Rewinding 2023 for Theia Ventures and Looking Ahead to 2024
While 2023 was the hottest year in global history, various groundbreaking technologies emerged to address the climate crisis. Climate tech clocked in a total funding of USD 32 BN globally and the major investments took place in sectors such as mobility, industrial decarbonization, carbon removal, built environment and agriculture. With changing geopolitical situations and new funds being pledged towards climate, for 2024, we’re most excited about opportunities in sectors such as low carbon materials, waste to value, space tech, green cement and steel, energy efficiency, greener fuels and climate finance. In this edition of the Theia briefing, we will rewind 2023 for Theia Ventures and shine a spotlight on what we’ve been up to.
Key Highlights
In 2023, Theia Ventures had the opportunity to present macro and micro level trends in Indian climate tech on a global platform. We shared our views on areas such as climate finance, the growth of the Indian climate tech ecosystem, regulatory tailwinds and cross broader pollination across different climate sectors and markets.
We co-organized a Green Investment Roundtable with Observer Research Foundation and MacArthur Foundation, with 25+ entrepreneurs and investors working across climate tech in India. We were invited as panellists at global forums organized by the Emirates Policy Centre, Imperial College London, Innovation for Impact Conference by British International Investment, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Cambridge Cleantech Venture Day, Camden Family Connect, Climate Policy Initiative India, the India Green Investment Forum, UImagine and the Indian Venture Capital Association. We had a presence at COP 28 in Dubai, The Drop Conference by Pale Blue Dot, Social Entrepreneurship Forum by startAD and Ma’an Social Investment Fund, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Climate & Energy Prize & Conference, San Francisco Climate Week, Hello Tomorrow APAC, Climafix at IIT Madras’ Research Park and the Sustainable Future Energy Conference.
Our 2023 milestones
Time to Venture: Scaling up Transformational Climate Tech in India: We co-developed a first-of-its-kind report with the Observer Research Foundation, launched by the Hon’ble Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal, which featured the fascinating and innovative work of 11 startups, and 6 venture capital funds operating and investing in the climate tech sector in India. Read the full report here.
The Case for Nature: The Other Planetary Crises: We hosted a fireside discussion and book reading event with Siddarth Shrikanth, author of The Case for Nature, one of the Financial Times’ critically acclaimed books of 2023.
Investments & Portfolio News
In 2023, we welcomed altM Bio and Metastable Materials to our portfolio. Explore our portfolio page to learn more on why we invested in them. Along with new investments, we led a bridge round into our existing portfolio company, Canvaloop Fibre. We congratulate our portfolio company, Exponent Energy on raising a Series B of USD 26 Mn from Eight Roads, TDK Ventures, Lightspeed, YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital and AdvantEdge VC.
Our Partnerships
Along with strengthening our existing partnerships with accelerators and incubators such as Shell E4, MIT and Harvard i-Labs, by organizing various mentorships and investment readiness sessions, we developed new partnerships with Brinc and Indian School of Business (ISB) Ventures, where we serve as an investment partner for their climate tech cohorts.
Our Insights
2023 has been an amazing year of learning for us at Theia Ventures, and we deep dived to articulate our thesis across multiple sectors in the form of articles, blogs and reports. Below are the key insights and publications from 2023:
Financing Climate Tech in India: Read More
Climate fintech: Catalyzing green finance to accelerate the net zero transition: Read More
Nature's Toolbox: Biotech Solutions for a Climate-Resilient World: Read More
Catalyzing the Deeptech Climate Investment Ecosystem: Read More
Vision 20/24: Watching India: Read More
Our Team
In 2023, we brought on board three talented team members as a part of our Short Term Associate program. A brief background on them:
Nupur did her Masters in Financial Engineering from Columbia University and has been associated in the Indian startup ecosystem with her experience in Zerodha and Axio. After Theia, Nupur is currently working at ADL Ventures in New York City.
Waroon is currently pursuing MBA from Cambridge Judge Business School. and has spent over seven years in Indian Venture space prior joining Theia Ventures.
Shreya recently completed his MBA from Cambridge Judge Business School and prior to this, was a consultant at PriceWaterHouse Coopers. After Theia, he has joined KPMG in London.
We thank Nupur, Waroon and Shreya for being a part of Theia Ventures journey.
Would you like to learn more about us? Write to us at info@theia-ventures.com