Generation Launches $1.7B Sustainability Growth Fund

Although large growth rounds seem to have dried up around much of the startup realm, Generation Investment Management has announced a $1.7 billion growth equity fund—the firm’s fourth and largest.

The new Sustainable Solutions Fund IV allows the firm “to invest $50 million to $150 million as active minority investors in high-growth companies that are shifting industries toward sustainability,” the firm said in a release.

The new fund will focus on investing in companies that promote planetary and people health, as well as financial inclusion.

Sustainability has been a big buzzword for investors in recent years. After investing just more than $2.2 billion in VC-backed sustainability startups in 2020, investors poured $6.3 billion into the industry last year, according to Crunchbase data. This year has already seen about $2.4 billion in investments.

Generation has made more than 60 investments since being co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore in 2004, according to Crunchbase data. Some of the firm’s notable investments include SolarCity, Asana and Nest Labs.

Last September, the firm took a 13 percent stake in London-based Octopus Energy with a $600 million investment—which included a $300 million immediate investment and $300 million to follow in June of this year if certain conditions are met.

Generation—headquartered in London, with a U.S. office in San Francisco—has more than $36 billion of assets under management.

Illustration: Dom Guzman

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