United States
Photo credit: The Engine/Mantel
Climate and Clean Tech | August 24, 2022
The Engine backs Mantel’s carbon-capture technology
ImpactAlpha, August 24 – The Engine, an MIT-spinout venture fund, is known for betting on very early-stage “tough tech.” Its latest investment: Boston-based Mantel, …
Dealflow | August 11, 2022
Forage secures $22 million to help low-income Americans order groceries online
ImpactAlpha, August 11 – About 42 million Americans receive help paying for groceries through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as “food …
Photo credit: Enko
Agrifood Tech | July 27, 2022
Gates Foundation-backed Enko raises $70 million for sustainable crop treatments
ImpactAlpha, July 27 – Enko uses machine learning and drug discovery to develop non-chemical modes of killing agricultural pests and weeds. The Connecticut-based company …
Climate Finance | July 27, 2022
American Forest Foundation’s $10 million green bond connects forest owners to carbon markets
ImpactAlpha, July 27 – Nearly 40% of forestland in the U.S. is family owned. The American Forest Foundation wants to incentivize such smallholder forest …
Henry Mobility e-bike.
Impact Voices | July 18, 2022
The diverging paths of climate tech in Europe and the U.S.
Talent. Customers. And specialization. Transition-friendly policy and sentiment are helping set the European Union apart as a hub for climate tech. My colleague …
Inclusive Economy | July 18, 2022
Achieve Partners notches exit of tech training venture Genuent
ImpactAlpha, July 18 – Achieve Partners invested in Houston-based Genuent, a tech staffing company, as part of its strategy to accelerate apprenticeship programs in …
Photo credit: Intersect Power
United States | July 5, 2022
TPG Rise Climate backs Intersect Power’s $750 million round to scale up renewable energy infrastructure
ImpactAlpha, July 5 – San Francisco-based Intersect Power has raised $750 million in equity from TPG Rise Climate, TPG’s $7.3 billion climate impact …
Dealflow | June 6, 2022
Apis & Heritage helps businesses in Denver and El Paso become employee-owned
ImpactAlpha, June 6 – Apis & Heritage last year launched a buyout fund to help small and mid-sized businesses with large Black and Brown …
Climate Finance | May 25, 2022
a16z leads Flowcarbon’s $70 million round to improve voluntary carbon market transparency
ImpactAlpha, May 25 – Carbon + crypto is a hot combination. Look at the boldface names behind Flowcarbon, a startup that tokenizes certified carbon …
Photo credit: Beta Technologies
Dealflow | April 21, 2022
Beta Technologies raises $375 million for electric aircraft
ImpactAlpha, April 21 – Green aviation startups are raising big rounds from big-name investors. Vermont-based Beta is building electric battery-powered planes that take …
Ashanti Williams from the Black Yard Farm | Photo credit: lex Barlowe
The Reconstruction | April 19, 2022
Black Farmer Fund is reimagining U.S. agricultural finance, on farmers’ terms
A century ago, Black farmers represented 14% of all farmers in the U.S. Now? Just 1.4%. Barriers to affordable financing have cost farmers …
Photo credit: Choctaw Nation
Policy Corner | April 7, 2022
Catalytic funding for tribal communities and small businesses at stake in Congress’s COVID-19 plan
ImpactAlpha, April 7 – The Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma, the third largest Tribal nation in the U.S., has a multifaceted plan to develop a …
Oceans | March 17, 2022
Nautilus Labs secures $34 million to decarbonize shipping
ImpactAlpha, March 17 – The shipping industry emits about a gigaton of greenhouse gasses annually. New York-based Nautilus uses sensor and weather data, …
Image credit: Erthos
Climate and Clean Tech | March 6, 2022
Erthos clinches $17.5 million to cut solar costs by installing panels on the ground
ImpactAlpha, March 7 – There may be few opportunities left to reduce the cost of solar technology, which is already “the cheapest source …
Image credit: Aether
Impact Tech | March 6, 2022
Aether raises $18 million to convert atmospheric CO2 to diamonds
ImpactAlpha, March 7 – Natural diamonds are nothing more than crystallized carbon. New York-based Aether is using the surplus of atmospheric carbon to …
Inclusive Economy | February 28, 2022
Social Finance will deploy $100 million from Google to upskill tech workers
ImpactAlpha, February 28 – Boston-based Social Finance has pioneered student-friendly “career impact bonds,” a form of income-sharing agreement, to reduce the risks to …
Dealflow | February 16, 2022
S2G Ventures backs NourishedRx to integrate healthy food into healthcare
ImpactAlpha, February 16 – NourishedRx launched in 2019 to address a gap in the U.S.’s healthcare system: diet and nutrition. The health tech …
Conventional and renewable energy generation
Clean Energy | December 7, 2021
Oil and gas investor Lime Rock Partners raises $375 million for clean energy
ImpactAlpha, December 7 – Amid a frenzy of big-ticket climate deals and energy-transition funds, oil and gas investor Lime Rock raised less than …
Dealflow | December 7, 2021
Energy software provider Voltus to go public via a SPAC
ImpactAlpha, December 7 – It wasn’t so long ago that billion-dollar deals, mergers and valuations in the low-carbon transition were rare. Voltus, which …
Community Finance | December 6, 2021
Secondaries fund secures $11.5 million to create a market for CDFI loans
ImpactAlpha, December 6 – The Aspen Institute and the Microfinance Impact Collaborative launched the Entrepreneur Backed Assets Fund last year to enable community …
Dealflow | December 6, 2021
Republic buys U.K. equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs
ImpactAlpha, December 6 – London-based Seedrs, one of the world’s first regulated equity crowdfunding platforms, has channeled £1.5 billion to startups since 2009. …
MicroVest invests in emerging and frontier markets, like Myanmar.
Dealflow | December 2, 2021
Microfinance lender MicroVest is acquired by development company DAI
ImpactAlpha, December 2 – MicroVest launched in 2003 to expand access to capital to microfinance institutions in emerging markets and facilitate impact investment …
Signals | December 1, 2021
Can the recovery catalyze a business revival on the Navajo Nation?
ImpactAlpha, December 1 – The Navajo Nation, which includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, is one of the hardest places to …
Photo credit: PosiGen
Dealflow | October 26, 2021
Builders Fund clinches $50 million to invest in growth-stage impact companies
ImpactAlpha, October 26 – San Francisco-based Builders Fund reached an intermediate, $50 million close on its targeted $100 million second fund, bringing its …
PHOTO BY KEVIN FRAYER, GETTY IMAGES.
Dealflow | September 27, 2021
Ara Partners fund secures $1.1 billion to decarbonize the industrial sector
ImpactAlpha, September 27 — Ara Fund II will focus on buyouts and growth investment in companies in industrial and manufacturing, chemicals and materials, …
Dealflow | September 22, 2021
Blockchain music streaming service Audius raised $5 million from Nas, Katy Perry and other creators
ImpactAlpha, September 22 – Mainstream streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music are notorious for stiffing the musicians who drive the platforms’ popularity. …
Photo credit: Arcadia
Dealflow | September 20, 2021
Arcadia raises $100 million to spur U.S. demand for community solar
ImpactAlpha, September 20 – Arcadia is on a mission to accelerate community solar in the U.S. The Washington, D.C.-based energy access company matches …
Finback's early portfolio includes two senior care companies.
Dealflow | September 16, 2021
Jeb Bush launches Finback Investment Partners with $350 million for ‘impact aligned’ private equity
ImpactAlpha, September 16 – The former Florida governor’s new firm will focus on investing “private capital to solve public sector challenges.” It is …
Dealflow | September 2, 2021
Achieve Partners acquires Metmox to create apprenticeships for cybersecurity
ImpactAlpha, September 2 – There will be an estimated 1.8 million unfulfilled cybersecurity jobs in the U.S. next year. That makes the industry …
Green Infrastructure | August 25, 2021
Urbint secures $60 million to prevent critical infrastructure failures
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – Investing in the improvement and climate-resilience of America’s aging infrastructure is the hot private-sector opportunity, particularly in light of …
Photo credit: Great River Energy
Long-termism | August 24, 2021
Form Energy scores backing from TPG’s $5.4 billion climate fund
ImpactAlpha, August 24 – Form Energy recently declared a breakthrough for its iron and air-based battery that will enable renewable energy projects to …
Innovative Finance | August 19, 2021
Social Finance raises $49.9 million for workforce-focused UP Fund
ImpactAlpha, August 19 – The W.K. Kellogg, Inherent and Phillips foundations are among the latest backers of Social Finance’s UP Fund, which deploys …
Impact Voices | August 18, 2021
How CDFIs are rethinking lending risks to build BIPOC-led businesses and wealth
The portrayal of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income populations as “too risky” for business investments is rooted in racism used to justify underinvestment …
Photo credit: SparkCharge
Dealflow | August 12, 2021
LACI makes SparkCharge its tenth investment from its cleantech debt fund
ImpactAlpha, August 12 – Los Angeles-based cleantech incubator LACI last year launched a debt fund for underrepresented founders “to play a role in …
Dealflow | August 9, 2021
Rise Fund backs Human Interest’s $200 million round
ImpactAlpha, August 9 – Employee benefits like health insurance and retirement plans are often too expensive for small and mid-sized businesses. San Francisco-based …
Dealflow | July 22, 2021
Achieve Partners acquires Optimum Healthcare IT to fill healthcare labor gaps
ImpactAlpha, July 22 – Florida-based Optimum Healthcare IT provides staffing and consulting services to 150 hospital systems in the U.S. Achieve Partners acquired …
Photo credit: Change Labs
Capitalism Reimagined | July 21, 2021
Native-led organizations join forces to accelerate entrepreneurship in Indian Country
ImpactAlpha, July 21 – U.S. tribal lands are among the hardest places in the world to do business, with entrepreneurs struggling to access …
Catalytic Capital | July 20, 2021
Community Equity Fund readies small checks for Black and Brown proprietors in North Carolina
ImpactAlpha, July 20 – More than 90% of Black-owned businesses in the U.S. are sole proprietorships that lack access to “friends and family” …
Conservation | July 20, 2021
New Forests expands sustainable forestry portfolio in California and Oregon
ImpactAlpha, July 20 – Australia-based New Forests acquires and manages forestlands for both sustainable timber production and conservation (see, “Taking an ‘impact tranche,’ …
Image credit: Verkor
Clean Energy | July 13, 2021
Race for better lithium batteries accelerates with two big raises
ImpactAlpha, July 13 – Batteries are big as startups and investors bet on the low-carbon energy transition. SES, based near Boston, scored $100 …
Corporate Impact | July 12, 2021
DuPont spinoff acquires George Serafeim’s ESG consultancy KKS Advisors
ImpactAlpha, July 12 – Chemical giant DuPont spun out DuPont Sustainable Solutions two years ago as an industrial consultant. DuPont Sustainable Solutions has …
Photo credit: Zipline
Dealflow | July 6, 2021
Zipline secures $250 million for drone delivery in Africa, Japan and the U.S.
ImpactAlpha, July 6 – Zipline launched its drone-delivery service five years ago to improve blood and medical-supply logistics in Rwanda. The California-based company …
Dealflow | July 1, 2021
Turntide secures $225 million to make electrical motors more efficient
ImpactAlpha, July 1 – Turntide Technologies makes energy-efficient “smart” motors for transportation, agriculture, commercial buildings and shipping. The goal: accelerating the low-carbon transition by …
Photo credit: Historic Clayborn Temple
Dealflow | June 14, 2021
Olamina Fund lends $13 million to financial institutions in Black, Native and rural communities
ImpactAlpha, June 14 – The $40 million Olamina Fund was launched by Candide Group to provide flexible, low-cost loans to lenders serving high-need …
Innovative Finance | June 1, 2021
A resilient pandemic recovery requires faster, cheaper pay-for-success initiatives
ImpactAlpha, June 1 – Pay-for-success financing represents an opportunity to fund new social services and build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic. But deal …