VitaminºC has announced the first close of its climate fund raising 18 million euros. The debut fund from the new women-led venture capital firm invests in startups at pre-seed and seed stage working on solutions to mitigate climate change and to help humans adapt to its already unavoidable effects. “Think of it like a car,” co-founder Nathalie Moral explains in a report referenced by VitaminºC in its announcement. “We need to reduce the speed of emissions for mitigation while making sure the airbag is ready for the impacts already locked in. We invest in both.”
Nathalie Moral works in Zurich, where VitaminºC is headquartered. Her co-founder, Sophie Lamparter, runs the business from San Francisco. Accordingly, the two founders position their venture capital firm as a strategic bridge between Europe and Silicon Valley. Their goal is to combine European expertise in impact investing with US scaling expertise to build global companies from day one.
“Europe’s deep tech is world-class, but many startups hit a scale cap and struggle to expand globally,” says Sophie Lamparter. “We introduce founders to their first US customers, hires and investors. And as US climate policy faces uncertainty, American founders are increasingly looking to Europe’s stable regulatory environment. The bridge works both ways and we are the boots on the ground in both eco-systems.”
The fund invests between 0.5 million and 1.5 million euros at the pre-seed and seed stages. Each investment must demonstrate the potential to mitigate or remove at least 100,000 tons of CO2 or improve the resilience of 100,000 people within five years. ce/mm