World Fund invests in Europe’s early and growth-stage climate startups. The three-year-old, Berlin-based VC firm crossed the €300 million mark for its first fund with backing from the European Investment Fund, BPI France, PwC Germany, Wiltshire Pension Fund, the UK Environment Agency Pension Fund and other investors.
KfW Capital and Lithuanian utility Ignitis Group announced commitments in September.
World Fund, which had targeted €350 million, acknowledged the difficult fundraising environment. World Fund’s Danijel Višević noted the firm had brought in “numerous institutional investors who haven’t ever invested in VC or a first-time fund before.”
The firm expects to make 25 to 30 investments in companies at what it calls the “Series B valley of death,” when startups struggle to raise growth capital to commercialize new products and services. It has so far backed 15 companies, including UK-based Mission Zero’s modular direct air capture systems. Germany’s CustomCells makes customized lithium-ion batteries. Slovenia’s Juicy Marbles is making “premium” plant-based meat products like filet mignon.
