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Gigascale Fuels AI Boom With $250M Climate Tech Fund
1 Jun
Summary
- Gigascale Capital, co-founded by ex-Meta CTO Mike Schroepfer, launched its first fund.
- The $250 million fund targets early-stage climate tech companies supporting the AI boom.
- Investments include wave energy and long-duration storage for data centers.
Gigascale Capital, a climate tech venture firm, has launched its first institutional fund with $250 million. This fund is dedicated to early-stage companies that support the expansion of artificial intelligence. The firm was co-founded by Mike Schroepfer, the former chief technology officer of Meta Platforms Inc.
Schroepfer noted a significant opportunity arising from the simultaneous revolution in hardware infrastructure and the escalating demand from data centers, electrification, and onshoring. Gigascale's portfolio includes companies like Form Energy, which develops long-duration energy storage, and Panthalassa, focused on wave power.
Form Energy has a deal to supply batteries for a Google data center in Minnesota. Panthalassa is developing autonomous floating energy systems for AI computing at sea. Despite challenges in wave energy commercialization, Gigascale sees progress.
Gigascale Founding Partner Victoria Beasley emphasized that climate tech firms can succeed without an explicit AI focus if they offer a strong value proposition. She cited Dioxycle, a Paris-based startup converting CO2 into chemicals, as an example, highlighting its cost competitiveness against fossil fuels for products like ethylene.
