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Frederic Lalonde is a trailblazer in the tech and climate sectors. As the co-founder of Deep Sky , Lalonde is at the forefront of combating climate change through innovative carbon capture technology. Deep Sky, a state-backed venture, is dedicated to removing gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate, embodying the belief that with the right people and resources, we can make a l...

Jay Kapoor & Vijay Chattha are the founders and general partners of VSC Ventures, a $21M Seed fund focused on industrial automation and climate adaptation startups. In their 50th episode of CLIMB, the duo discuss lessons from the past 49 episodes, which guests surprised them, what advice founders should never ignore as well as sectors and trends that are over and under-hyped in 2023 and beyond...

Lior is an investor, entrepreneur, and the Founder and Managing Partner of Eclipse Ventures , a Palo Alto-based venture firm that recently raised $1.2 billion across two new funds. Eclipse is a team of operators and investors building companies that are disrupting old-line industries. Lior Susan began his journey on a kibbutz and served in the Israeli Special Forces. In 2008, he co-developed Intuc...

Shane Dyer is the CEO of Irrigreen . Irrigreen designs and manufactures an all-digital sprinkler system that uses software-controlled precision sprinkler heads to deliver water uniformly across your landscape and reduce unnecessary water usage. Shane has an extensive background in technology, especially in IoT development. Before Irrigreen, he was the founder and CEO of Arrayent, an IoT platform u...

Shaun Abrahamson co-founded Third Sphere , dedicated to shaping a post-climate change world through venture investments and founder support. Before Third Sphere, Shaun was an active angel investor, investing in more than 20 firms and 3 unicorns between 2007 and 2013 including ZocDoc, Public, Trialpay, Refinery29, Skycatch, and Tonx. During this time, Shaun also led multiple sustainability-focused...

Sarah Applebaum serves as a Partner at Pangaea Ventures. Pangaea Ventures is an unparalleled hard-tech investor that invests in firms utilizing the latest breakthroughs in materials science, chemistry and biology to solve many of society's most pressing issues Sarah brings almost a decade of venture capital and company building experience to the team. Sarah has cultivated expertise in building ent...

Valerie Shen is Partner and Chief Operating Officer at G2 Venture Partners , where she oversees all operational aspects of the firm and fund including fundraising /LP relations, recruiting / HR, fund administration, impact reporting, legal, compliance, and marketing. Prior to business school, Valerie was an analyst at Kleiner Perkins’ $1B Green Growth Fund, where she helped the team found G2. Befo...

Molly is the Founder and CEO of Molly Wood Media , an independent journalism and investing firm focused on climate solutions. She is also an angel investor and scout for the climate investment firm Amasia , and was previously a managing director at LAUNCH, where she also co-hosted the podcast This Week in Startups .  Molly Wood is a veteran of national media (Marketplace on National Public Radio,...

Vaughn Blake is a partner at Blue Bear Capital with a focus on the renewal energy industry. He is specifically focused on themes and opportunities where policy and technology catalysts interconnect. Prior to Blue Bear, Vaughn managed a portfolio of emerging and esoteric hedge fund and venture capital fund strategies at a Southern California-based Family Office. He is the founder and managing direc...

Tommy Stadlen is a technology entrepreneur and bestselling author. He is the Co-Founder of Giant Ventures .   Giant builds and backs purpose-driven technology companies solving the world’s biggest challenges. They champion entrepreneurs in creating a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient planet. Giant is a multi-stage, thesis-driven firm based in London, LA, and Copenhagen. Previous to Giant...

Shomik Dutta is a dynamic force in the climate investment landscape. As the Co-Founder and General Partner of Higher Ground Labs venture fund, he brings a unique blend of experience and expertise to the table. With a background in private equity renewable energy,  Shomik has a deep understanding of sustainable solutions. His journey has been nothing short of remarkable, having served as an Obama W...

Abe Murray is a visionary founder, accomplished builder, and distinguished product engineering lead with a remarkable track record in the tech industry. Currently serving as a General Partner at AlleyCorp Robotics , Abe leverages his expertise to drive innovation and excellence in the field of robotics and technology. Abe was previously a product and engineering leader at Alphabet. He launched Pla...

Ryan Gembala is a pre-seed and seed-stage technology investor & founder of Pathbreaker Ventures . As founder of one of the first deep tech funds in Silicon Valley, he is focused on solving complex global problems through novel hardware-software systems. In 2023, Ryan was named one of the Top 100 Seed Investors by Business Insider. Prior to starting Pathbreaker, Ryan was a deal lead on the corp...

Michael DeLucia   is the Sector Lead for Climate Investing at Wellington , an investment management firm with over $1 trillion assets under management. Before joining Wellington Management in 2021, Mike was a founding partner at ⁠Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners⁠ (SIP), where he led all aspects of the investment process for companies and projects in the infrastructure technology space, focusing. ...

David McColl is currently the Executive Director of Stanford Climate Ventures and is a Graduate Research Fellow at the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy & Finance . He is also a Partner at Echelon , an early-stage venture capital firm, and its affiliate Shoreline Capital. David received a B.S. in Management Science & Engineering and an M.S. in Energy Resources Engineering from Stanfor...

Nazlican Goksu is a Design Director at IDEO , the design studio behind breakout products like Apple’s first usable mouse , the Simplisafe Security System , and Ford’s next-gen vehicles. She has collaborated and supported the launch of IDEO's Climate Portfolio, where she leads a team of designers in building products, services, and ventures that help advance climate goals. Sustainability, climate a...

Shawn Xu is a venture capitalist and current Chief of Staff at Lowercarbon Capital . Shawn believes in audacious founders and bold solutions to the climate crisis and we wanted to have him on CLIMB because he's not just an investor; he's also a relentless builder helping to expand Lowercarbon's platform and founder products. Shawn has personally partnered with ~50 companies to date and brings with...

Sophie Purdom is a leading climate venture capitalist at Planeteer Capital , specializing in early-stage climate tech startups. Sophie's passion for climate and innovation is also expressed through her highly popular newsletter, Climate Tech VC . With a community of over 50,000 subscribers, she explores cutting-edge advancements in climate technology and sustainable innovation. Her diverse experie...

Rachel Beals is a seasoned writer and editor with over two decades of expertise. She is currently the Assistant Managing Editor and Lead Climate Writer at MarketWatch .  Over a 25-year career, Rachel has covered traditional commodities markets, alternative energy and the major global conferences on emissions and biodiversity. She's also written on a range of investing and personal finance topics....

Arvind Gupta co-leads Mayfield ’s engineering biology practice and is Founder and Venture Advisor at IndieBio. He was the first investor in breakout bio companies such as Geltor, Synthex, Prime Roots, NotCo, Prellis, New Culture, DNA Lite and Memphis Meats. As Founder of IndieBio , Arvind redefined the pace and possibilities of early stage biotech, investing in over 136 companies in five years, de...

Ian Rountree is the Founder & General Partner of Cantos Ventures , a San Francisco-based venture capital firm with $90M under management dedicated to backing deeply technical founders at inception across climate tech, computational biology, aerospace, and next-generation computing. Ian started making angel investments in 2012 while on the early teams at SoFi Bank and then Invisible Technologie...

FootPrint Coalition invests in high-growth, sustainability-focused companies. They make charitable grants to non-profits that advance the adoption of environmental technology and entertain, inform, and mobilize the public with original and curated content. They are a coalition of investors, donors, and storytellers committed to scaling technologies to restore our planet. Jonathan Shieber is the ch...

Tim De Chant is a Senior Climate Reporter at TechCrunch and Founder and Editor at Future Proof , a publication covering climate and energy. Future Proof helps you make eco-friendly decisions when it comes to the stuff you buy with the goal of helping you to reduce your carbon footprint, one purchase at a time.  He is a lecturer in MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing and has written for Wired...

Mike Jackson is the Managing Director at Earthshot Ventures , where he invests in entrepreneurs solving the toughest climate challenges. He has built an impressive career as an investor, entrepreneur, board member, and advisor in sectors such as clean energy, food & agriculture, buildings, mobility, and public safety. Drawing from his extensive experience across all stages of startup growth, M...

Allison Agsten is the inaugural director of USC Annenberg’s Center for Climate Journalism and Communication . In her role, she conceptualizes programs, develops partnerships, and collaborates with faculty and students to shift public perception and response to climate change. Previously, she has worked in journalism, communications, and public engagement capacities including as a producer at CNN,...