“New Climate Fund: $200M Raised by Bay Bridge Ventures, According to Filings”

Climate investor Bay Bridge Ventures is raising a new $200 million fund, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. Bay Bridge filed paperwork Monday for the new climate fund with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. And Congruent Ventures raised a $275 million fund in 2023, turning down $325 million in additional LP interest. Bay Bridge Ventures is new, having been founded in 2022 with a focus on ESG more broadly and sustainability in particular. Still, that doesn’t mean Bay Bridge lacks experience.

According to exclusive information obtained by TechCrunch, Bay Bridge Ventures, a leading climate-focused investment firm, is raising a new $200 million fund. The company filed all necessary paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday to secure the funds.

This comes at a time when the venture investment community is showing increased interest in climate technology. Despite the general downturn in the market over the past few years, numerous firms have successfully raised significant amounts of funding to support innovative entrepreneurs in the climate tech sector. For example, SOSV announced on Tuesday their $306 million deep tech fund, with 70% earmarked specifically for climate-focused projects. Similarly, New Summit Investments is in the process of raising a $100 million impact fund. Even Congruent Ventures, which turned down $325 million in additional LP interest, raised an impressive $275 million in 2023.

However, the truly unique aspect of Bay Bridge Ventures is that they are a relatively new company, founded in 2022, with a broader focus on ESG and a particular emphasis on sustainability. While they did participate in a $10 million investment round for SailPlan in 2022 (according to PitchBook data), there is no record of any other investments or funds put forth by the company, as indicated by a thorough search of SEC filings and PitchBook data.

But that does not mean that Bay Bridge Ventures is lacking in experience. General Partner Andrew Karsh stepped away from his position at pension fund CalPERS to co-found the firm. His fellow co-founders, Joe Blair and Kim Kolt, also bring valuable experience to the team. Blair, who previously worked at Cota Capital and Obvious Ventures, now hosts the highly regarded Epic Human Podcast. Meanwhile, Kolt founded For Good Ventures and has held positions at both Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.

As of publication, requests for comment from Bay Bridge have gone unanswered.

Some of the team’s previous investments include Allbirds, a sustainable shoe company, Arcadia, a startup focused on electric grid software, Amply, a fleet EV charging company, and Astra, a startup revolutionizing space launch technology.