Neotribe & the opportunity to invest in climate right now

Kittu, the founder of Neotribe Ventures, established the venture firm around six and a half years ago with a mission centered on investing in groundbreaking technologies that push the boundaries of innovation. The focus lies on deep tech companies pioneering novel product categories, spanning from pure software enterprises to sectors like FinTech, InsurTech, and Web3, with a special interest in companies at the crossroads of digital and physical realms. Kittu’s engagement with climate tech dates back to 2001, predating his venture capital involvement, marked by a personal investment in Ion America, which later evolved into Bloom Energy, also serving as New Enterprise Associates’ inaugural foray into clean energy. This early association laid the foundation for Kittu’s continued involvement in diverse areas of climate tech, encompassing solar, wind, ocean wave energy, energy storage systems, and energy management solutions.

How is climate investing different today & what’s exciting

Reflecting on his early days at NEA in 2006, Kittu recalled a predominant focus on energy generation within climate tech, particularly in areas like solar technology. However, he says despite performance improvements, these advancements didn’t lead to significant breakthroughs due to the saturation of the market with cheap silicon from China. Presently, Kittu finds the potential for transformation in climate tech through the integration of information technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning particularly exciting.

Gaps in the investment space & the type of capital needed

Kittu believes that the climate investing space is not oversaturated. He acknowledges that there are firms and funds engaged in this field, but emphasizes that investing in technologies that bridge the gap between physical and digital realms is not a common inclination for many. He notes that this type of investment requires a different approach in terms of capital and time commitment compared to traditional software companies. Kittu emphasizes the need for conviction and patience in pursuing opportunities in this space. Additionally, he highlights the importance of possessing technical expertise to properly evaluate these opportunities, as they often involve deep technology. Kittu also points out the significant investment made by the public sector, particularly by the federal and certain state governments, in supporting climate technology. He cites examples from the Obama and Biden administrations, specifically mentioning his friend Professor Arun Majumdar’s role in leading ARPA-E, which played a crucial role in funding innovative projects originating from universities and taking science risks that ultimately contributed to the development of venture-ready solutions in the field.

Advice for today’s climate tech leaders

Kittu says, “I think climate tech leaders need to diagnose very quickly what their strengths and weaknesses are and complement themselves with people that can add value to them, that plug the holes in their core competencies.”

Resources Mentioned

• Neotribe
• Bloom Energy
• NEA
• Heliogen
• Idealab
• CalWave
• Energy Vault
• Metalenz

Connect with Swaroop ‘Kittu’ Kolluri

• Connect with Kittu on LinkedIn

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• On Twitter

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