Firm Advises Earthshot Ventures on Launch of $60 Million Fund

On September 8, 2021, Earthshot Ventures, a new venture capital fund launched to support entrepreneurs tackling climate change, announced its first close of $60 million. The fund is designed to bring together new and existing networks in the climate technology space to more rapidly scale critical solutions. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Earthshot Ventures on the transaction.

Earthshot is a spinout of Elemental Excelerator, a global climate tech organization that pioneered the use of the accelerator model for climate technologies. Since 2012, Elemental has evaluated more than 5,000 companies, invested alongside 2,000 co-investors, and built an inclusive community to advance climate investing. Three of Elemental's team members will lead the fund: Dawn Lippert, Elemental founder and CEO; Mike Jackson, who has served as Elemental's investor-in-residence since 2017; and Ramsay Siegal, former head of Elemental's portfolio. In addition to representing Earthshot, Wilson Sonsini advised Elemental on a pro bono basis in connection with the transaction.

Earthshot, which invests in both hardware and software companies from Seed through Series B, is backed by Limited Partners including Emerson Collective, John Doerr (Chairman, Kleiner Perkins), Tom Steyer (Founder, NextGen America), McKinley Alaska, Microsoft, Employees' Retirement System of Hawaii, Stafford Capital Partners, Chris Cox (Chief Product Officer, Facebook), David Crane (Co-Founder & CEO, Climate Real Impact Solutions), and Impact Engine. These partners share a commitment to investing in bold climate solutions and working together to help companies succeed.

The Wilson Sonsini team advising Earthshot and Elemental in the transaction includes Bob O’Connor and Jim Jensen.

For more information, please see Earthshot’s press release.