Zurich venture capitalist VitaminºC debuts with climate fund

(CONNECT) VitaminºC has announced the first closing of its climate fund with 18 million euros. The debut fund of the new women-led venture capital firm invests in pre-seed and seed-stage start-ups that focus on solutions to mitigate climate change and help people adapt to the already inevitable consequences. "Think of it like a car," co-founder Nathalie Moral is quoted as saying in a report referred to by VitaminºC in its announcement. "We need to reduce the speed of emissions to contain them, while ensuring that the airbag is ready for the already unavoidable impacts. We are investing in both."

Nathalie Moral works in Zurich, where VitaminºC has its headquarters. Her co-founder Sophie Lamparter runs the business from San Francisco. Accordingly, the two founders are positioning their venture capital company as a strategic bridge between Europe and Silicon Valley. Their aim is to combine European expertise in impact investing with North American scaling expertise to build global businesses from Day 1.

"Europe's deep tech sector is world-class, but many start-ups are reaching their scaling limits and are struggling to expand globally," Sophie Lamparter explains in the report. "We bring founders together with their first US customers, employees and investors. And with US climate policy facing uncertainty, founders from the US are increasingly looking to the stable regulatory environment in Europe. The bridge works in both directions, and we have a local presence in both ecosystems."

The fund invests EUR 0.5 to 1.5 million in the pre-seed and seed phase. Each investment must have the potential to save or remove at least 100,000 tons of CO2 or improve the resilience of 100,000 people within five years. ce/mm