Gigascale, the venture firm led by former Meta CTO Mike Schroepfer, announced on Monday that it had raised a $250 million fund to back founders who are “rebuilding the physical economy.”
The new fund will focus on energy, grid infrastructure, and critical minerals all through the lens of climate tech. By continuing with the overt climate focus, Gigascale is bucking conventional wisdom which has soured on the “climate tech” thesis.
Gigascale’s second fund is shaping up to be a continuation of the sort of bets that Schrep, as he’s known, has made in the three years since he started Gigascale. The firm has backed some high-profile startups in the climate tech space, including Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Heron Power, Mill, and Form Energy.
Gigascale emerged from Schrep’s study of climate tech during COVID, and the new fund is the first with an early-stage focus that includes institutional investors.
Climate tech has always been a wide-ranging sector, and Gigascale’s portfolio reflects that. But in recent years, the sector has become increasingly focused on energy and infrastructure, a shift that has been largely driven by the demands of AI.
