At a Glance
Lowercarbon Capital was founded in 2020 by Chris Sacca, the former Lowercase Capital founder known for early investments in Twitter, Instagram, and Uber. After stepping back from traditional venture investing, Sacca returned with a laser focus on climate technology, driven by the urgency of addressing climate change. The firm invests across the full spectrum of climate solutions, from early-stage startups to growth companies working on carbon reduction and removal technologies. Their portfolio spans breakthrough technologies in energy storage, fusion power, direct air capture, sustainable fuels, and industrial decarbonization. Notable investments include Commonwealth Fusion Systems (nuclear fusion), Charm Industrial (carbon removal), and Twelve (carbon transformation). Lowercarbon's approach combines Sacca's venture expertise with deep technical due diligence on climate solutions. The firm is stage-agnostic, writing checks from pre-seed through growth rounds when they identify transformative climate technologies. Their mission-driven approach and Sacca's high-profile advocacy have helped attract attention and capital to the climate tech sector.
“Backs founders building companies that slash and suck carbon emissions, across hardware, software, and science-backed climate solutions.”
Chris Sacca is managing partner. Crystal Sacca, his co-investor since the family-office years, is a founding partner. Clay Dumas, a general partner based on the East Coast, is described in press coverage as the firm's most active investor. Caie Kelley is also a general partner, and the partner bench includes Ryan Orbuch, Shawn Xu, Lauren Faber O'Connor, and Dr. Scott C. Hsu, who carries the title of fusion partner and anchors technical diligence on the firm's fusion positions.
Christian Bjelland leads capital formation, Monique Guimond heads portfolio strategy, Melissa Waystack runs finance, and Alexandra Frumar is general counsel. Duncan Carlson, Eric Helfgott, and Sidney Brown are principals. The roster runs to roughly two dozen people across investing and operations, small relative to the capital under management.
Lowercarbon Capital began as Chris and Crystal Sacca's family office, deploying tens of millions of dollars of their own money into climate companies before opening to outside limited partners. In August 2021 the firm announced roughly $800 million in commitments, divided across four separate vehicles covering early-stage venture, growth capital, and dedicated technology strategies.
A $350 million fund aimed specifically at carbon removal followed in April 2022, an unusually large pool for a category that barely existed commercially at the time; Stripe is among the disclosed investors. A separate $250 million vehicle targets nuclear fusion companies, a thesis the firm argues publicly and at length. In September 2023 Lowercarbon closed a further $550 million across two funds, one for new positions and one to support companies already in the portfolio, taking the platform past $2 billion in committed capital. Spanish bank BBVA has disclosed roughly $45 million of exposure to Lowercarbon vehicles, one of the few limited partner commitments made public.
Lowercarbon Capital primarily invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+ stages. This means they focus on companies that are at the earliest idea or prototype phase.
Lowercarbon Capital is headquartered in Oakland, CA. Many of their portfolio companies are also based in this region, though they invest across geographies.
Lowercarbon Capital focuses on investments in Climate, Deeptech, Enterprise. Their portfolio reflects deep expertise and networks within these sectors.
Lowercarbon Capital's typical investment check size ranges from $100K to $50M. Actual amounts may vary based on the stage, sector, and specific opportunity.
Lowercarbon Capital manages approximately $2B in assets under management (AUM) across their funds.
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