Dangerous Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Dangerous Ventures backs companies building a more sustainable and resilient future for people and the planet. The partners argue that the world's most existential challenges are an opportunity to build enduring businesses, and that early-stage venture has a critical role to play alongside other tools. They look for wildly ambitious founders who challenge fundamental assumptions and support them financially, strategically and emotionally. The firm calls its focus "climate resilience" and describes backing "Dunkirk" climate solutions, meaning practical technology that helps people and systems cope with the changes already under way.
Sector Focus
The site names four sectors: Energy, Mobility, Food Systems and Climate Adaptation. The portfolio descriptions fit that spread:
- Energy and grid: modular geothermal power plants, grid resilience, demand-side power management, space-based energy, hydrogen electrolyzers, Li-ion flow and safer Li-ion batteries, an AI command center for energy
- Buildings and heat: smarter HVAC, ultra-efficient heating and hot water, localized personal heating, cooling shade panels, energy-storage appliances, solar for renters
- Materials and industry: wood as strong as steel, mining metals without the mine, water-free textile processing, organic waste upcycling and industrial composting
- Food and land: precision agriculture and irrigation, food system resilience, autonomous forest operations, wildfire prevention
- Finance and software: climate insurance, a lending platform for climate tech, realistic simulation software, next-generation radar sensing
The founders FAQ says they do not typically invest in media, crypto or CPG, avoid products with user data and privacy concerns, and will not back anything that harms the environment or people.
Stage Focus
Primarily pre-seed and seed, and very occasionally Series A. The firm plans 2-3 new investments each quarter.
Check Size
Not published. Third-party data shows participation in rounds from $1M to $19M, but those are total round sizes rather than the firm's own checks, so no check size is set.
Lead Tendency
The FAQ states that the firm does not lead rounds at this time. Third-party deal data records one lead (Hydrosonics, $1M seed, May 2024) against four participations, which supports a follower profile. Co-investors in recorded deals include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Elemental Impact, MaC Venture Capital, Mission One Capital, Konvoy Ventures and Alumni Ventures.
Recent Activity
Third-party data (The Venture Codex) lists Kodama Systems ($7M seed, October 2026), Verdi ($5M seed, May 2025), Cambium Carbon ($19M Series A, February 2025), Hydrosonics ($1M seed, May 2024, led) and Sensate ($3.2M seed, April 2023). A 2023 Albuquerque Business First report says the New Mexico State Investment Council committed $10M to the firm's New Mexico-focused fund. Fund size and total AUM are not disclosed on the site. The firm appears to be actively deploying, with a venture associate hired in January 2026.
Portfolio Highlights
The site shows 33 portfolio companies, including Cambium Carbon, Critical Energy, Epistemix, InventWood, Kodama Systems, Overview Energy, PowerX, Safire, Spartan Radar, Sensate, Verdi, Hydrosonics and Terra Vera. Spartan Radar raised $17M in January 2023. Safire exclusively licensed an Oak Ridge National Laboratory battery electrolyte additive in November 2022. The site does not list exits for the fund's own portfolio.
Team
- Gaby Darbyshire, General Partner: barrister turned executive and investor. Co-founded Gawker Media and served as COO, ran Framestore Ventures, and was co-founder and CEO of QXR Studios. Chairs Fragment Media Group and sits on the boards of GOOD/Upworthy and Global Witness.
- Ward Hendon, General Partner (managing partner per press): member of the founding team of Axiom Law for 15 years, sold to Permira in 2019. Lecturer at UCLA Anderson and UNC School of Law. Based in Santa Fe, NM.
- Mike Lin, General Partner: founder and CEO of Fenix International (acquired by Engie in 2018), former partner at Big Idea Ventures, Stanford mechanical engineer with six patents. Based in San Francisco.
The partners say they have scaled and exited solar, fintech, legal and media startups with combined exits above $1B.
Decision Process
Three general partners decide as a partnership. The firm takes inbound through a founder form and responds only if it wants to pursue a conversation. No warm-intro requirement is stated.
Founder Preferences
Passionate, determined founders building tech-enabled, scalable products for a cleaner and safer future. They will occasionally look at products that are not strictly tech-driven if the impact can scale. The partners stress their own founder scar tissue and offer emotional as well as financial support.
Geographic Focus
Typically US-based companies. They will also consider North American or European companies that intend to enter the US market, and nothing outside those regions. The firm is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with a fund focused on New Mexico.
Gaps
No fund size, AUM, check size or stage for individual investments is published. Portfolio stage data is omitted because no per-company source names the firm's round.