the technological feasibility and project-level economic costs of reaching net-zero emissions. However, the new study, published in Nature Climate Change, warns that adding in political and institutional constraints on mitigation make limiting warming to 1.5C even more challenging. As #GigacornHunters, remember that investing in technology is job 1, but we must also ensure appropriate advocacy is part of the toolkit if we are to help secure a 1.5C or lower decarbonized future. #climatechange #decarbonization #policy #IPCC #government #legislation #regulation #markets #investment

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Last week was the "why", this week is the "what" - what data can be helpful in building FOAK projects smarter & more efficiently. This includes: ✅Modularity score ✅Mean cost overruns of comparable projects ✅Estimate size of project ✅Cost of production ...etc. The table in the article is just a sample of what we could use...thinking through what more metrics might be helpful. And again, looking for collaborators / partners in this endeavor. Please reach out if you're interested in contributing! Caleb Cunningham Christian Okoye #FOAK #Scalinginfra #infradata #newinfra

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It was an honour to unveil Molten Ventures’ short film, 2054, at the London Stock Exchange this morning as Molten Ventures’ new CEO.   This film, created using 14 separate generative AI applications, formed the core of the theme for this year’s CEO summit: “what if you succeed?”. A question which we should ask ourselves every day – and urge every entrepreneur and investor to do the same.   By diving thirty years ahead into a fictional future, we can get a glimpse of what may be possible if the capital, support, expertise and energy is injected into businesses and ideas at the right time. Something that we’ve been doing at Molten Ventures for many years.   We have already built a portfolio of Europe’s most forward-thinking companies who have developed technology that changes lives, now.   You can find out more about the story behind the film, including films made by our portfolio companies here: https://lnkd.in/ezNbeEPu

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Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) illustrates the current "readiness" of #ClimateTechs + their potential impact on carbon reduction. As shown, many techs are at an early stage of being able to have a material impact. Concerningly, some tech funds recently returned capital back to investors recently + closed their funds - citing inability to fund capital intensive techs, found in areas like ClimateTech. This in part may be contributing to the $2 trillion shortfall in ClimateTech, that Deloitte estimates. What this may mean for the future? - The migration of LPs to global, super VC funds within ClimateTech, given the large capital pools needed to fund tech development - Greater specialization from smaller funds, energizing more niche elements of the ClimateTech market - but also altering their / LP's risk profile - A greater role to be played by debt financing in funding growth entities at an earlier stage - impacting cashflow dynamics Will be an interesting space to watch moving forward. We at The Proptech Connection are constantly working with all parts of the Proptech ecosystem. From the leading LPs, funds, techs and adopters in market, providing an independent view. Reach out to us today to find out how we can help. #InvestorTrends #Strategy #Global Ivo van Breukelen Stuart Daun Kiki C. Ethan Ward

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We are thrilled to announce our first investment in the water sector: Bynry Inc., a digital solutions provider for water utilities and sub metering companies. This our 10th investment from Callapina Fund I, and I’d like to share the journey that led to this investment. When I joined Amane in 2020, one of the first questions I asked the partners was, where are the water startups? Surprisingly, there weren't many, unlike the other sectors I was familiar with. The reason being, for years, Water sector has been a laggard in digital adoption. However, post-COVID, there was a growing sense of urgency and awareness for the need for digital transformation. Over the next four years, I paid attention to the need for digital solutions in the North American water sector, especially public utilities. Based on my observations, I formed a thesis on where the opportunity for early-stage investment could potentially be - link in comments. I then stumbled upon Bynry, which was exactly addressing the issues I had written about. I reached out to the founder and stayed in touch over a couple of years, deciding to come on board as they started gaining early traction in the North American market. Bynry is addressing the needs of over 40,000 small utilities in the US, which are in dire need of cutting-edge modern solutions to run their operations. Additionally, they are well-positioned to serve the fast-growing sub metering market, with regulations to standardize sub metering expected to roll out across the US in the coming years. We are excited to back Nilesh Gudhe and the team at Bynry as they embark on this exciting journey! Anas Rahman Junaid Callapina Capital #investment #watersector #digitalwater #bynry #smartwater #submetering #waterutilities

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I love stories like Samuel's about how he switched on to the need for the transition and found his pathway to having impact. Each of us has to find their own light switch and their own pathway. Prof Smil is such a troubling figure. Brilliant, charming, persuasive - yet he has used his skills to discourage us from working on what we all understand is a vast and daunting problem. All light switch, no pathway. For decades he propagated the Primary Energy Fallacy - the idea that renewable energy had to replace all "Primary Energy Demand", even though that is not a measure of demand at all: 2/3 of it is lost en route, mainly waste heat from burning coal, oil and gas. We need to provide energy services, we do not need to burn things. And he hasn't devoted 1% of his brilliance to explaining what we *should* do, rather than what we *shouldn't* do. OK, we get it, it's hard to change big systems fast. So where's the Smil plan? Even if we can't stop climate change dead in its tracks, we have to do the best we can. Every 0.1C matters. My light switch was seeing the damage being done to my beloved high mountain environments - glaciers disappearing, historic climbing routes becoming unusable because of rockfall as the permafrost melts. And my pathway was to help people understand in practice solutions - and not just renewables - that *could*, at least in theory, scale fast enough to make a difference. We now have enough manufacturing capacity to replace 5% of global electricity with solar every year. Soon to be 10%. If you put one grain of rice on the first square of the chess board, and two grains on the second square, you may not yet have enough to feed a Prof Smil, but we all know what happens next. So buckle up, listen to the Cleaning Up Podcast episode with Jenny, and even if you think you can't do much, you can. You could help someone else, early in their career, find their light switch and their pathway! And make sure you tell people your own light switch and pathway story. Narratives matter. https://lnkd.in/gTVyu4-3

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🌍💡 Embracing Interoperability: The Evolution of Carbon Markets 💡🌍 The landscape of carbon markets is rapidly evolving, with a significant shift towards fungibility and interoperability. What does this mean? We (at the SoHo Global Climate Fund) spoke with leading climate fund manager, Charles Bedford of Carbon Growth Partners, to shed light on this important trend in the carbon markets. It's about creating seamless connections between compliance and voluntary markets, allowing for the exchange and recognition of carbon credits across borders and sectors. This trend marks a pivotal moment in our collective efforts towards combating climate change. By enabling carbon credits to be fungible and interoperable, we're fostering a more efficient and scalable approach to carbon pricing and emissions reduction strategies. Companies and organizations now have greater flexibility to participate in markets that align with their goals. #CarbonMarkets #ClimateAction #Fungibility #Interoperability #Sustainability #Innovation #GlobalImpact

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🌏 Recent data suggests that VC dollars in climate is starting to rebound (Q1 Clean Energy report by PitchBook, Sightline Climate (CTVC) shared that Seed to Series B grew from 2H23 to 1H24, and IRA dollars will likely start translating to actual deployments - Rhodium Group and MIT CEEPR. Other factors at play, as Rob Day shares: 🚀 Exits are a significant hurdle. The "clean energy VC exit activity” chart shows exits falling off a cliff in 1Q24 (PitchBook). IPOs have been hard to come by for startups across ALL sectors, and especially in the sustainability sector with lower chances of the IPO "checkmarks" being ✅ (big + growing revenues, predicable profitability..) 🔷 Business models - Many venture backed startups in clean energy are considered hard-tech, and they are not #projectdeployers, but often technology developers. They are generally not putting steel in the ground, and the buyers for certain industrial innovations tends to be limited. Few focus on deployment, or developer-style business models..and successful exits in climate lean disproportionately to downstream business model innovations, not hard-tech (ie. industrial wastewater, or composting). 🔷 Of course, the election. On the plus side, big infra investors are motivated to put their 2025 capital to work. Hopefully translating to increased acquisitions. #Hardtech #VC #ClimateInvesting #Investing #Startups #IPO

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Climate tech transition trends are embedded - make sure your business, investments and the economy are invested appropriately. Another slide from the excellent RMI presentation. P76 https://lnkd.in/gzdsBt7S

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Yesterday, our portfolio company, LineVision, announced the operationalization of LineVision's Dynamic Line Rating project with National Grid NY. This marks the single largest implementation of a #technology (#climatech) that can help operators determine in real time how much #power they can safely put through their lines leading to a more #efficient and more #reliable #grid - allowing #utilities to build a smarter grid; a grid that can welcome more #renewablepower sources faster! Congratulations to the people and teams at LineVision and National Grid! #decarbonization #gigacorn #electricity Kevin Kimsa Lilliana Paoletti Hudson Gilmer See the comments below for a link to the PR and launch video.

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That feeling when you watch the macro forces that undergird your Industrial Transformation & Supply Chain Technology investment thesis at ⁦‪REFASHIOND Ventures: The Industrial Transformation Fund unfolding every single day: Escalating Geopolitical Tensions; The Climate Crisis & Severe Weather; Consumer Behavior & Demographics. At most venture capital firms, Industrial Transformation & Supply Chain Technology is a tiny, emerging “area of interest” . . . At REFASHIOND Ventures, it’s our entire world. Join us. #IndustrialTransformation #SupplyChain #Innovation #Technology #Startups #VentureCapital

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This chart from Google NGRAM shows why we can't have a nice planet. The climate challenge is really an engineering challenge, and we won't fix it until society learns to understand engineering and value engineers. My guest for this week's episode of Cleaning Up Podcast is independent engineering consultant and host of Engineering with Rosie Rosemary Barnes. It's a fabulous and wide-ranging conversation, and Rosie is one of the great communicators in our space. Definitely one not to miss! https://lnkd.in/gRdiuCVW #Engineering #Science #Climate #ClimateChange #Energy #Renewables #Innovation #WomenLeaders #Leadership #Philosophy #Wind #WindEnergy Google NGRAM results:

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