Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Quick read

Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) is a climate-focused VC founded in 2016 by Bill Gates and a coalition of billionaire investors, headquartered in Kirkland, WA. The firm has deployed $2B+ across 130+ startups targeting deep decarbonization in electricity, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, and buildings. In 2025, BEV suspended new investments from its Catalyst fund and cut staff, though the core venture fund remains active.

Key facts

Founded

2016

Founders

Bill Gates

Employees

184

Sectors

climate

Website

www.breakthroughenergy.org

Investment thesis

BEV targets early-stage companies with the potential to cut at least half a gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions annually, investing patiently—on a 20-year horizon—across electricity, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, and buildings where commercial capital won't go alone.

Recent activity

• Apr 2026fundraise
  Kingdom Holding Company acquired Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's personal stake in BEV for $68 million—a ~30% discount to its $98 million audited fair value—transferring the original 2016 commitment into Kingdom Holding's corporate portfolio. pulse2.com
• Feb 2026investment
  BEV participated in Heron Power's $140 million Series B funding round alongside Tesla and Gigascale Capital. tracxn.com
• Jan 2026investment
  BEV backed Mangrove Lithium's US$85 million round led by the Canada Growth Fund. tracxn.com
• Jan 2026investment
  BEV joined Type One Energy's $87 million Series B, backing the fusion energy startup alongside TDK Ventures and Doral Energy-Tech Ventures. tracxn.com
• 2025press
  BEV suspended new investments from its Breakthrough Energy Catalyst fund and laid off staff; Gates noted in an October 2025 interview that roughly 30–40 of the ~150 portfolio companies had failed. timesofindia.indiatimes.com
• 2025press
  BEV's strategy shifted away from public policy advocacy toward direct company support through Breakthrough Energy Ventures and the Catalyst program. en.wikipedia.org
• 2025investment
  Carmichael Roberts welcomed Sygaldry Technologies into BEV's 130+ company portfolio. linkedin.com

Notable investments

• Heron PowerSeries BFeb 2026tracxn.com
• Mangrove LithiumSeries BJan 2026tracxn.com
• Type One EnergySeries BJan 2026tracxn.com
• KoBold Metalsgeekwire.com
• Heirloombevjobs.breakthroughenergy.org
• Brimstonebevjobs.breakthroughenergy.org
• Kolomaenergy.media
• Pivot Biopivotbio.com
• Terabase Energybevjobs.breakthroughenergy.org
• 44.01bevjobs.breakthroughenergy.org

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

• Carmichael Roberts · Partner
  LinkedIn
• Christina Karapataki · Investor
  LinkedIn
• David T. Danielson · Partner
  LinkedIn
• Stefan Zlatev · Investor
  LinkedIn
• Libby Wayman · Investor
  LinkedIn
• Vinod Khosla · Coalition Member / Backer
• Bill Gates · Founder
• Eric Toone · Investment Committee Co-Lead
• Rodi Guidero · Executive Director
• Jonah Goldman · Managing Director

Sources

• Breakthrough Energy – Wikipedia
• Breakthrough Energy Ventures – Crunchbase
• Breakthrough Energy – Tracxn 2026 Profile
• Kingdom Holding: $68M Investment in BEV
• BEV Suspends New Investment, Lays Off Staff – Times of India
• BEV Client Overview – Caldwell Partners
• BEV Europe – European Investment Bank
• Kingdom Holding Acquires BEV Stake at 30% Discount – fwdstart

Other VCs in United States

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• Andreessen Horowitz · Generalist VC, Menlo Park·
• Benchmark Capital · Early-stage VC, San Francisco·
• Founders Fund · Contrarian VC, San Francisco·
• Khosla Ventures · Multi-stage VC, Menlo Park·
• Greylock Partners · Early-stage VC, Menlo Park

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