S2G Ventures

We are elated to release our new report, The Climate Finance Relay Race. This report examines how asset owners are approaching climate investing, the reasoning behind their strategies, and potential pathways to increase capital flows. We believe investment in what we term the “climate megatrend” offers an unprecedented opportunity to drive resource productivity, reduce volatility, and generate sustainable economic growth in a world of climate adaptation. However, climate investing is relatively new, siloed, and underrepresented. Further, there is an estimated $30 trillion in opportunity to invest in climate transition through 2030, with only about 20% of that opportunity being met. To better understand how to close this funding gap, we conducted interviews and a survey of 50+ asset owners managing trillions in capital to gather context and feedback on opportunities and frictions to climate-related underwriting. We find that the development of the enabling ecosystem is critical to navigating market and asset-owner-specific frictions to climate investment. In addition, we offer six suggestions for how the enabling ecosystem can best engage with asset owners to complete the climate “relay race” from catalytic, high-risk capital to institutional, lower-cost-of-capital projects. Read our full report, authored by S2G’s Sanjeev Krishnan, Mike Wise, and Jinchen Zou: https://lnkd.in/gJ58sCqj #climate #climateinvesting #climatefinance #assetowners #sectortransition #report #insights

S2G’s report, "The AI Opportunity," highlights the potential of artificial intelligence in driving both financial and environmental benefits and its ability to bring powerful solutions to market faster. S2G’s Vikram Sharma examines five AI use case themes, supported by case studies from S2G portfolio companies and renowned global organizations, which demonstrate AI's potential to enhance business models and showcase shared strategies applicable across the firm’s key sectors: 1. Sustainable Resource Management 2. Supply Chain Optimization 3. Iteration of Formula Prototyping and Product Discovery 4. Robotics & Automation 5. Climate Impact Modeling & Adaptation. As we face mounting climate challenges and market volatility, we believe the integration of AI across key sectors can be a pivotal tool in navigating these disruptions. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/gnkYf2xn #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #ClimateSolutions #ClimateAI #ClimateTech #Insights #MachineLearning #ThoughtLeadership

S2G's report, "The Climate Finance Relay Race," examines how asset owners are approaching climate investing, the reasoning behind their strategies, and potential pathways to increase capital flows. We believe investment in what we term the “climate megatrend” offers an unprecedented opportunity to drive resource productivity, reduce volatility, and generate sustainable economic growth in a world of climate adaptation. However, climate investing is relatively new, siloed, and underrepresented. Further, there is an estimated $30 trillion in opportunity to invest in climate transition through 2030, with only about 20% of that opportunity being met. To better understand how to close this funding gap, we conducted interviews and a survey of 50+ asset owners managing trillions in capital to gather context and feedback on opportunities and frictions to climate-related underwriting. We find that the development of the enabling ecosystem is critical to navigating market and asset-owner-specific frictions to climate investment. In addition, we offer six suggestions for how the enabling ecosystem can best engage with asset owners to complete the climate “relay race” from catalytic, high-risk capital to institutional, lower-cost-of-capital projects. Read our full report, authored by S2G’s Sanjeev Krishnan, Mike Wise, and Jinchen Zou: https://lnkd.in/gJ58sCqj #climate #climateinvesting #climatefinance #assetowners #sectortransition #report #insights

2024 was a pivotal year for S2G, and we are excited about the coming years! In our latest article, S2G's Aaron R., Chuck Templeton, and Sanjeev Krishnan discuss the key lessons we’ve learned over a decade of investing in over 100 companies, spanning the food & agriculture, energy, and oceans sectors. These lessons are shaped by our triumphs and challenges and grounded in the belief that true progress is built not just by individual companies - but by ecosystems and communities working together. See our 10 lessons learned: https://lnkd.in/g6Z7qydn #Lessons #Investing #Food #Agriculture #Oceans #Energy #SectorTransition

If you're a retailer, CPG, entrepreneur, investor, or just interested in the natural food space, we have a sugar-free, plant-based, adaptogen-rich, protein-packed treat for you. For our final #S2GPodcast episode of the season, we're excited to bring you a panel discussion from a webinar put on by Naturally Chicago and featuring commentary from Hannah Law and Kathryn A Peters of SPINS and Marc Nehring of KeHE Distributors. This discussion is a very data-driven analysis of the natural products industry, which, as panelists pointed out, is seeing growth across metrics. We also hear from S2G's Chuck Templeton about some of his reflections on the natural food space and where he sees these trends going. Listen to the episode: https://lnkd.in/gY8mE4qT Tune in on Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/g_ZAPwyJ Follow on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/g3rGNjAB #Podcast #NaturallyChicago #SPINS #KeHE #foodtrends #naturalfoods #Food #Insights

TechMet Chairman & CEO, Brian Menell, sat down with Diana Kinch of S&P Global to discuss the status of the nickel market, the role of Brazilian Nickel in countering China's control of current supply chains, and the severe supply-demand dislocation that is expected in coming years. He said, "We believe Brazil could become the most important nickel producer in the world outside Indonesia, to balance China and Indonesia's dominance of the industry." https://lnkd.in/dt29NQGu

The rapid growth of reshored manufacturing, AI data centers, industrial decarbonization technologies, and electric vehicles are driving unprecedented demand for electricity. While the renewable energy sector has grown tremendously, developing the capacity to meet increased energy demand will face numerous challenges. At the 2024 #S2GSummit, Ernest J. Moniz, Grant van Rooyen, and Ben Pratt join S2G's Francis O'Sullivan for a detailed conversation on the clean energy transition. They discuss the broader systemwide needs to fully “close the loop” on clean energy spanning from generation, transmission, and interconnection, to PPA structuring, asset positioning, and beyond. Listen to the full episode of the #S2GPodcast: https://lnkd.in/ewFYJ8En #Energy #CleanEnergy #RenewableEnergy #EnergyTransition #DataCenters #Transmission #Power #Podcast #Insights EFI Foundation Nova Clean Energy Tract

Not many people produce category-defining companies twice. But then again, not many people are John Foraker. As the former longtime leader of Annie's Inc., John is partially to thank for bringing natural foods to the fore. Today, as the CEO of Once Upon a Farm, he is changing how customers buy baby and kid foods while meeting the growing demand for nutrient-filled, responsibly sourced, delicious products. In our episode of the #S2GPodcast from earlier this year, John joined S2G's Chuck Templeton to talk about brand positioning and identity, understanding consumer tastes, scaling a business sustainably, and much more. This episode is as full of insights into starting a mission-driven CPG company as a Once Upon a Farm Smart Blend is with organic fruits and veggies. Listen to the full conversation: https://lnkd.in/gvCFc8bA Tune in on Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRQsynar Tune in on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gFZRF7q9 Cassandra Curtis Katie Marston #OnceUponaFarm #nutrition #food #organic #CPG #brands #podcast #consumer #kidsfood #babyfood

As investors committed to the Climate Transition, we believe substantive, long-term relationships with industry stakeholders are essential because they can lead to positive outcomes at scale. If we are going to decarbonize, these organizations are a critical part of the story. S2G's corporate development team of Audre Kapacinskas, Sumeeta Salvador, Maggie Fried, and Mitch Worden have been busy holding hundreds of conversations with these stakeholders in recent years, engaging with over 600 organizations in the last 18 months alone. Following from these discussions, Audre offers 5 key takeaways from the field, touching on the importance of corporate executive alignment and company culture, a collective vision, acting boldly, and more. Read the article, "Adapt or Collapse: 5 Lessons for Scaling Sustainability to Drive Growth" -- https://lnkd.in/g5ynYj_f #sustainability #strategy #corporatedevelopment #climate #climatetransition #partnerships #ecosystem #decarbonization

2024 was a transformative year for Corvus Robotics: - Launched Corvus One, our flagship autonomous warehouse inventory drone that is 10x faster yet more affordable than people. Afaik it's the first and still the only warehouse inventory drone that is truly autonomous (no humans, no location stickers, no localization reflectors). - Successfully raised our Series A, fueling our growth - Built out a world-class GTM team & board to scale commercialization. I'm proud of these folks: they match the quality of our cracked Product/R&D team, which is a high bar 😂 - Closed impactful deals with many Fortune 500 / Global 2000-sized companies looking to automate their inventory processes! We now have 150+ devices deployed in the field, with big partnerships and more expansions to be announced next year. Super grateful and happy to be working with forward-thinking, long-term partners. The future of the physical economy will be tracked and optimized by Autonomous Inventory Management Systems (AIMS) with AI/robotics, changing the legacy software / manual processes for inventory tracking and all the problems that come with it. This will impact the entire physical economy. Follow Corvus Robotics, me, and Mohammed Kabir to learn more!