Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures — Investment Thesis & Preferences

01Investment Thesis

Catalyze innovation and impact by supporting early-stage startups and nonprofits building solutions for a more inclusive and sustainable future. Four focus areas: Environment, Health & Wellbeing, Economic Empowerment, and Education & Human Capital.

Exclusion Criteria

Not a traditional VC fund — does not invest in companies outside its annual accelerator cohort cycle. Excludes companies without launched products and demonstrable revenues. No hardware-only, no pre-product concepts.

02Investment Team

LW

LaToya Wilson

Managing Director, Global Co-Head of Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures

SK

Sanghamitra Karra

Global Co-Head of Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures

03F4 Research Brief

Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures Research

Investment Thesis

Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures (MSISV) is a corporate accelerator program embedded within Morgan Stanley, the global financial services firm headquartered in New York, NY. The program provides early-stage innovators with access to capital, mentorship, and resources to help them develop and scale. Its mission is to catalyze innovation and impact by supporting early-stage startups and nonprofits building solutions for a more inclusive and sustainable future.

MSISV operates as an in-house accelerator — not a traditional venture fund — and leverages Morgan Stanley's integrated firm capabilities to provide portfolio companies with access to bankers, financial advisors, technology experts, and global investor networks. Since inception, MSISV and its predecessor programs have distributed over $38 million in capital to more than 140 startups and organizations.

Programs

MSISV runs two distinct in-house accelerator programs simultaneously:

MSISV Lab: Designed for early-stage, technology-enabled for-profit startups at the pre-seed to Series A stage with launched products and demonstrable revenues. Each selected startup receives a $250,000 equity investment (raised to $500,000 for the 2026 cohort per public announcements). Lab startups participate in a five-month curriculum culminating in a global Showcase and Demo Day.
MSISV Collaborative: Designed for emerging nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status or a recognized international equivalent creating measurable impact. Each selected nonprofit receives a $250,000 grant.

Applications are submitted through a public portal (managed via TheOneValley platform) — no warm introduction is required. The Americas and EMEA programs run concurrently under unified leadership.

Impact Categories

MSISV invests across four broad impact categories:

Environment: Climate tech, circular economy, sustainable food and agriculture, smart and sustainable cities, climate adaptation, and impact measurement
Health & Wellbeing: Expanding access to care while strengthening health infrastructure to deliver demonstrable outcomes
Economic Empowerment: Financial inclusion, access to capital, affordable housing, and community wealth building
Education & Human Capital: Edtech, digital equity, workforce development, and responsible labor practices

Stage Focus

MSISV focuses exclusively on early-stage companies — pre-seed through Series A. The program is designed to help founders prepare for follow-on fundraising from external investors. Companies must have launched a product in market with demonstrable revenues.

Check Size

Investment per startup is fixed at the cohort level:

2025 cohort: $250,000 per startup (£250,000 for EMEA-based companies)
2026 cohort: $500,000 per startup (per public announcements)
Nonprofits (Collaborative): $250,000 grant (non-dilutive)

Recent Activity

MSISV announced its 2025 cohort on September 15, 2025, selecting 29 startups and 4 nonprofits from thousands of applications globally — representing founders from the US, UK, Switzerland, Canada, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Bulgaria, Nigeria, and South Africa.

The 2025 cohort focused on technology and AI-driven solutions in healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, climate tech, and accounting. Companies in the 2025 Lab cohort included Airpals (AI parcel management), CLIMADA Technologies (climate risk analytics), COUNT (AI accounting for SMBs), Danu Robotics (AI robotic sorting for recycling), Motics (AI OS for healthcare clinics), BuuPass (African intercity travel platform), and Zuri Health (on-demand healthcare across Africa).

In February 2026, the 2025 cohort presented at a global Demo Day Showcase in New York and London. Morgan Stanley opened applications for the 2026 cohort in early 2026, with a deadline of March 31, 2026.

Portfolio Highlights

Notable 2024 cohort companies include:

Blip Energy (US) — distributed energy resource for peak demand mitigation
Compare Ethics (UK) — AI sustainability compliance for retail brands
Research Grid (UK) — automation engine for clinical trials
Hire Ground (US) — B2B procurement and supplier diversity management
BetaScore.ai (US) — AI-driven small business credit scoring for financial inclusion

Notable earlier portfolio companies include:

Goalsetter — goal-based savings platform for children (financial inclusion)
Rheaply — circular economy asset management software
DotLab — AI-powered diagnostics for endometriosis (women's health)
Praxis Labs — immersive DEI and leadership learning platform
Kanarys — DEI-focused SaaS for workplace equity metrics

Team

LaToya Wilson, Managing Director and Global Co-Head of MSISV (formerly Americas Head of the Inclusive Ventures Group at Morgan Stanley)
Sanghamitra Karra, Global Co-Head of MSISV (formerly EMEA Head of the Inclusive Ventures Group)

The program is executive-sponsored by Eric Grossman, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of Morgan Stanley. Each cohort company is paired with hand-picked mentors, entrepreneurs-in-residence (EiRs), and advisors from across the firm.

Decision Process

MSISV conducts an annual public application process. Applications are reviewed by the MSISV team and an internal Morgan Stanley selection committee. No warm introduction is required. The selection process runs from roughly Q1 (application deadline) through Q3 (cohort announcement). The 2025 cohort was announced in September 2025 for a program running October through December 2025.

Geographic Focus

MSISV invests globally, with separate regional tracks:

Americas: Startups and nonprofits from the US, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean
EMEA: Startups and nonprofits from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

Past cohorts have featured founders from over 15 countries across six continents.

Founder Preferences

MSISV targets technology-enabled founders building measurable impact in their communities. Ideal founders have launched a product, demonstrated some early revenue, and can articulate a clear path to scale. There is no explicit preference for solo vs. team founders, but MSISV's network-centric program structure benefits founders who are building in sectors where Morgan Stanley has deep client relationships — finance, healthcare, real estate, and sustainability.

04Selected Portfolio