Chris Anderson, the visionary curator and former head of TED Talks, is at the helm of an innovative new program. He intends to address a key funding gap in the climate tech maturity life cycle. The All Aboard Coalition, which he leads, aims to raise $300 million by October to provide crucial financial backing for startups that require substantial investments to develop first-of-a-kind projects.
Anderson has largely been responsible for turning TED from an exclusive, invitation-only conference into a worldwide platform for sharing innovative ideas. He’s a master at the practice of network weaving. Now, he applies his skills to solve what many refer to as the “valley of death” in climate tech investing. This metaphorical valley denotes the challenging gap that emerges between early-stage funding and the growth capital necessary for proven technologies to reach commercial viability.
The All Aboard Coalition’s mission is to facilitate funding rounds of $100 million to $200 million for climate tech startups, enabling them to construct the innovative power plants and factories essential for scaling their operations. By investing in these firms, the Coalition intends to make a strategic bet that signals confidence to other investors and encourages them to do the same. If this “Sequoia-like” effect is created, it would lead to greater capital flowing into the climate tech ecosystem.
Financing such a one-of-a-kind facility can take tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. The tech startups need to raise enough money to move their projects successfully to market. With this campaign, the All Aboard Coalition hopes to raise $300 million—an ambitious target to be sure. This number is nowhere close to covering the funding gaps of all climate tech startups. Industry experts estimate that significantly more capital will be necessary to fully bridge the funding gaps that exist within this vital sector.
As major shareholders, the Coalition members—who jointly control $60 billion in assets—are uniquely suited to be powerful actors in the investment landscape. Their combined resources and experience might be what it takes to help early stage startups navigate the murky waters of funding and development.
Tim De Chant, a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch, has closely followed developments in climate technologies and business models since his Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018. De Chant emphasizes the importance of initiatives like the All Aboard Coalition in supporting the transition to sustainable energy solutions. He notes that without sufficient funding, many promising technologies may remain stuck in the valley of death, unable to progress toward commercialization.
