Venture capital firm SOSV has closed its largest fund, which it will use to back startups focused on decarbonization and reindustrialization.
Dubbed SOSV V, it will support SOSV’s investments in early stage companies focused on renewable energy, biomanufacturing and rare mineral processing, according to founding and managing general partner Sean O’Sullivan. The firm will prioritize backing companies ready to “hit the ground running” with functional prototypes, O’Sullivan said.
The fund totals $306 million, which represents a substantial raise for SOSV. Climate-focused venture capital firms like Galvanize Climate Solutions and Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures have launched billion-dollar funds for larger investments. SOSV’s new fund will target smaller-scale investments, though, adding to SOSV’s ongoing support for tech companies at the pre-seed stage. The venture firm makes about 200 investments annually.
Select startups will join its development programs based in the company’s New York; San Francisco; and Newark, New Jersey, laboratories. A number of the companies SOSV has backed use artificial intelligence. NotCo, for example, uses an algorithm to come up with arrays of plant-based ingredient combinations for animal product alternatives, including a nondairy shake sold at Shake Shack.
