Bay Bridge Ventures Raises $200M for a New Climate Fund, Documents Show
Bay Bridge Ventures, a climate-focused investor, is in the process of raising a new $200 million fund, as exclusively reported by TechCrunch.
Documentation filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday revealed the plans for the new climate fund. This fundraising effort comes during a time when venture investors are increasingly optimistic about climate technology.
While the venture market has seen some downturn in recent years, there has been a notable trend of firms raising significant amounts of capital to support climate tech entrepreneurs. SOSV recently announced a $306 million deep tech fund, with a focus of 70% on climate. New Summit Investments is also working on a $100 million impact fund, and Congruent Ventures successfully raised a $275 million fund in 2023, despite turning down an additional $325 million in LP interest.
Unlike those more established firms, Bay Bridge Ventures is a newer player in the space, having been founded in 2022 with a broader focus on ESG and sustainability. While the firm did participate in a $10 million funding round for SailPlan in 2022, there is limited information on any other investments or funds from Bay Bridge Ventures, based on SEC filings and PitchBook data.
However, the team at Bay Bridge Ventures brings a wealth of experience to the table. General partner Andrew Karsh, a former member of CalPERS, co-founded the firm. Co-founders Joe Blair and Kim Kolt also have extensive industry experience, with Blair previously working at Cota Capital and Obvious Ventures, and Kolt founding For Good Ventures and having previous roles at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.
Despite efforts to reach out for comment, the firm did not respond prior to publication.
Past investments by the team at Bay Bridge Ventures include companies across various sectors, such as sustainable shoe company Allbirds, electric grid software startup Arcadia, fleet EV charging company Amply, and space launch startup Astra.
