It is not a gamble to assume that some of the new tech giants will be startups that deal with the environment. In all its forms. Energy, materials recovery, new logistics solutions or methods to process electronic payments by reducing emissions. All sectors that in the last three years have seen unprecedented growth in investments.
Investments in the sector are increasing
Environmental startups raised $ 87.5 billion last year. An increase of 210% compared to 2020, when investments had stopped at 28.4 billion, according to a report by Pwc. The 2022 data confirm a growth trend that could touch that of last year. Partial data. But they tell of a sector able to withstand the turbulence of the investment market of 2022, plagued by inflation and international tensions. On the contrary. Precisely what is happening on the borders of Europe seems to be one of the reasons that led investors to focus on companies that offer technological solutions capable of freeing the Old Continent from energy dependence on Russia.
Climate crisis and the need to reduce costs are key factors for the near future. The world of industry, and that of politics, look at innovation as a possible cornucopia of solutions to face the challenges of our time. During the Italian Tech Week Patrick Collison, co-founder of Stripe, dedicated several passages to the role of innovation in these sectors: «Our response to the energy crisis so far has been conservative. We have reduced consumption, changed our lifestyle, which is good. But in the long run we must try to understand how to solve this problem without making excessive sacrifices. And the solution can only come from technological innovation ».
IT Week 2022, Collison (Stripe): “Ideas matter but it’s important that they don’t belong to just one person”
Startup, it’s your time, Collison seemed to suggest. Investors, do your role, the watermarked message.
And something is moving.
78 unicorns created, 6000 investors
In the last 7 years, 78 unicorns have been born that deal with “green” solutions. Here, too, “green” is understood in a broad sense: 43 new companies worth one billion euros have sprung up in the mobility and transport sector; 13 in agriculture, food and land protection; 10 in industry, mechatronics, logistics; 10 in the production of goods, 9 in the energy sector. It is easy for the latter to become the driving force of the entire sector in the near future. On the other hand, the world of capital is also starting to move. The PWC report identifies 6,000 investors in the sector, worldwide. Together they financed over 3,000 startups between 2013 and 2021, for a total of 9,000 investment rounds. For now, the major world hubs are the inevitable Silicon Valley, with San Francisco dictating the game times. But followed by at least two European hubs: London and Berlin.
The case
The appeal of startups: “Less bureaucracy and more investments”
by Arcangelo Rociola
The role of Cdp Venture Capital
It’s Italy? Even within national borders, the sector is starting to take its first steps. From the data of the business register it is possible to identify about 720 Italian startups that deal with issues related to the environment. A number that does not fully contemplate the galaxy of university spinoffs and research projects. Only from universities, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), could technologies emerge that can reduce the cost of energy by 70%.
Research is needed. And investments are needed.
If on the former Italy has excellence recognized in the world, there is still ground to recover on investments. A boost is ready to give Cdp with Cdp Venture Capital, the venture capital investment vehicle of the startups created by the group and Invitalia. Cdp Venture Capital on 4 October presented in Milan the first startups born from the research centers of environmental sustainability and selected for investments by Tech4Planet, a national technology transfer center dedicated to environmental issues created in collaboration with the Milan Polytechnics, Turin and Bari. It is one of the two vertical poles, three more will follow in the coming months, launched by the Technogy Transfer fund of Cdp Venture Capital which has an endowment of 275 million.
Sixty-five those moved on the initiative. In part they will be destined for direct investments in startups born from research. Partly to the financing of venture capital funds specialized in deep tech green. Resources that will be able to create a leverage estimated at 130 million in 4 years. A first step in the strategy of CDP Venture Capital which currently manages assets for 5 billion euros. A boon for Italian innovation. And an invitation to startups. It’s time to innovate. For the market. And for the future of the planet.