Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Two recent reports from national firms that track investments confirm that start-ups in the cleantech space – broadly defined – are not experiencing the same impact from the angel and venture capital pullback that those in other sectors are.

Crunchbase’s Joanna Glasner writes that the past few quarters have produced what she calls “unprecedented sums going to software start-ups focused on tracking and reducing carbon emissions, and on speeding up the shift to cleaner energy sources. The funding surge comes amid a broader rise in funding to climate-focused start-ups of all stripes.”

The most heavily funded companies are what Glasner characterizes as “an enterprise-focused bunch” where many of the largest rounds are allocated to companies selling technologies to energy industry customers. She further notes that the pipeline of funded climate and clean energy software start-ups is also maturing rapidly and cites this statistic: in an initial Crunchbase roundup of climate software deals, published in October 2021, virtually all the cited companies were seed or Series A funded at the time. Since then, a majority have raised subsequent rounds and a number have moved on to Series B.

Her analysis can be found here.

Separately, PitchBook reports that carbon and emissions tech start-ups raised $13.8 billion in 2022, which represented only a two percent decrease from the previous year’s $14.1 billion. The organization’s “Carbon & Emissions Tech Report” can be downloaded at this link.

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