Sky Ocean Ventures is underpinning Founders Factory’s Planet Fund, which is raising £100m to back early-stage climate startups.
Founder Factory’s Planet Fund wants to address the “funding gap” for seed-stage startups, investing in decarbonisation, resource prevention, climate resilience and the circular economy.
As part of the partnership, Sky will move its Sky Ocean Ventures inside the Planet Fund, which has invested in 25 startups since 2018.
“We felt compelled to build this fund both by the urgency of the problem and the scale of the opportunity,” said Henry Lane Fox, CEO, Founders Factory.
Founders Factory is a London-headquartered accelerator and venture studio. It was founded in 2015 by Brent Hoberman, Henry Lane Fox and George Northcott.
“We’ve seen a huge migration of tech talent wanting to work in the climate, and know there is a gap to provide high-conviction capital and hands-on support to the next generation of ambitious planet-focused companies,” added Lane Fox.
The Planet Fund will be led by Lane Fox and the previous head of investments at Sky Ocean Ventures, Jamie Rowles.
For the fund’s advisory board chairman Founders Factory has appointed Sir Ian Cheshire who stepped down as chairman of Barclays UK last year.
Cheshire will be joined by climate scientists Professor Richard Templer and Professor Cameron Hepburn.
In a report published earlier this year, it was found that climate tech is the fastest-growing vertical in Europe.
Brent Hoberman, founding advisor and executive chairman, Founders Factory speaking about Sky said: “Their reach and voice coupled with our entrepreneurial DNA will allow us to invest in and nurture the best climate entrepreneurs who can help to unlock a more sustainable future for us all.”
To date, the accelerator has raised more than $175m (£143.5m).
Last year insurance provider Aviva extended its partnership five years with Founders Factory to support UK startups.
Founders Factory joins Felix Capital, which last week launched it’s £478m fund to support early-stage Web3 and sustainability startups.
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