News

Jul 6, 2022

Plant-Based Dairy Disruptor, Eclipse Foods Just Raised More Than $40 Million

Eclipse, a dairy-free food distributor, has raised $40M to help grow retail and food service sectors to enable them to sell more dairy-free food. This money will be a catalyst to increase marketing efforts so that more people become aware of the more sustainable options available to them in the market.

Plant Based News
Jun 29, 2022

Twelve, lands $130M Series B

With the help of clean investing, Twelve has achieved an enormous break through with their $130M Series B carbon conversion technology. This technology by Twelve is able to convert CO2 in the air into products that we are used to getting from non-renewable fossil fuels.

CrunchBase News
May 12, 2022

Astroforge raises $13M seed round for asteroid mining ambitions

Asteroid mining could become the solution to delivering more recourses to the masses without hurting our home planet further. Astroforge is aiming to lead this new venture in human kind after raising a staggering 13M in investment capital to get the ball rolling.

TechCrunch
Apr 27, 2022

Saint-Gobain and Aera VC Invest in CarbiCrete

CarbiCrete is raising the bar for concrete construction by finding better ways to build with a sustainable concrete solution. With investors like Aera VC and Saint-Gobain, they are sure to revolutionize the way we build into the future.

CarbiCrete
Feb 24, 2022

Aera VC raises $US30 million for climate breakthroughs

Aera VC has revealed a US$30 million ($44m) first-close for a new fund focussed on
climate-focussed startups - and revealed some of its first investments.
Managing partner Derek Handley says the fund could ultimately top $100m. Its focus is on any
company developing technology to

Aera VC Press
Feb 24, 2022

New climate fund from Derek Handley’s Aera VC raises $44m, reveals first investments

Aera VC has revealed a US$30 million ($44m) first-close for a new fund focussed on
climate-focussed startups - and revealed some of its first investments.
Managing partner Derek Handley says the fund could ultimately top $100m. Its focus is on any
company developing technology to help decarbonise, from a carbon negative way to make
concrete to plant-based foods.

NZ Herald
Feb 22, 2022

NZ-founded venture capital firm launches fund for Web3 projects

Aera VC, the Singapore-based venture capital firm co-founded by New Zealand entrepreneur Derek Handley, has launched Aera Force, a DAO (distributed autonomous organisation) to fund blockchain and other Web3 projects that tackle climate change.
Aera Force is initially raising the equivalent of 2000 ETH (Ethereum) tokens for investment, currently valued at around US$5.3 million - the price of the cryptocurrency is currently quite volatile.

The ETH is set aside specifically for pre-seed projects that are based on the blockchain and aimed at decarbonising industries.

ITP Techblog
Feb 22, 2022

Aera VC builds $42 million war chest for climate breakthroughs

Climate tech venture firm Aera VC has raised US$30 million (A$42m) in the first close of its new fund to back startups addressing sustainability and global warming.

The new climate-focused fund has already backed Michael Fox’s alt-protein business Fable Foods, along with US-based chemical decarbonisation unicorn startup Solugen (valued at US$1.8bn) as well as Shiok Meats (Singapore), Carbon Chain (London), Noya and Twelve (San Francisco).

Start Up Daily
Feb 22, 2022

Singapore climate-focused VC nets $30m in first close of new fund.

Singapore-based Aera VC, a climate tech VC firm, raised US$30 million in the first close of its new fund aimed at investing in startups that focus on climate-related innovations.
Founded in 2016 by Derek Handley and Nick Winstone, the greentech investment firm’s portfolio includes Singapore-based faux meat startup Shiok Meats, Australia-based mushroom meat firm Fabled Food, and US-based chemical tech company Solugen.

The fund, backed by families investing in climate solutions, will support startups accelerating the planet toward a sustainable future, the firm said in a statement.

Tech in Asia
Feb 22, 2022

Climate-focused VC Aera holds $30m first close, moves headquarters to Singapore

New Zealand-originated climate tech venture firm Aera VC, an investor in Singapore-based cell-based protein from Shiok Meats, has secured a $30 million first close for its new fund.
Investors in the fund include global investor families who have a focus on decarbonisation and climate solutions, according to an announcement.

Aera said its new fund will seek $100 million from institutional investors in 2022.

Deal Street Asia
Feb 22, 2022

Grata raises $25 million to help private equity firms find their next investment

Directories. Lists. Connections at an investment bank or law firm. Word-of-mouth. Plain old research. They can all help an investor identify their next investment opportunity and develop an ongoing pipeline of leads. But closing the deal can still be a matter of getting there first, and at the right time, especially in today’s market, where capital seems ever-flowing.

Fortune Daily
Jan 12, 2022

Praan Raises $1.56 Million Funding

"Committed to mitigating urban air pollution through the use of outdoor air purification systems, California and Mumbai-based startup Praan has raised funding of $1.56 million led by Social Impact Capital, with participation from Better Capital, Paradigm Shift Capital and Avaana Capital, Quality of Life Investments Texas (Angel Syndicate). "

Entrepreneur.com
Dec 1, 2021

Derek Handley / Investing in the Next Sustainable Startup for a Competitive Marketplace

"Aera VC Founding Partner Derek Handley joins us to discuss his company, what led him down this path, and what his investment focuses are, including synthetic biology, carbon reduction, plastics and oil, and how the next wave of sustainable startups can engage a competitive market."

Tech Stars - PODCAST
Nov 27, 2021

EP 158 – Derek Handley – Founding Partner at Aera VC – How Do You Live Your Life More Wisely?

Asia Tech Podcast interview Derek about his work ethic and philosophy when as one of the most thoughtful investors. They will be talking about food production innovations and climate change as well as a range of other though-provoking topics.

Asia Tech Podcast - PODCAST
Oct 28, 2021

Biotech startup Shiru sprouting plant based ingredients with new capital infusion

Dr. Jasmin Hume and his team at Shiru is working on new technologies ad advancements in alternative plant based food production to reduce our reliance of carbon heavy animal based foods. This article explores the way Shiru and Dr. Jasmin Hume is improving the production of food ingredients to revolutionize the food industry. The article also explores how these new production technologies can change the economy and business of food supply and production around the world.

TechCrunch
Oct 23, 2021

THE NEW ZEALAND VC INVESTING IN CLIMATE & FRONTIER TECH GLOBALLY: Meet Derek Partner@Aera VC

Find out Derek's "secret sauce" to fund raising and red flags that turn away investors. Get to know Derek and all the amazing work he is doing to invest in impactful technological solutions to climate change.

Tech 4 Climate - PODCAST
Sep 16, 2021

African genomics startup 54gene raises $25m to expand precision medicine capabilities

This article highlights the the 25 million dollar investment in an African genomics start up called 54gene. It also covers some of the science and goals this start up will try to reach using this new found leverage including how the science of genomics in African countries and revolutionize with whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and whole-exome sequencing (WES).

TechCrunch
Sep 14, 2021

Heavy industry must be decarbonised to reach emission goals

This article explores scientific solutions to decarbonise the way we manufacture heavy equipment, large machines, and infrastructure.

BusinessTimes
Sep 10, 2021

Climate Tech Investor: Deep Tech — Derek Handley, Founder of Aera Ventures

Listen to this thoughtful and fun podcast from Climate Torch with Chris Wedding about Deep Tech. Chris interviews Derek about radical technology that has the potential to slow down climate change and hopefully make the world a better place. They will be discussing venture funding and investments to dive deep into the initiatives and technological advancements that Derek is involved in.

Entrepreneurs for Impact - PODCAST
Aug 13, 2021

This startup uses the cooling towers on buildings as carbon capture devices

A company called Noya in the Bay Area city of San Leandro is engineering ways to pull C02 from the atmosphere using existing cooling towers and infrastructure. By recycling these industrial structures as C02 capturing tools, Noya killing two birds with one stone. This article goes into detail about how the "hacking" of these structures can reduce the amount of C02 in the atmosphere.

Fast Company
Aug 12, 2021

Mushroom-based meat alternative startup Fable Food raises $6.5M AUD, will launch in the US

Sydney, Australia-based Fable Food is the latest plant-based food startup to announce funding.

TechCrunch
Aug 12, 2021

Why the alternative meat ecosystem is booming

The world of venture investments has historically been concerned with returns on investment at seemingly any cost.

The Australian