Larry Susanto: From Berkeley to Jakarta, Climate Tech’s Next Frontier & Indonesia’s Green Opportunity – E642

AVP of Investments at ACV Larry Susanto and Jeremy Au discuss Larry’s journey from a Berkeley-trained engineer to a climate-tech investor shaping Indonesia’s sustainability future. They trace how his career evolved across research, product management, and consulting, and how Southeast Asia’s climate ecosystem compares to Silicon Valley’s innovation-driven model. Their conversation explores Indonesia’s renewable potential, capital gaps, and the role of government policy in turning natural resources into long-term value creation. Larry also shares how courage, learning agility, and purpose guided each of his career leaps across industries and continents.

00:00 From lab to venture capital: Larry shares how curiosity for chemistry and sustainability led him from UC Berkeley to the Bay Area’s solar startup scene.

05:32 Choosing home over the U.S.: Larry reflects on returning to Indonesia to give back despite visa hurdles and more advanced R&D ecosystems abroad.

10:42 Strategy at Bain: Larry deepened his business acumen, joining sustainability projects such as EV strategy, plastic recycling, and Bain’s Green Economy Report.

15:12 Climate tech in context: He contrasts the West’s deep-tech innovation with Southeast Asia’s business-model adaptation and localization approach.

19:36 ACV’s five climate pillars: Renewable energy, electric mobility, energy efficiency, climate-smart agriculture, and waste circularity form their investment focus.

25:22 Indonesia’s EV and mineral opportunity: Despite abundant nickel and raw materials, the nation must improve downstream capacity to capture more value.

30:22 Untapped green potential: With 500 gigawatts of solar capacity and 120 million motorbikes ripe for electrification, Indonesia holds a massive opportunity.

Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/larry-susanto-indonesia-green-leap

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