Greetings, Agents of Impact!
Welcome to this week’s ImpactAlpha LP/GP, where we take you inside the real business of impact investing and the dynamic relationships between owners, managers and intermediaries of impact capital.
In this week’s newsletter:
- PE giants still raising big bucks for energy, infrastructure and impact
- Two dozen LPs backing big climate funds
- Growth capital for deep tech in Europe
- Liberty Mutual’s co-investment strategy
Featured: Impact Fundraising
Asset management giants are raising record sums, including for impact and the energy transition. The biggest are getting bigger. Apollo Global Management, TPG, KKR and other publicly traded private equity firms touted record funding raised on their year-end earnings calls. The huge war chests they’re amassing include their strategies for renewable energy and resilient infrastructure. Apollo, for example, is closing in on $1 trillion in assets under management. Apollo and others are counting on the adoption of a “total portfolio approach” by big institutional investors to shift more assets from public equities to alternatives, including private equity. Next up: the competition among private-markets firms for shares of the $14 trillion 401(k) retirement market. On this week’s earnings calls, the big private equity players generally downplayed impact and energy transition themes, perhaps in a nod to the current political environment. But the insatiable demand for electricity continues to fuel investments in renewable energy and resilient infrastructure. Policy headwinds in the US have not stopped other markets, from Europe to India to Africa, from racing to adopt solar, wind, EVs and industrial electrification. “Rising demand in the power and electrification ecosystem is creating enormous dealflow,” Blackstone’s Jon Gray told analysts.
- Climate fundraising. TPG said its $31 billion Rise impact strategy once again outperformed its other strategies in “net accrued performance,” appreciating by 12.8% in 2025. The impact group, which includes the TPG Rise and Rise Climate funds, the Global South fund and TPG Next, added $4.5 billion in new capital in 2025. After deploying some $4.2 billion, it started 2026 with nearly $9.6 billion in dry powder. New York-based KKR raised $2.7 billion toward its Global Climate Transition strategy, launched in 2023. Backers include Spanish bank BBVA and Temasek, Singapore’s state-owned investment fund. KKR is eyeing a $20 billion fundraise for its next global infrastructure fund. That would rival the record $20 billion that Brookfield Asset Management raised in October for its second global energy transition fund (see LP Scan, below).
- Holding companies. As exits lag, private equity firms are holding on to companies they acquire for longer. KKR established its “strategic holdings” unit at the beginning of 2024 to hold companies on its own balance sheet, as opposed to in its funds (for background see, “Higher quality jobs could be an impact silver lining as PE firms hold companies longer”). The firm said it expected the strategic holdings unit to grow to $350 million in operating earnings this year. “What’s driving it is we’ve got approximately 20 businesses now that sit in strategic holdings, all generating different levels of growth and free cash flow,” said KKR’s Robert Lewin. The companies include 1-800 Contacts, Arnott’s Biscuits, Atlantic Aviation and Viridor Limited, an energy infrastructure company.
- LP flows. TPG and the other publicly listed investment firms took in record amounts of investment capital even as their stock prices lagged. TPG’s Jim Coulter pointed to LP commitments as the ultimate barometer of the firm’s momentum, and projected TPG would raise another $50 billion this year (for background see, “TPG’s Jim Coulter is still bullish on climate and impact”). TPG expects to close fundraising for its second Rise Climate Fund this year. It has already amassed some $6 billion toward a goal of $8 billion to $10 billion. The $2.7 billion Rise Fund III, which invests in education, financial inclusion, health and other sectors, delivered a net internal rate of return of 23%, more than double the average returns of the two earlier Rise funds.
- Keep reading “Asset management giants are raising record sums, including for impact and the energy transition,” by Amy Cortese with Roodgally Senatus.
Signals: LP Scan
More than two dozen asset owners backing big climate fund managers. Even in a tough fundraising environment, large private equity firms continue to pull in major commitments for climate and low-carbon transition strategies. ImpactAlpha tracked more than two dozen state-owned funds, pension funds and other institutional investors backing climate-focused vehicles from firms like TPG, Brookfield, and KKR.
- TPG Rise. The $31 billion impact investing group of private equity giant TPG, has secured more than $6.5 billion in commitments for its second climate-focused vehicle, TPG Rise Climate, as of September 2025. Alterra, the UAE’s $30 billion climate platform, anchored TPG Rise Climate with a $1 billion investment.
- Brookfield. The firm’s second Global Transition Fund reached a final close of $20 billion in late 2025. Norges Bank Investment Management, which oversees Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, invested $1.5 billion. Alterra invested $2 billion. Other LPs include CalPERS pension fund, Canadian pension giant La Caisse, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Temasek and Prudential.
- KKR. The private equity giant had raised just over $3 billion as of late last year for its Global Climate Transition Fund, which was launched in 2023 with a target of $7 billion. Institutional investors in the fund include BBVA and Temasek.
- More.
Dealflow: Growth Capital
European investors power $892 million close for Mundi Ventures’ deep tech growth fund. Europe’s climate tech ecosystem is booming, but a lack of growth capital is hampering innovative startups. Some 28% of European venture investments go to deep tech startups addressing breakthroughs in climate tech, AI, synthetic biology and other key areas; just 3% of those companies successfully raise Series B or C rounds. Spanish venture capital firm Mundi Ventures is looking to address the gap through Kembara, its deep tech and climate growth fund. The fund secured €750 million ($892 million) in a first close toward a €1 billion ($1.3 billion) target. The fund, which was anchored by a €350 million ($417 million) commitment last year from the European Investment Fund, attracted commitments from European sovereign wealth funds, foundations, banks and corporations.
- European resilience. European climate tech startups’ faced a Series B funding shortfall of $13.5 billion between 2020 and 2024. Deep tech is “where the biggest problems are going to be solved. This is where the biggest returns are going to be made,” Kembara’s Yann de Vries told ImpactAlpha. “And this is where sovereignty is also going to be decided, because Europe has finally realized that they are not in control of these core technologies.” The fund will incest between €15 million ($18 million) and €40 million ($48 million) in 20 companies.
- More.
Liberty Mutual’s investment arm co-invests with Ara Partners on industrial decarbonization. Houston-headquartered Ara Partners invests in mid-sized companies decarbonizing steel, cement, chemicals and other hard-to-abate industrial sectors. Liberty Mutual Investments, which oversees $117 billion in long-term capital on behalf of Liberty Mutual Insurance, has formed a co-investment partnership with Ara. Liberty Mutual and Ara will collaborate on existing and future investments including Centric Fiber, a Texas-based provider of high-speed broadband infrastructure for residential communities in the US; ethanol production facilities with carbon capture systems; and also fossil fuel assets, including natural gas production and retail gas stations in Germany and Austria. Liberty Mutual will also anchor Ara’s first energy fund. Ara’s maiden infrastructure fund raised $800 million last May.
Dealflow overflow. Investment news crossing our desks:
- Philippines-based Global Care Medical Center raised growth capital from LeapFrog Investments and private equity firm Navegar to expand healthcare services in the country’s underserved communities. (LeapFrog Investments)
- In Europe, Eurazeo announced a first close of its second sustainable maritime infrastructure fund at €175 million ($184 million), which will support decarbonization across the region’s shipping sector. (Alternative Credit Investor)
- Private equity firm CapVest Partners is in talks to acquire French infrastructure investors TSG and HLD. (Bloomberg)
Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
Ceres appoints former White House official Neal Kemkar as its new chief network officer… Leticia Bueno steps down as legal counsel at Sustainable Capital Group to Triple Jump… Impact Fund Denmark brings on João Pedro Aquino as an investment manager… Anthony Kigera joins Dutch venture studio Enviu as its agrifood marketing officer in Kenya.
The World Bank Group is looking for interns to join its Pioneers program… Renew Capital is hiring a senior financial analyst in Ethiopia… Mission Driven Finance seeks for a senior marketing manager… Mondelez International is accepting applications for its accelerator for startups in climate, packaging tech and next generation ingredients.
👉 View (or post) impact investing jobs on ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub.
Thank you for your impact!
– Feb. 11, 2026
