Sameer Reddy

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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It’s so obvious what’s happening. Lines companies and regulators need to get out of the way (and react much faster than they are) to let the flow accelerate. https://lnkd.in/g9k-z-v7

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Check out my recent post on why President Trump is the forcing function for us to solve the “Missing Middle” and catch the industrial Tsunami of onshoring coming to the US!

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🚀 Calling all adopters of #proptech and #construction tech: real estate developers, builders, and owner-operators, and more! 🌟 Big News! I’m thrilled to announce our partnership with Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2), co-administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, to accelerate cleantech adoption. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative bringing public and private industry together to drive the digitization and decarbonization of the built environment with a focus on the adoption of startup technologies by end customers. I couldn’t be more excited to collaborate closely with IN² and NREL’s incredible teams to build the industry’s first Adoption Playbook, and the impact this program will have to catalyze more sustainable innovation implementation to our built world. Led by Program Manager Sarah Derdowski, NREL's team is backed by world-class research and a history of running successful incubators. 💡 If you're a forward-thinking organization that is seeking to innovate your real estate footprint, apply today. Adopters can receive up to $250,000 in grant funding to pilot cutting-edge technologies, while startups have the chance to scale and engage with major corporations. This groundbreaking program offers incredible opportunities for both adopters and startups to drive sustainability and innovation—and we're kicking it off this month! 🌍 With our team at Overlay Build, we will design the curriculum in partnership with IN² for corporate adopters through their Adoption Playbook. The playbook will prioritize pain points, identify innovation areas, and form peer groups for implementation strategies. Overlay will also develop due diligence criteria, help to determine the top startups for potential pilots, and form internal innovation working committees that will drive change. Additionally, Overlay will build a change management strategy to ensure practical evaluation and implementation of pilot projects, helping companies with significant real estate ownership reduce construction inefficiencies, costs, and carbon footprints. 🔍This initiative addresses the "missing middle" in technology adoption of built environment solutions—let's bridge that gap together. For more information or to discuss how you can get involved, feel free to reach out to me directly. 👉 Join us in shaping the future of the built environment! Adopters, apply here today: https://lnkd.in/eCRHCXfm #Sustainability #Cleantech #Innovation #BuiltEnvironment #IN2 #OverlayCapital #DigitalTransformation #Decarbonization #ESG #NetZero

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With the rapid rise of AI and increased focus on electrification and EV adoption, the economics of the energy market have shifted dramatically — energy demand in the U.S. is skyrocketing. However, there's a very clear imbalance between the need for grid-scale energy storage solutions and the lack of available supply. Without a viable storage solution for the grid, the increase in energy demand will be met by gas-powered peaker plants and coal-burning plants — reversing all progress to date on reducing carbon emissions. Less than a year ago, Peak Energy was founded with the mission to revolutionize energy storage with the development of low-cost, large scale sodium-ion battery technology. Today, the company has announced its $55M Series A to commercialize and scale its grid storage technology. Peak Energy's momentum over the last year not only reflects strong market demand, but also is indicative of the team behind the mission: Liam O'Connor, who led operations and supply chain at some of the world's largest technology companies like Tesla and Apple; Landon Mossburg, who built and scaled large battery manufacturing at Northvolt and Tesla; and Cameron Dales, who helped build from scratch leading-edge battery company ENOVIX Corporation. From the deep expertise the company's leadership brings to the table, to the all-star team they've assembled, and the innovative technology they are developing, the Eclipse team believes Peak Energy brings the ample firepower to secure the future of renewable energy. https://bit.ly/3Y8LniO Congratulations!

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It is an exciting day for climate action. Sustainability Roundtable, Inc.’s Net Zero Consortium for Buyers (NZCB) just announced today that seven world-leading companies have signed an aggregated virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Southern Company for renewable energy credits produced by the 180 MW Phase II portion of the Millers Branch Solar Facility in Haskell County, Texas. This long-term aggregated procurement enables the financing and development of the new 180 MW project owned by SPC. The project is expected to achieve commercial operation in Q2 of 2026 Cisco, Juniper Networks, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Cadence Design Systems, IDEXX, PTC, and a Fortune 100 healthcare company joined this agreement, which democratizes access to the commercial and environmental benefits of utility-scale renewable energy by making procurement accessible to a broader range of enterprises. This aggregation is one of the largest peer-buyer organized aggregations to date globally. Today's announcement reflects the fact that the NZCB has achieved 86% of its goal of causing a gigawatt of new renewable energy capacity before 2025. Reaching NZCB’s gigawatt goal would generate enough energy to meet the annual average electricity needs of more than 200,000 U.S. homes while helping mitigate commercial Scope 2 emissions across the business operations of corporate buyers. This transaction demonstrates how the NZCB offers a breakthrough model for commercial collaboration in causing utility-scale renewables, beginning in North America and Europe. 

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My colleague, Raj Agrawal, is out with his latest #Infrastructure Market Review for KKR. “Digitalization, the energy transition, and the digital power problem are massive challenges that require scaled capital and deep sector expertise to solve, but also present a tremendous investment opportunity to those with the ability to solve them,” he writes. He dives into these investment themes, areas of opportunity and our risk-based approach to investing 👉 https://go.kkr.com/4hXFIn1

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Excited to announce our investment in Alta Resource Technologies alongside Leonardo Banchik (Voyager Ventures) with participation from Orion Resource Partners, Overture Ventures, and WovenEarth Ventures. Rare earths are critical in products from magnets to ceramics and it's important for the US to develop its own supply chain. While the US has some of the best rare earth resources, separating them has historically proven expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Alta through it's computationally designed and optimized proteins allows the US to bring back rare earth production with a cleaner, lower capex, and lower opex solution - and that's just the beginning. Congrats to Nathan Ratledge and the entire Alta team. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gbGnAJn3

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Is Now the Best Time to Raise a Private Equity Fund? According to industry leaders, it just might be. "I’m much more optimistic at this point in the cycle in 2024 than I was in 2023 and 2022," says Andy Lund, global co-head of Houlihan Lokey's Private Funds Group. Despite expectations of a slowdown, the first half of 2024 has been unexpectedly successful for PE managers raising capital. U.S.-based funds closed on $155 billion by the end of June, slightly ahead of the first half of 2023 (PitchBook Q2 2024 US PE Breakdown). Alex Russ, head of North America for Evercore's Private Funds Group, sees this as an ideal moment for GPs with open funds. "We saw fewer new fundraise launches in 2024 than in 2022 and 2023, leading to a slight easing, which we expect to continue into the second half of this year," he notes. However, challenges remain. LP capital is still largely locked until M&A and exit activities resume. Evercore anticipates flat PE fundraising figures for 2024 compared to 2023. Moreover, other asset classes are vying for already limited institutional capital, with private credit showing particularly strong growth. In this context, Maria Konnikova’s "The Biggest Bluff" offers an insightful analogy. Inspired by "Theory of Games and Economic Behavior" by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern, the book explores von Neumann's belief that poker epitomizes the delicate balance between skill and chance that governs life. Doing well at poker isn’t just about playing well; it’s about playing well relative to everyone else. And even with the best strategies, luck plays a critical role. As Nobel-winning economist Daniel Kahneman notes, "The successful funds in any given year are mostly lucky; they have a good roll of the dice. There is general agreement among researchers that nearly all stock pickers, whether they know it or not—and few of them do—are playing a game of chance." The last two years were like drawing a bad hand in poker for those raising funds. The book also emphasizes the importance of thinking like a Strategist—something I’ve honed throughout my career. Each move requires reassessment based on new information. You need a plan that evolves with feedback and supports long-term, good decision-making. If you’ve lost your chips, was it due to an unlucky situation—or because your strategy was flawed? A recurring mantra of Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel is "less certainty, more inquiry." If that becomes your guiding principle, not only will you actively listen, but you will also adapt and grow. For GPs, strengthening relationships with existing LPs is more crucial than ever. Now is the time to leverage your learnings and craft compelling narratives that showcase your commitment to value creation and strategic growth. By highlighting your firm's ability to navigate complex market dynamics, you can strengthen LP alignment and foster the partnerships needed for long-term success.

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As #ClimateWeekNYC is coming to an end, a major spotlight is on the path to 24/7 renewable energy—a vision that requires a fundamental shift in how we track, purchase and manage power. The launch of #247Coalition highlights the growing importance of granular energy tracking, with Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) playing a pivotal role in this transformation. Our key views on the granularity discussion: 🔹Supportive policies need to evolve quicker: While granular certificates are still primarily used in voluntary markets, policies like RED III in Europe and the UK’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard are setting higher compliance standards. In the U.S., we’re seeing similar momentum as companies push for greater transparency in renewable energy usage. However, faster progress is needed to encourage widespread adoption of granular tracking. 🔹The path to hourly matching is incremental: The ultimate goal of 24/7 renewable energy is clear—hourly matching of consumption with renewable production. But we won't achieve this overnight. Recognizing and incentivizing interim steps like quarterly or monthly matching is crucial to keep momentum during this transition. 🔹Investments in supporting technologies are needed: To ensure the reliability of 24/7 carbon-free electricity, substantial investments in technologies like battery storage are necessary to ensure renewable energy is available when it’s needed most. At STX Group, we're at the forefront of EACs. In 2023, we facilitated the trading of over 300 TWh of green electricity and as the market embraces more granular matching, we're here to support our corporate partners in navigating this new landscape. Reach out to explore how we can support your journey!

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Last week Peak Energy announced its $55M oversubscribed series A, which Xora Innovation led, joined by lead seed investor Eclipse (Greg Reichow, Ryan Gibson), as well as TDK Ventures (Anil Achyuta), TechEnergy Ventures (Alejandro Solé), Doral Energy-Tech Ventures (Roee Furman), Lachy Groom, and Tishman Speyer (David Aron). Special thanks to 🌱🤝🌍 Anil Achyuta for the original introduction.   Peak is commercializing a new standard in grid-scale energy storage systems based on sodium-ion batteries. Peak’s market is benefiting from the twin tailwinds of renewables and AI, and the company has just the right founding team to scale at "ludicrous speed".   Landon Mossburg, Co-Founder and CEO, is one of the most phenomenal team builders we have had the privilege of backing. He brings deep experience in building battery gigafactories from his prior role as Chief Automation Officer of Northvolt, where he didn’t shy away from sleeping on factory floors for months in Northern Europe.   We have a special place in our hearts for entrepreneurs who have the grit to spend 10 years+ building deep tech startups from the foundational stage to commercialization. Cameron Dales, Co-Founder, President and Chief Commercial Officer, has done it not only once, but twice, at Symyx Technologies and Enovix (current market cap $2.65B).   Liam O'Connor O’Connor, Co-Founder and COO, previously scaled major portions of Tesla’s and Apple’s supply chains, flying over 500,000 miles a year when required. Liam has a deep understanding of what it takes to build resilient supply chains in hypergrowth mode, having previously scaled from <$5B to $40B in spend over a matter of a few years.   The climate tech sector is in need of more entrepreneurs who truly understand what building on a massive industrial scale means. We couldn’t be more excited that Landon, Cam and Liam have decided to apply their talents to enabling grid-scale energy storage.

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Westwood's Energy & Real Assets team has been discussing the need for more natural gas to fuel AI data center demand, and the recent $50 billion partnership between KKR and Energy Capital Partners (ECP) to fund large-scale power generation and data center infrastructure projects across the U.S. confirms our thesis. This joint venture is aimed at addressing the surging energy needs of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing. ECP, which owns Calpine—one of the nation’s largest power generators and a significant player in both conventional and renewable energy—will leverage its expanded portfolio of natural-gas-fired plants to provide the reliable, around-the-clock power that AI-driven data centers require. While Calpine’s natural gas assets offer immediate scalability to meet AI demand, this dependence on gas also creates a sustainability challenge for tech firms balancing rapid AI expansion with carbon reduction commitments. Read our recent Insights post on the intersection of midstream energy and data centers to learn more: https://bit.ly/3AAeHFf #Energy #DataCenters #AI

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As outlined in this article, private equity is pivotal in driving the growth of renewable energy technologies. With increasing investments in clean energy solutions, private equity firms are seizing opportunities to scale innovative technologies that align with global sustainability goals. This trend signifies a powerful convergence of capital and green innovation for both industries, fueling a transition toward a more sustainable energy future. #PINCommunityAdvocate #NetZero #ESG #Sustainability #RenewableEnergy

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Check out this article from TechCrunch featuring FLOCEAN on how subsea desalination is disrupting the water industry

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Who doesn't love a good top 50 list?! Very excited to launch Congruent Ventures and SVB's inaugural 50 by 2050, focused on identifying the companies with the highest potential to drive carbon reduction over the next 25 years. I'm 100% certain that we've missed some amazing companies. I'm also 100% certain the companies on the list are awesome. Sadly, by our own methodology many or our incredible companies at Congruent didn't make the list (but suppose that is as it should be). Check out the report below. Live / interactive list here: https://lnkd.in/dYgCfEv8 Tim De Chant TechCrunch coverage here: https://lnkd.in/dkUJm_Sn The Congruent/SVB team collaboration was awesome Dan Baldi Eliza Cushman Marianne Wu Joshua Posamentier!

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"Simply put, there is too much capital seeking too few opportunities, particularly at the seed stage. Multi-stage firms have eliminated pricing discipline at seed stage and the proliferation of seed firms has made the task of investing at this stage as competitive as it’s ever been, leading me to believe that indexed seed investing in today’s environment will produce poor returns. What does this mean for today’s environment? It’s never been more important to break away from median performance. While there is risk in breaking away from the pack, the risk (at least performance wise) of staying part of the herd is simply far worse. Median returns for the recent vintages are simply terrible. One could argue that funds are still in their j-curve phases, but I suspect this doesn’t explain the divergence we’re seeing between GOOD performers and GREAT performers. More than ever before, it’s clear to me that playing the same game as everyone else will not work, so fund managers should question whether they are really capable of being in the top 5% of whatever strategy they are employing. From a LP perspective, allocators should likely ask the same of their managers and consider whether allocating to indexed mega funds or indexing across too broad of a portfolio of managers is tenable in achieving their return targets." https://lnkd.in/g8GqHY-P

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🗽 This just in! Ethan Levine is speaking at SuperReturn Energy on November 11th in New York City. How is the outcome of the US Presidential election likely to affect the energy sector? Ethan's panel: Framing today's energy investment landscape, will cover all of this and more. Don't miss this important discussion! For more information, click here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gFAun2K6 ​

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Wonderful article about Emily Knight and the whole The Engine Accelerator team on the amazing work their doing changing the world with #ToughTech!

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