Prelude Ventures

Prelude Ventures is a venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs working on climate change. It began investing in 2013 and has backed more than 60 companies.

What Prelude Ventures offers

• Climate venture investing — treats the shift to a low-carbon economy as the core opportunity.
• Advanced energy — one of its sectors.
• Food and agriculture — another area of investment.
• Transportation and logistics — backs companies that move people and goods.
• Advanced materials, manufacturing and computing — also covered in its portfolio.

Who it works with

The firm partners with first-time chief executives and repeat entrepreneurs. It says it understands the timelines involved in deep-tech and hardware development, and accepts informed risk while seeking venture-level returns.

Key facts

• Based in: San Francisco, United States
• Investing since: 2013
• Portfolio: More than 60 companies
• Capital source: Manages money only for philanthropic entities of the Simons family
• Membership: Founding member of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition