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Rockstart
Rockstart, global early-stage investor, announces the closing of its Energy fund at €27m with the participation of Hubs.com founders, Rockstart 2013 alumni, and several Rockstart mentors. The fund’s close at €27 million exceeds its initial target and will allow Rockstart to further invest in early-stage energy startups and co-invest in its energy portfolio companies up to series B.
Rockstart has set out to fund the transformation to a regenerative and sustainable future by empowering founders to drive positive change at a global scale across three domains: AgriFood, Energy, and Emerging Technologies. Rockstart Energy backs impactful and scalable solutions led by passionate founders building scalable innovations leveraging emerging technologies and new business models, which are key to slowing down the pace of climate change.
Rockstart Energy has invested in 19 startups from seven countries since its launch in October 2020. Since its inception in 2011, Rockstart has invested in more than 260 startups and its alumni value to date is $1bn.
Rune Theill, CEO and Co-Founder, Rockstart comments on the fund closing: “The recent events in Ukraine and the long-standing climate crisis calls for action more than ever. We are honored and proud to partake in supporting and empowering the next generation of founders driving the energy transition across Europe to develop alternative energy solutions and build a sustainable and resilient energy system.”
Max ter Horst, Managing Partner Energy, Rockstart also states: “The provided capital will allow us to fund the scaling of Europe’s most promising energy startups. By supporting early-stage businesses that are addressing the decarbonization, decentralization and digitization trends in the energy industry, we intend to accelerate the transition to a net-zero energy system, while ensuring affordable and reliable energy power for everyone.”
With the aim of driving and measuring positive impact on a global scale, Rockstart and its funds are also actively supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals and visions set the stage for Rockstart’s global strategic approach for the years to come. The Energy fund focuses on five of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, industry innovation and infrastructure, responsible consumption and production and climate action.
The Energy fund is Rockstart’s second fund. Rockstart’s first fund was launched in 2019 and is focused on agtech and food tech startups. Rockstart Energy is planning to make new investments in the coming months in promising energy startups, which are addressing the following themes: decentralization, decarbonization and digitalization.
