AI-Powered Climate Tech Breakthroughs with Neotribe's Kittu Kolluri, Ep #67
Sep 12, 2023
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Kittu Kolluri, seasoned climate investor, discusses investments in solar, wave energy, energy storage, and risk resilience. AI's role in breakthrough climate tech like Heliogen and CalWave is explored. Opportunities for AI in energy efficiency and building resiliency are emphasized. Neotribe Ventures fills funding gaps for pre-product market fit startups. The investment landscape in climate tech and the impact of government funding are discussed. Common obstacles and leadership advice in clean tech are covered.
Investing in deep tech companies that create new categories of products in the climate tech field presents significant opportunities.
AI and machine learning have transformative potential in climate tech, improving energy generation efficiency and enabling resiliency in business models.
Deep dives
Investing in Breakthrough Technologies
Kit-2, the founder and managing director of Neo Tribe Ventures, discusses the mission of his venture firm, which is to invest in breakthrough technologies across various sectors. He highlights the importance of investing in deep tech companies that are creating new categories of products. His association with climate tech began in 2001 with an investment in a clean energy company. Kit-2 believes that the intersection of different technologies, including AI and machine learning, presents significant opportunities for climate tech. He shares examples of investments in solar concentration and ocean wave energy that demonstrate the power of technology in transforming the field.
The Game-Changing Role of AI in Climate Tech
Kit-2 emphasizes the transformative potential of AI and machine learning in climate tech. He discusses how AI can improve the efficiency of solar and wind energy generation, allowing for better control and orientation of panels and wind turbines. He also highlights the role of AI in building resiliency into business models, such as supply chain management and pricing. Kit-2 shares investments in companies utilizing computer vision to enhance energy storage and capture energy from oceanic waves. He believes that AI has a significant role to play in enhancing energy efficiency and addressing climate change.
Exploring Transformative Climate Technologies
Kit-2 showcases additional breakthrough technologies in climate tech. He discusses the potential of splitting gases like ammonia and methane to unlock energy generation and storage opportunities. Kit-2 shares his excitement about the potential of hydrogen as a fuel and energy storage medium, especially in commercial transportation. He also expresses great optimism in the future of nuclear fusion and predicts its eventual success within the next five to ten years. Kit-2 acknowledges that while AI and advanced software engineering are valuable, there are opportunities in climate tech that do not exclusively require these technologies.
When it comes to climate tech, there are a lot of new kids on the block, investors that have brought billions of dollars of new capital and have helped fund climate innovation we badly need.
It’s rare that you find folks who have been investing in climate tech for over a decade, let alone two decades. So I was thrilled to sit down with Neotribe’s Swaroop Kolluri who goes by Kittu, a long-time climate investor who sees enormous opportunity in the intersection of different technologies. We talk about several of his investments – from solar to wave energy, to energy storage, to risk resilience – and more generally about the role of AI and other advanced technology in changing the game for climate tech.
Lots to learn and think about in this one. Enjoy!
In today’s episode, we cover:
[2:24] Neotribe & the opportunity to invest in climate right now
[4:16] How is climate investing different today & what’s exciting
[7:50] Heliogen as an example of breakthrough climate tech
[9:15] How is AI showing up in investment opportunities like CalWave
[10:37] Opportunities beyond energy generation
[12:24] Other opportunities for AI & climate tech
[16:05] Other exciting technologies with transformative potential
[20:31] Kittu’s thoughts around time to market & types of risks [21:47]
[21:47] Kittu’s leap to Neotribe from NEA
[23:24] Gaps in the investment space & the type of capital needed
[25:39] Recent federal investments & impacts on early-stage startups
[27:04] What else needs to happen to support climate tech