ImpactAlpha’s deal news coverage for the week:
AI-powered. Biotech startup Lila Sciences raised $235 million to speed the discovery of new materials, drugs and chemistry using AI.
Blue economy. Octave Capital and Katapult launched a $75 million ocean fund… T. Rowe Price and the International Finance Corp. raised $200 million for a new Emerging Markets Blue Economy Bond Strategy, a corporate bond fund focused on water security and marine conservation.
Climate finance. Chestnut Carbon raised $250 million for nature-based carbon removal… Generate Capital extended $100 million line of credit to Soluna to develop green data centers… Genomines raised $45 million to extract critical metals with bioengineered plants.
Energy transition. Feld.Energy raised $12 million for agricultural solar installations… Rodatherm Energy, a Salt Lake City-based geothermal startup that uses refrigerants instead of water to produce energy, raised $38 million from Evok Innovations, Active Impact Investments, Grantham Foundation and others… WaterEquity backed SunCulture to launch private equity strategy… XL Batteries raised $7.5 million in investment from family office Merrin Investors for its long duration energy storage. XL simplifies the supply chain by using low-cost electrolytes instead of scarce, expensive vanadium for its flow batteries.
Financial inclusion. New York-based Kredete snagged $22 million in Series A funding from AfricInvest Group, Partech and Polymorphic Capital to help African immigrants build credit through remittances… Swiss impact manager Enabling Qapital made a $1.5 million investment in Premier Credit Uganda to expand access to responsible microlending in Uganda.
Fund news. Dria Ventures raised $8 million from Spring Point Partners, General Catalyst, Next Legacy Partners and other limited partners to back early stage founders focused on healthcare and Main Street productivity… VoLo Earth raised $135 million for its second climate tech fund.
Institutional impact. Australian Retirement Trust has invested almost A$1 billion (US$660 million) in Macquarie’s Green Energy and Climate Opportunities Fund. The trust, Australia’s second-largest pension fund, is looking to invest another $1 billion in impact investments.
Investing in health. New York-based Diana Health raised $55 million in a Series C equity round led by HealthQuest Capital to deliver maternal and women’s healthcare.
Ownership economy. Chennai-based Unico Housing Finance secured backing from Anicut Capital and UC Impower to provide home mortgages to first-time homebuyers in India’s smaller towns and cities.
Sustainable ag. Mad Capital raised $78 million to help farmers and ranchers shift to regenerative agriculture… responsAbility extended a line of credit to India’s Qul Fruitwall for helping smallholder farmers in the country’s Himalayan region transition to sustainable, climate-smart agriculture.
Waste to value. Avaana Capital staked BacAlt to early financing to convert agricultural waste to consumer products… Bioweg raised $19 million to scale plastic-free ingredients… Closed Loop Partners’ Infrastructure Group extended a $10 million loan to GreenMantra Technologies, a Canada-based molecular recycling company focused on polyethylene and polypropylene plastics.
