Investor profile
Prelude Ventures
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Prelude Ventures invests in and supports early-stage startups with the greatest potential to mitigate climate change. Founded in 2009 by Nat Simons and Laura Baxter-Simons to fill the investment void left by the collapse of early climate tech venture, the firm operates as a single-LP, 100% climate-focused fund with a strict 'no fossil fuels' rule. Prelude is a climate generalist, backing companies across Built Environment, Carbon Management, Compute, Energy, Food & Agriculture, Manufacturing & Industrials, and Mobility — comfortable with high capital intensity and long hardware timelines. The firm combines deep technical and operating expertise with long-term capital support, aiming to build the next generation of category-defining businesses that deliver both venture returns and meaningful climate impact.
Notable quotes
“Climate tech is about the realization that everywhere you look in the economy, in our industrialized economy, there is an opportunity to decarbonize things to make them less impactful to climate change. And you can have a huge economic and climate outcome if you find a product or a solution that addresses carbon or carbon equivalents while it addresses an economic problem, while it solves a problem for a customer.”
“It's blindingly obvious we have a climate crisis, and it's blindingly obvious there's a lot of opportunities and a lot of chances to make money in solving that crisis. We want to invest in companies that can help the transition from carbon to low-carbon.”
“Climate tech is going K-shape. That means that the sector is splitting in two. One group is rising sharply while the others get left behind as opposed to climate tech all rising as one.”
Recent investments
| Company | Round | Size | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | Series A | $28m | 2025-08-28 |
| Persefoni | Series C Extension | $23m | 2025-04-01 |
| Augmenta | Seed | $10m | 2025-03-12 |
| Vaulted Deep | Series A | $32m | 2024-11-14 |
| Brightband | Series A | $10m | 2024-09-19 |
| Heirloom Technologies | Series B | — | — |
| Electric Hydrogen | Series B+ | — | — |
| Form Energy | Series B+ | — | — |
| Pivot Bio | Series A | — | — |
| Lime | Series B+ | — | — |
Frequent co-investors
| VC firm | Deals together |
|---|---|
| Breakthrough Energy Ventures | 15 |
| Alumni Ventures | 5 |
| Congruent Ventures | 5 |
| Energy Impact Partners | 4 |
| Lowercarbon Capital | 4 |
| Temasek | 4 |
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