Nomadic Venture Partners Research
Investment Thesis
Nomadic Venture Partners is a specialized climate technology venture capital firm founded by and focused on decarbonizing incumbent heavy industries—specifically mining, manufacturing, and heavy/industrial transportation. The firm invests in digital and light hardware solutions that address the unsexy but critically important challenge of making these foundational industries more responsible and sustainable.
The fund's co-founder Tem Tumurbat brings deep mining industry experience, having worked as a mining engineer at Newmont and AngloGold Ashanti. This operational expertise translates into the firm's unique thesis: they back founders who bring innovative technology solutions to bridge the critical minerals gap—helping the world extract more minerals faster, cheaper, and more sustainably to fuel the clean energy transition.
Sector & Industry Focus
Nomadic Venture Partners focuses exclusively on climate technology and industrial decarbonization across three primary verticals:
- Mining Decarbonization: Water efficiency, equipment optimization, environmental monitoring, critical minerals extraction technology
- Manufacturing & Industrial Processes: Decarbonization of heavy manufacturing, waste reduction, operational efficiency
- Heavy Transport & Logistics: Solutions for decarbonizing heavy-duty transportation and supply chain logistics
Within these sectors, they target:
- Digital technologies (sensors, AI/ML-powered monitoring, optimization software)
- Light hardware solutions (equipment upgrades, retrofits)
- Process improvements that reduce water usage, emissions, and waste
- Critical minerals extraction and processing innovation
Stage Focus
Nomadic Venture Partners focuses primarily on pre-seed and seed-stage companies:
- Pre-Seed: $250K-$750K for early technical validation and pilot projects
- Seed: $500K-$3M for companies with market traction and deployed technology
- Occasional Series A follow-on rounds to maintain/increase ownership
The fund targets founding teams with deep domain expertise in heavy industries, often partnering with experienced operators and former industry executives.
Check Size
Typical investment range: $500K - $3M
- Pre-seed investments: $250K-$750K
- Seed investments: $500K-$3M
- Reserve capacity: ~40-50% for follow-ons
Lead Tendency
Leads rounds - Nomadic typically leads or co-leads investments, particularly for first institutional rounds. They provide not just capital but operational support and industry relationships.
Recent Activity
The fund is actively deploying from its current fund (details on fund size not publicly disclosed, but fund is actively fundraising and deploying):
Recent Investments (2024-2025):
- April 2025: Maverick Metals - Seed investment ($19M total round, co-led with Y Combinator, Hanwha, Liquid 2 Ventures, Soma Capital, TechNexus) - copper technology and mining innovation
- January 2026: Added Minpraxis Solutions to portfolio - mining software/analytics
- January 2026: Added TerraFerno Geothermal Solutions - geothermal and thermal energy for mining
- January 2026: Added AiMinr - AI-powered mining technology
- 2025: Maverick Metals and portfolio companies actively hiring across engineering, operations
Fund Status: Actively deploying, with recent expansion of portfolio companies and ongoing investments in climate tech
Portfolio Companies
Recent Portfolio (as of January 2026):
- Maverick Metals - Critical minerals/copper technology - Seed (Apr 2025)
- Minpraxis Solutions - Mining software and analytics solutions - Seed
- TerraFerno Geothermal Solutions - Geothermal energy for mining operations - Seed
- AiMinr - AI-powered mining technology and optimization - Seed
- VECKTA - Mining technology (invested 2022)
- Strayas - Mining equipment and automation solutions
- MaverickX - (Related to Maverick portfolio)
Notable Partnerships & Programs:
- Mining Water Tech Pilot Program (with Current) - federally funded accelerator supporting 25+ early-stage companies developing water-efficient mining technologies
- Community initiatives bringing together 25+ early-stage climate tech companies in mining and manufacturing spaces
Team
Core Leadership:
-
Tem Tumurbat - Co-Founder & Managing Partner
- Mining engineer background (Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti)
- Deep expertise in critical minerals and mining operations
- Focus on fund strategy, portfolio construction, and industry relationships
- Location: Denver, CO
- Education: Colorado School of Mines
-
Batchimeg Ganbaatar - Co-Founder & Managing Partner
- Based in Chicago
- Operational background in climate tech/clean energy
- Deep partnership focus
-
Dominic Go - Investor
- Portfolio management and deal execution
-
Jake Kerins - Marketing Manager
- Communications and community building
Advisors:
- Morgan Bazilian - Industry advisor
- Julia Stasch - Impact/climate advisor
- Jasper Bertisen - Mining industry advisor
- Oyun Sanjaasuren - Mongolian/Asian markets advisor
- Darius Nassiry - Critical minerals/geopolitics advisor
- Bolormaa Luvsandorj - Community and partnership advisor
Geographic & Demographic Focus
Primary Investment Regions:
- US (Denver, Chicago, and national focus)
- Selective international investments
- Strong focus on Montana, Colorado, and US mining regions
Founder Preferences:
- Technical founders with mining/manufacturing domain expertise
- Former industry operators and engineers
- Teams with proven ability to ship and deploy technology in complex industrial environments
- Diverse founding teams (minority-owned VC with Mongolian immigrant founders)
Decision Process
Partnership-based - Both co-founders are deeply involved in investment decisions. The fund operates as a partnership with collaborative decision-making, leveraging both Tem's mining expertise and Batchimeg's operational background.
Timeline: Appears to be 2-3 weeks for response based on their website ("allow us at least two weeks to get back to you")
Warm Introduction Preference
Yes - They prefer warm introductions but accept cold applications via their investment form at nomadicvp.com/pitch
Typical Involvement
- Board seat or observer on most investments
- Operational support - direct engagement with portfolio companies on industry relationships and customer development
- Strategic advising - leverage team's mining and manufacturing expertise
Investment Criteria
Positive Signals:
- Deep technical innovation addressing mining/manufacturing efficiency
- Founder team with industry operating experience
- Technology that can be deployed quickly in existing operations
- Solutions addressing water efficiency, emissions reduction, or critical minerals extraction
- Addressable market in incumbent industries (mining, manufacturing, heavy transport)
Anti-Thesis:
- Consumer-focused solutions
- Anything that doesn't directly address industrial decarbonization
- Teams without industry domain expertise
- Solutions requiring regulatory/policy changes as primary enabler
Notable Facts
-
Minority-Owned VC: Founded by Tem Tumurbat (Mongolian immigrant) and Batchimeg Ganbaatar, bringing diverse perspectives to climate tech investing
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Industry-Embedded: The fund is deeply embedded in mining and industrial communities, evidenced by their events, webinars, and partnerships
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Co-Founder Operating Background: Unlike many VCs, both co-founders have operational experience in the industries they invest in
-
Dual Geographic Presence: Split between Denver (mining heartland) and Chicago, covering both mining operations and manufacturing hubs
-
Federal Support: Launched federally-funded Mining Water Tech Pilot Program with Current, indicating government relationships and support
-
Active Community Builder: Regular webinars, conferences, and thought leadership (insights page shows consistent publishing on mining innovation, indigenous partnerships, water tech)
Fund Economics
- Check Size: $500K-$3M (seed round typical)
- Fund Size: Not publicly disclosed, but actively fundraising and deploying
- AUM: Not available
- Portfolio Target: Aiming to invest in 25 climate technology companies across decarbonization
Market Positioning
Nomadic Venture Partners is one of the few venture capital firms with deep expertise and focus on industrial decarbonization, particularly in mining. They fill a gap between general climate tech VCs and specialized mining technology providers. Their unique selling point is the operational expertise of founders combined with deep industry relationships.
Summary
Nomadic Venture Partners is a specialized, founder-led climate tech VC focused on the unglamorous but critically important work of decarbonizing heavy industries. With deep mining and manufacturing expertise on the team, strong portfolio momentum, and active deployment of capital, they represent a unique opportunity for founders solving real problems in mining, manufacturing, and heavy transport decarbonization. The fund's hands-on operational approach and industry embeddedness make them valuable partners beyond just capital.