Good day. Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital wants to prove that climate-tech startups can generate healthy returns. That's one of the reasons that Mr. Sacca says Lowercarbon, which initially was funded with the personal money of its founders, turned to outside investors to help raise $800 million in fresh capital.

The firm's funds, structured as traditional venture funds with management fees and carry, has 263 investors, he says. About half of Lowercarbon's capital came from institutions such as foundations, universities and corporations. Mr. Sacca and his wife Crystal Sacca, a partner at the firm, are still the largest limited partners.

"First, by running Lowercarbon Capital as a fund, we're showing the world that climate tech investments can be evaluated on their profit potential alone," Mr. Sacca says he wrote to his investors.

There is already evidence that the performance of recent investments in this sector is much better than it was in the years of the clean-tech bubble in the late 2000s.

The total value of investments made into U.S. clean-tech companies between 2015 and 2019 went up by 80% as of the end of 2020, according to data from investment and advisory firm Cambridge Associates. That's compared with declining value overall for investments made in the sector between 2005 and 2009.

The pooled gross investment rate of return, another key metric for investment performance, was 22.7% for investments made in U.S. clean-tech companies between 2015 and 2019, per Cambridge Associates, compared with a negative IRR for investments made a decade prior.

The climate-tech and clean-tech industry appears to be on an upward trajectory.

And now on to the news.

Top News

Oil giants turn to startups. Energy giants including BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC are bolstering their venture-capital arms -- increasing budgets, hiring more staff and doing more deals -- seeking out new low-carbon technologies to help future-proof their profits, The Wall Street Journal's Sarah McFarlane reports. The moves come as several big oil companies work to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and expand their low-carbon activities, partly in response to growing pressure from investors and governments to cut emissions.

Venture spending by oil companies represents only a small amount of their multibillion-dollar annual investment budgets. It is also sometimes aimed at boosting oil-and-gas operations, while some clean-tech entrepreneurs can be reluctant to sell to fossil fuel companies.

Nevertheless, BP, Shell and French peer TotalEnergies SE are now among the most active clean-tech investors by number of deals closed, according to data provider PitchBook.

Companies Are Hoarding Record Cash Amid Delta Fears

Companies are sitting on a record amount of cash amid lingering uncertainty about disruptions from Covid-19, defying expectations earlier this year that a waning pandemic would unleash a spending spree, the Journal's Anna Hirtenstein reports. Cash and short-term investments on corporate balance sheets globally are at an all-time high of $6.84 trillion, according to data from S&P Global, extrapolated from second-quarter earnings reports. That is 45% higher than the average in the five years preceding the pandemic and a 2.6% increase from the previous quarter.

Allbirds to Sell Wool and Tree-Based Workout Clothes, Taking on Nike and Lululemon

Allbirds Inc., known for its eco-friendly sneakers, is betting people want to work out in wool. The startup is launching a new line of athletic gear made of merino wool and yarn created from the pulp of eucalyptus trees, the Journal's Suzanne Kapner reports. The fabric, which was two years in the making, is Allbirds' latest attempt to rethink the apparel industry's longstanding reliance on polyester and other synthetic fibers. Allbirds' effort to get people to wear wool shoes was a resounding success, as its sneakers quickly became a favorite in Silicon Valley. It now has to sell consumers on the merits of working up a sweat in leggings made of similar materials, while competing in a sector dominated by Lululemon Athletica Inc., Nike Inc. and other companies that tout lightweight, moisture-wicking gear.

InfoSum Raises $65 Million as Companies Prioritize Data Privacy

InfoSum Ltd. has raised a $65 million Series B funding round, as the data technology startup aims to support companies' growing need for customer-data services that adhere to stricter privacy rules, WSJ's Alexandra Bruell reports. The funding, entirely from U.K.-based investment firm Chrysalis Investments Ltd., will enable the company to increase its head count and global presence as it plans for an initial public offering in the next five years, said InfoSum Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Brian Lesser. InfoSum sees an opportunity to boost growth as companies rely on new techniques for collecting data amid tighter privacy regulations and a rise in digital media consumption and e-commerce, Mr. Lesser said.

Industry News

People

M12 appointed Michael Stewart as the firm's newest investment partner. Based in San Francisco, Mr. Stewart will focus on early-stage investments in deeptech and enterprise software in North America. He was most recently an investment director at Applied Ventures.

Fintech investor Nyca Partners said Tom Brown is joining the firm as a partner. He was most recently a partner at Paul Hastings.

Solidia Technologies, which helps manufacturers produce building and construction materials using low-carbon cement and concrete, named Russell Hill to the post of chief technology officer. He was previously group chief innovation officer at Boral. In April, Piscataway, N.J.-based said it raised a $78 million funding round led by Imperative Ventures and Zero Carbon Partners.

ForgeRock, an identity-management software provider, appointed Tschudy Smith as chief people officer. Ms. Smith joins the company from Cisco, where she was senior vice president of people and communities. San Francisco-based ForgeRock is backed by investors including Riverwood Capital, Accenture Ventures, Accel, Meritech Capital and Foundation Capital.

Exits

Unite USA Inc., which does business as Unite Us, a builder of coordinated care networks of health and social service providers, acquired health analytics company Carrot Health for an undisclosed amount. Earlier this year, New York-based Unite USA raised $150 million in Series C funding from investors including Iconiq Growth, Define Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Emerson Collective and Optum Ventures.

Publicly traded Roblox purchased Guilded Inc., a chat platform for gaming communities, for an undisclosed sum. Guilded was backed by investors including Y Combinator, Matrix Partners, Initialized Capital, Susa Ventures and Liquid 2 Ventures.

Cisco Systems intends to acquire application monitoring provider Epsagon Ltd. for an undisclosed amount. The company counts U.S. Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, StageOne Ventures and DTCP as investors.

New Money

Gelato, an Oslo-based on-demand printing startup, scored $240 million in new funding, giving the company a valuation of just over $1 billion. Insight Partners led the round, which included participation from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Dawn Capital, funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and others. Adam Berger, managing director at Insight Partners, will join Gelato's board.

Hopper Inc., a travel and financial technology startup based in Montreal and Boston, raised a $175 million Series G funding round led by GPI Capital with participation from investors including Glade Brook Capital, WestCap Group and Goldman Sachs Growth.

Seismic, a San Diego-based sales and marketing platform, closed a $170 million Series G round, bringing the company's valuation up to $3 billion. Permira led the funding, which included participation from JMI Equity, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Jackson Square Ventures, Ameriprise and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. In addition to the new investment, Seismic acquired workplace training software developer Lessonly for an undisclosed amount. The company was backed by investors including AXA Venture Partners, Allos Ventures and Atlas Peak Capital.

Adverity, a Vienna-based marketing data intelligence provider, completed a $120 million Series D round. Lead investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2 was joined by Sapphire Ventures in the new funding.

Rapido, an Indian bike taxi platform, picked up a $52 million investment from investors including Shell Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners and Westbridge Capital.

BrainQ, an Israeli stroke therapy technology startup, landed a $40 million investment. Hanaco Ventures led the round, which included additional support from Dexcel Pharma, Peregrine Ventures and others. Stacey Pugh, chief commercial officer of Butterfly Network, will join the board.

Ultromics, a cardiovascular imaging startup with offices in the U.K. and Dallas, raised $33 million in Series B funding. Blue Venture Fund led the investment, which saw participation from Optum Ventures, GV and Oxford Sciences Innovation.

Tropic, a New York-based software procurement startup, nabbed $25 million in new funding led by Canaan Partners.

Baffle Inc., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based cloud data protection provider, snagged $20 million in Series B financing. Celesta Capital led the round, which included contributions from National Grid Partners, Lytical Ventures, Nepenthe Capital, True Ventures, Greenspring Associates, Clearvision Ventures and Engineering Capital. Sriram Viswanathan, founding general partner of Celesta Capital, will join the board.

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08-17-21 0951ET