Cleantech Venture Capital in a Pandemic
The world looked bleak for startups in the spring. According to figures from Crunchbase, venture capital deals were down 44 percent from March to June compared with last year. Seed-stage deals took the biggest hit, down nearly 60 percent. But series B deals also took a hit. It was difficult at any stage of funding. Deals are finally coming back. Obviously, travel startups won’t be a hot category for a long time. But what about climate and cleantech? Are they insulated? And what does the reorientation tell us about who’s still all-in on the category? We’re joined by Abe Yokell, managing partner and co-founder of Congruent Ventures. He and Shayle dig into a wide range of venture capital trends:COVID impacts on the “climate tech” venture revolution. We’ll check back in on what we talked about last time, given the new state of the world.The rise of the tech company mega-climate-fundPublic market madness. What, if anything, does this say about exit prospects for climate tech startups?Hot sectors: where is the smart tech talent going?The Interchange is brought to you by Fluence, a global leader in battery-based energy storage technology and services. From commercializing the first grid-connected battery systems in 2008 to the multi-gigawatt fleet being deployed for customers globally today, the Fluence team is ensuring that storage is the cornerstone of the electric future. Learn more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.