Earthshot Ventures
Overview
Earthshot Ventures is an early-stage venture firm based in San Francisco, launched in 2021 as the for-profit venture strategy of Elemental Impact (formerly Elemental Excelerator), the climate nonprofit investor founded by Dawn Lippert. Fund I announced a $60M first close in September 2021 (backers named at launch and on the site include Microsoft, John Doerr, Tom Steyer, Emerson Collective, Builders Vision, Toyota Ventures, McKinley Management, the MacArthur Foundation and the Employees Retirement System of the State of Hawaii). Fund I made 27 investments. A Form D for Earthshot Ventures Fund II, LP (raising up to $125M) was filed on 2026-09-10, so the firm is raising its second fund while still making follow-on investments from Fund I (latest reported new investment: Cowboy Space, May 2026).
Investment Thesis
The firm describes itself as backing "technologies that will define the next industrial era", with three focus areas: AI x infrastructure, energy, and critical minerals. Its current framing is "the physical foundation of the AI era": critical minerals, clean firm power, efficient computing, and AI-native vertical applications for heavy industries. It frames the portfolio as a loop (Minerals -> Power -> Compute -> Intelligence -> Climate Impact). More than 70% of active portfolio companies have AI at the core of the product. Earlier vintages were broader climate tech (food systems, regenerative agriculture, wildfire, circular economy, carbon removal, carbon markets, logistics), and the site still lists those companies. The firm targets competitive financial returns alongside measurable environmental impact, and says it picks teams that do not depend on long R&D cycles or government incentives, with a strong technological "why now" and standout unit economics. It invests in fewer than 0.4% of companies it evaluates.
Stage Focus
Pre-Seed to Series B. The portfolio page shows entries from pre-seed (Derapi) through Series B (KoBold Metals, Lilac Solutions, Hubble Network, Cowboy Space, EarthOptics), plus some notes and warrants. Many positions are later rounds of well-funded companies where Earthshot joins rather than leads.
Check Size
Not published by the firm. Third-party databases cite $500K to $2.5M per check, which fits a $60M Fund I making about 27 investments with reserves. The firm concentrates follow-on capital on winners: it has invested three times in Etched and three times in Emerald AI, and increased its Cloover position between rounds.
Lead Tendency
Mostly a participant. The rounds it announces were led by others (Unlimited Industries' $12M seed co-led by a16z and CIV; Emerald AI's Series A co-led by Energize Capital and DCVC; Hubble's Series C led by Smith Point Capital; Etched's Series C led by Sequoia). Co-investors listed on its portfolio page include a16z, NEA, Founders Fund, Khosla, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon, NVIDIA, CRV, T. Rowe Price and Y Combinator. Over 90% of portfolio companies have generalist tech investors on the cap table.
Recent Activity
- Hubble Network: follow-on in the $200M Series C at a $1.6B valuation (Sep 2026), after first investing in the Series B in 2025.
- Cloover: increased its position between rounds (announced Sep 2026) after first investing in the Series A in Nov 2025; Cloover is profitable at a $350M+ run rate.
- Emerald AI: third investment, in the $150M Series A at a $1.05B valuation (Aug 2026), after the seed in Oct 2025.
- Etched raised a $300M Series C at $10.3B and Mariana Minerals a $310M Series B at $1.5B (Aug 2026).
- Cowboy Space: new investment (Series B, May 2026, per PitchBook).
- Unlimited Industries: $12M seed (Dec 2025). Mariana Minerals: Series A (late 2025).
- Matt Logan promoted to General Partner (Nov 2025).
- Fund II Form D filed, up to $125M (Sep 2026).
Portfolio Highlights
KoBold Metals (AI mineral exploration, Mingomba copper discovery), Etched (transformer inference chips, $10.3B valuation), Mariana Minerals ($1.5B), Emerald AI ($1.05B), Hubble Network ($1.6B), Cloover, Lilac Solutions, Mitra Chem, Vaulted Deep (large Microsoft carbon removal contract), SuperCircle, MOLG, Ceramic AI. Exits listed: Aquabyte, Parade, Toucan Protocol.
Team and Decision Process
Three General Partners: Dawn Lippert (founder; CEO of Elemental Impact; policy and customer ecosystem), Mike Jackson (sourcing and business strategy), and Matt Logan (sourcing and portfolio support; first employee, promoted to GP in Nov 2025; personally sourced 7 of Fund I's 27 investments, including KoBold and Etched, via outbound). Austin Blackmon is Partner for finance, compliance and operations; Ramsay Siegal is a Venture Partner; Bethel Gashaw is an Analyst. Decisions appear to be made by the GP partnership. Matt Logan runs a heavy outbound sourcing motion and writes personal cold outreach to founders.
Founder Preferences
Outlier founders with unique knowledge of the markets they are tackling (Tesla's former minerals lead at Mariana, a Life360 co-founder at Hubble, repeat founders at Unlimited). Companies that win because they are cheaper, better or faster than the status quo, with fast paths to revenue and a repeatable go-to-market motion. Value-add comes through the Elemental platform: corporate partners (Microsoft, Amazon, Google, utilities), an investor network of 2,000+, and services in policy, project finance, media and workforce.
Geographic Focus
Any geography. The portfolio is mostly US, with European positions (Cloover and Klim, both German) and a Canadian one (Kanin Energy). Elemental's roots in Hawaii and California give it strong US utility and policy relationships.