Vancouver, British Columbia, Nov. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Active Impact Investments, Canada’s largest climate tech seed fund, today announced that it has raised more than $70M in commitments for its third fund — moving towards the ultimate fund goal of $120M. The fund welcomes a diverse group of new institutional investors, including co-anchor Northleaf Capital Partners through its Canadian venture capital strategy, Co-operators Corporate Venture Capital Fund, and Deloitte Ventures. Fondaction labour-sponsored fund returns as a co-anchor and the University of Victoria re-ups for Fund III.
The VC firm plans to add 20 companies to its portfolio. Building off of its first two funds, the third fund will continue to invest in early-stage, private companies across North America that are capable of achieving venture scale and profitability while solving urgent environmental issues.
“Many funds aren’t raising right now because of the difficult market and the economic pinch many are feeling. Our ability to fundraise in these tough conditions is beneficial for our investors since it helps us get access to more deals at better valuations, and from the founders’ perspective, it makes a bleak environment more hospitable for growth,” said Mike Winterfield, Founder and Managing Partner, Active Impact Investments. “But most importantly, the climate doesn’t care that markets are down. Climate change is accelerating faster than ever and continuing to fund solutions is both necessary, and a huge wealth creation opportunity. Just because something is hard doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing!”
“We're excited to double down on post investment support to ensure our portfolio companies access the best talent and build repeatable systems for scalable sales,” said Tom Boddez, General Partner, Active Impact Investments. “We’re actively searching for 20 new startups that have developed technology that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve society’s sustainability in the areas of: circular and shared economy, clean energy and transportation, infrastructure and carbon solutions, and sustainable food and water.”
Every company Active Impact Investments has invested in is still operating and to date, the firm has mitigated over 550,000 tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent), with the goal of mitigating 1,000,000 tonnes of CO2e by the end of 2023.
“We are excited to have selected Active Impact as a seed-stage partner for our portfolio,” said Ian Carew, Managing Director & Venture Partner at Northleaf Capital Partners. “As we increase our exposure to the sustainability and impact sector, we believe their focus on climate technologies can deliver attractive returns while having a positive impact on our planet.”
“Supporting Active Impact by acting as an anchor investor for this fund is not only consistent, it's also an opportunity to amplify our impact. Active Impact's investment verticals overlap with Fondaction's own fields of intervention: the circular economy, clean energy and transportation, infrastructure and carbon solutions, and sustainable food and water. With the launch of its third fund, Active Impact is demonstrating its ability to energize the climate technology sector and its desire to increase its presence in Quebec,” said Marc-André Binette, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Fondaction.
“Investing with Active Impact clearly aligns with our vision to create a sustainable, resilient society,” says Daniel Sinclair, Vice President of Corporate Development & Head of Co-operators Corporate Venture Capital. “We see climate change as a direct and imminent threat to our ability to deliver on our purpose. We are excited to collaborate with a partner like Active Impact that prioritizes resilience alongside profitability and is driving climate action through strategies we support in our other investments and operations like circularity and sustainable food systems.”
Founded in 2018, the firm has invested in 31 companies across North America and has exited three via acquisitions, with a fourth exit pending.
For more information about Active Impact Investments, visit www.activeimpactinvestments.com. If you are an accredited investor and want to join Active Impact Investment’s third fund, visit www.activeimpactinvestments.com/investor-signup.
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About Active Impact Investments
Active Impact Investments is a Certified B Corp based in Vancouver, B.C., whose mission is to support environmental sustainability through profitable investment by providing money and talent to accelerate the growth of early-stage climate tech companies with early revenue and significant growth potential. Their portfolio includes and is seeking some of the most successful startups in North America that are capable of achieving venture scale and becoming extremely profitable while solving the most urgent environmental issues.
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