Rockstart announces new Energy fund for startups
It’s with a smile on my face that I can tell you that Rockstart has now successfully closed another fund, this time in alternative energy. We call it Rockstart Energy Fund, and it will send 21 million euro (156 mio DKK) towards startups and new solutions to solve the world’s growing energy needs.
Energy is among the top three challenges humanity has to solve in the near future (the others are Food and Construction) in order to safeguard out future. Most investments in this area goes into huge infrastructure projects, so it’s about time that a dedicated startup fund is created to scout for the new and promising technologies. The fund will invest globally, but has a natural focus on Europe and Holland being headquartered in Amsterdam.
The cornerstone investors of the fund include Dutch pension fund ABP Group, APG asset managerment and family office De Hoge Dennen Capital who’ve invested with other prominent private-wealth and industry investors. It’s great to see such established traditional organisations back a green micro fund. I hope it’s a sign that times are changing among LPs too.
The Energy fund is the second fund launched by Rockstart after the 2019 launch of the Rockstart Agrifood Fund, which has invested in around 20 interesting new technologies in farming and food production. I sit on the board of Rockstart, and have been a champion of the transition towards a micro fund company, because I believe this is the zeitgeist of today. Accelerators had great impact when they were started 10 years ago, and Rockstart has a great track record as one of the first, but entrepreneurs today are better equipped and prepared than we were 10 years ago so training and programs are less relevant. Today, entrepreneurs predominantly require capital and connections. So I’m really proud that the team managed to pull off raising a second micro fund. This will help a whole score of new companies grow in a very important sector.
More here where you can read what Rockstart says about its new fund. :https://lnkd.in/ezTgx3w
Rockstart CEO Rune Theill
Rockstart is a “founders-first” company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs succeed. Rockstart has invested in more than 200 startups and supported them in their journey to raise more than €89 million and hire more than 700 people.