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Special Episode: Kim Stanley Robinson On Our Climate Future

Jan 4

2022 was a big year for Climate Tech. The Inflation Reduction Act, also known as the Climate Bill, was a shot in the arm for investors. But what emerges from the flood of money, and what doesn’t make the cut? Here’s our take on the Climate Tech trends we’ll see in 2023👇🏽

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What happens next? An honor to sit down with Kim Stanley Robinson, one of the greatest living sci-fi writers to talk about the future of climate and technology, both in his book (Ministry for the Future) and IRL (decreasing delta there...) have a listen

open.spotify.com

Listen to this episode from Obvious Ideas on Spotify. In this special episode, Host Andrew Beebe speaks to one of the greatest living writers of science fiction, Kim Stanley Robinson,They discuss the...

Jan 6

We care a lot about planetary health at Obvious. Equally important to us -- human health. Helpful views about our bodies and their near future from my partner

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People are more conscious than ever about what they put in their bodies and how it affects them. @JamesJoaquin expects a surge of health-forward companies focused on fungus, climate-friendly meat, and rare sugars in 2023. obvious.com/ideas/10-clima

Jan 4

If you’re building a climate tech company in these categories, DM me at

If you enjoyed this, we write stuff like this all the time in our newsletter. obvious.com/ideas/ (* = we’ve invested, as a firm or personally) #worldpositive

🔟 Low-Carb Freight Pressure from customers will further impact retail and transportation companies, who will become the biggest spenders on decarbonizing, insetting, and offsetting efforts in the coming year (

)

9⃣ Connect the Watts The start of the EV charging network centralization will lead to the first significant roll-up attempts in the US and Europe (

)

8⃣ Electric Wave The number of electric boats sold this year will exceed the total number sold to date. Following the large-scale maritime mandates taking effect now, look for more regulation on ICE motors in markets like CA and Scandinavia (

)

7⃣ Trailer Hitch Enough electric trucks are in the market to prove viability, creating a massive push and strain on OEM supply chains (

)

6⃣ Anti-Fragile Catastrophic climate events will accelerate, and adapting to climate change will become a top story. Look for more investment in change management—particularly in the supply chain and insurance (

)

5⃣ Cow Tipping The livestock industry will run the risk of becoming “the new coal,” leading to more regulation of methane and more interest from consumers for “climate-friendly beef” and dairy (

)

4⃣ Carbon Dating Carbon credit verification institutions will tokenize over 50% of their projects. Institutional investors will trade carbon as an asset, with the secondary market overtaking the voluntary market (

)

3⃣ Liquid Market The megadrought in the western US is the worst drought in over 1,200 years (other parts of the world are also seeing record droughts). More companies will pay attention to water resources leading to more innovation (

)

2⃣ Come Together Environmentalists, as well as solar/wind advocates, will link arms with nuclear. Fusion, in particular, will capture mind- and VC-wallet-share. At least five fusion companies will have valuations over $1B (

)

1⃣ Getting Hotter The number of newly-funded climate tech startups will be the highest in history, backed by a slew of new venture capital funds focused exclusively on climate

Love this playbook for the many great academic minds looking to spin out to win out. Thanks,

and team

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Introducing the Spinout Playbook, a free guide to spinning a startup out of academia. fiftyyears.com/spinout Why is this needed? The process of “spinning out” science from universities is broken

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GIF

Dec 15, 2022

Congrats to Tommy and the team at Jetstream. Great to see you taking an already effective climate (pre-)seeding platform to the next level!

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Tommy Leep

@leepnet

Dec 15, 2022

Today I’m happy to announce Jetstream, a $10M fund that invests in pre-seed startups focused on climate, sustainability, and biodiversity. jetstream.io /1

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The Clean, Quiet Trucking Revolution

Dec 8, 2022

More on the electrification of drayage...that tiny (and currently very very dirty), multi-billion-dollar sector of the global supply chain that's about to get squeaky clean... The Clean, Quiet Trucking Revolution:

obvious.com

Forum is building EV charging infrastructure and providing heavy-duty electric trucks for the short trips between ports and warehouses that are known as drayage.

Startup Series: Forum Mobility — MCJ Collective

Dec 6, 2022

Wait -- 32,000 dirty diesel trucks in the drayage industry in California alone? Wait -- they can all be electrified now, given short and known routes? Wait -- what actually is drayage? Facts/answers here in MCJ Podcast with

@forum_zev

's own Matt LeDucq

mcjcollective.com

Today's guest is Matt LeDucq , CEO and co-founder of Forum Mobility , which is working on the problem of heavy-duty trucking electrification, starting in California with the drayage sector. There are...

Plant Prefab nabs $42M to crank out 'extremely sustainable' custom homes

Dec 2, 2022

Congrats to Team Plant!

@plantprefab

nabs $42M to crank out 'extremely sustainable' custom homes tcrn.ch/3VOg9J6 via

@techcrunch

techcrunch.com

Plant Prefab says its take on prefabricated homes — plus $42 million in series C funding and a new factory — will help the climate.

Kahini Shah on LinkedIn: Generative AI That Saves Lives

Dec 1, 2022

Generative AI for good? The always-on-point Kahini Shah delivers again with a dive into the complex world of world positive AI Generative AI That Saves Lives

linkedin.com

Generative AI is doing amazing things. Some less flashy applications of large language models in healthcare could help drive improved outcomes and cost…

Oct 27, 2022

We're hiring! Help us build our World Positive venture platform. linkedin.com/pulse/were-hir

Oct 17, 2022

Small business owners have historically been last in line for tech to give them an edge. No longer.

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Oct 17, 2022

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, yet they face major challenges. @Ccheng805 on how a new gen of startups can help them maximize their potential: bit.ly/3S8N4G0 #fintech

Oct 3, 2022

Looking for a landscape overview of the many investable opportunities in Femtech? Obvious' incredible summer associate

@perfectlyk

has you covered...with a particular focus on start-ups founded by women, for women

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Oct 3, 2022

Women make up more than half of the U.S. population, yet their health has historically been underfunded. @perfectlyk on the opportunities for #femtech startups. bit.ly/3C62MM5

Sep 27, 2022

I'm biased, but I think

Rebuilding the Healthcare Delivery Stack, Brick by Brick

's own

@kahinish

has done the impossible: quickly explained the complexities of our healthcare system -- and why there's reason for optimism Rebuilding the Healthcare Delivery Stack, Brick by Brick

worldpositive.com

A guide to the modernization of healthcare

Sep 27, 2022

Thrilled to continue our partnership with

@SINAICarbonTech

with the new support of the team at

@EnergizeVc

. No time like the present for the largest enterprises in the world to inventory and then manage down their carbon footprints

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SINAI Technologies

@SINAICarbonTech

Sep 27, 2022

We’re excited to announce $22M in #SeriesA funding led by @EnergizeVc! “We’re seeing more companies commit to net-zero goals without a clear plan,” @mariafujihara. Julliette Portala gives an overview of how we’ll get companies to #NetZero in @reuters reut.rs/3SEQT6O

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The Climate Bill’s Hidden Win

Sep 20, 2022

While Team Climate is assembling in NYC this week, the Climate Bill's real winners are the next gen of climate professionals -- and voters -- The Climate Bill’s Hidden Win linkedin.com/pulse/climate- via

@LinkedIn

linkedin.com

The climate bill, or the Inflation Reduction Act in DC-speak, represents a sea change in American climate policy. The financial impacts on climate funding have been well-reported, but the scale is...

Thank you to

and the entire

team for your leadership in tackling this vexing climate/human/justice challenge

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Gabe Kleinman

@gabekleinman

Sep 20, 2022

Today marks the public launch of @MegafireAction. Mission: End the megafire crisis in a decade. This has been years in the making, + will require WWII-level mobilization in those ahead. We can do it. megafire.org @gtwhitesides @kimmaicutler @analog @mishachellam

Sep 7, 2022

So excited to announce this team of iconic world positive leaders to Team Obvious. Thank you to each of them for joining our family of founders and funders.

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Sep 7, 2022

Thrilled to announce a new community of leaders we are teaming up with to seek out and support world positive entrepreneurs. Introducing Obvious Champions. Check it out. medium.com/obvious-ventur @jamesjoaquin @andrewbeebe @VishalVasishth

Andrew Beebe Retweeted

#psychedelics #mentalhealth

Sep 6, 2022

Psychedelics are the future of mental healthcare. Companies like

@mycomedicapbc

and

@nuelifehealth

are leading the way. A brief history and an optimistic vision of what's next by

@jamesjoaquin

worldpositive.com/the-tripping-p

@PaulStamets

@CappelloJp

worldpositive.com

The Tripping Point

The rising promise of psychedelic medicine

Andrew Beebe Retweeted

Aug 30, 2022

"The values that you decide your company has will shape your culture and every decision: who you hire, how you do your work, what you prioritize." –

@LightshipRV

Head of Manufacturing Hayley Cashdollar Yes to this. worldpositive.com/engineering-cu

Engineering Culture Like an EV

worldpositive.com

How Lightship’s Head of Manufacturing is building sustainable RVs and an inclusive culture

Electrification is poised to turn school buses into money-making arbitrage assets

Aug 25, 2022

Much has been written about the value and magic of vehicle-to-grid technologies. Not much has actually been done about it...until now Congrats to

@SynopAI

@Proterra_Inc

and Highland Electric for their leadership in making this dream a reality

techcrunch.com

When electricity demand surged, a small fleet of electric school buses sent electricity stored in their batteries into the grid to prevent brownouts and blackouts.

Aug 24, 2022

Mapping ESG to early stage start-ups has always been tough. We hope this guide helps make it a little easier to talk your world positive walk from the start. “The ESG Term Sheet” by James Joaquin link.medium.com/yUqt0MTRKsb

Andrew Beebe Retweeted

Incredible Health raises $80M Series B at $1.65B valuation | Incredible Health

Aug 17, 2022

Helping healthcare pros find and do their best work, amidst the greatest healthcare worker shortage we've ever faced.

@JoinIncredible

@ImanAbuzeid

, thank you for all that you do and congrats on more 💵 for the mission.

@jamesjoaquin

incrediblehealth.com

Incredible Health raises $80M in Series B funding, valuing the company at $1.65B. As the highest valued tech-enabled career marketplace in healthcare, we've transformed how nurses are hired and will...

Opinion | On My 100th Birthday, Reflections on Archie Bunker and Donald Trump

Jul 27, 2022

Wise words from a wise American on his 100th birthday. Happy birthday, Norman Lear! You’re a true American hero. via

@NYTOpinion

nytimes.com

The Emmy-winning TV producer Norman Lear considers his first century and his hopes for the next century.

Rewiring America is the leading electrification nonprofit working to electrify our homes, businesses and communities.

Jul 18, 2022

Dear economists—real q: what would the impact of inflation be in this cycle if we all drove EVs and our power plants were carbon-free? In other words, how much of this is “fossil-flation?” (And h/t to

@rewiringamerica

for teaching me the phrase)

rewiringamerica.org

Rewiring America

Jul 14, 2022

Very excited to welcome

@victoriabeas

@PreludeVC

aboard The Lightship journey. I can't wait to hit the road in one of these.

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Lightship RV

@LightshipRV

Jul 13, 2022

We just closed our $23M Series A round led by @victoriabeas @PreludeVC to bring electrification to the RV industry, starting with a seamless, connected travel trailer reimagined for the electric age. Read more: lightshiprv.com/blog/series-a

Graphic announcing Lightship's $23M Series A - July 2022

read image description

ALT

Jun 23, 2022

So excited to be adding some electrons to the tank over at

@SynopAI

for their EV fleet management software stack. medium.com/obvious-ventur

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Jun 23, 2022

Time to hit the accelerator on fleet electrification. @SynopAI is poised to do just that, and @gDhillonS + @AndrewBlejde are just the team. Let's roll! @andrewbeebe @Ccheng805 @congruentvc @CleanVC @BetterVentures @WireframeVC twitter.com/TechCrunch/sta…

Jun 16, 2022

Do we have enough EV fast chargers in the US? Not nearly enough?...the answers are tricky, and timing really matters, according to the always-on-point

@CathyZoi1

. Have a listen

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Jun 14, 2022

What will it take for EVs to take over entirely? @evgonetwork CEO @CathyZoi1 shares this answer and more in the latest Obvious Ideas w/@andrewbeebe. bit.ly/3mNXmhC #electricvehicles #evcharging #futuremobility

Jun 10, 2022

Just when you were thinking: "When will I finally decide where I stand on the future of nuclear?" --Dr Rachel Slaybaugh and I are here for you. (I had the same question, and she helped me find my answer)

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Do we need to go nuclear? Nuclear power that is. @rachelslaybaugh thinks we do to solve the climate crisis. Hear why in the latest Obvious Ideas with @andrewbeebe. #climatetech #cleanenergy #obviousideas bit.ly/3xzqhMI

Jun 7, 2022

Excited to share the latest Obvious fund...with some fun numbers, natch. We're now putting this fund to work finding and backing the prime leaders transforming the global economy

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