Some retired CEOs go to area. Others transfer to Hawaii. However Unity co-founder David Helgason selected a distinct path after 12 years on the helm of the sport engine firm, which went public in 2020 at a $13.7 billion valuation.
Having stepped out as CEO in 2014, Helgason nonetheless sits on the board of the now-listed firm he co-founded in Copenhagen in 2004; however most of his time is devoted to Transition Ventures, an early stage enterprise capital agency he launched in 2021 to deal with the local weather.
It’s a inform that the fund known as “transition” and never, say, “apocalypse.” That’s partly as a result of Helgason is satisfied that legacy industries — sometimes dangerous to the atmosphere — will ultimately be outcompeted by extra sustainable options and partly due to his character. “Mates of mine describe me as a ‘glass one-tenth full’ optimist,” he instructed TechCrunch.
In an interview at his dwelling close to Reykjavík, the entrepreneur-turned-VC shared ideas on his ventures and the journey that led him from Unity to local weather tech, a homecoming of kinds. “It’s type of embarrassing how enjoyable the local weather disaster is to work on,” he mentioned.
A great distance dwelling
Unity’s public debut turned Helgason right into a billionaire, at the least on paper. Market cap has declined since then, however the gist stays: He made plenty of cash from the corporate, and this capital turned more and more liquid over time.
This made it potential for him to develop into a prolific angel investor, fulfilling his pure penchant for spending time with entrepreneurs. However his local weather worries needed to wait: As a self-described software program man, he had no clear manner in.
That modified when certainly one of his siblings, Ingvar, began a lab-grown leather-based firm, VitroLabs Inc. This led Helgason to get entangled with the startup and with artificial biology extra broadly. Ultimately, that led him to climate-minded deep tech startups.
In addition to his angel investments, Helgason additionally turned a restricted companion in lots of climate-focused funds. “For some time, I used to be claiming I used to be most likely essentially the most broadly invested LP in local weather,” he mentioned.
Each actions introduced him the type of studying he craved. “I at all times wished to be a scientist,” he recalled. In his present state, although, he realized he had extra worth so as to add as an early-stage investor. Thus, Transition Ventures was born as a enterprise agency. Helgason already had (and has) a household workplace known as Foobar. Transition Ventures is a distinct beast, and never simply due to its local weather mandate.
A correct fund
It might be a mistake to think about Transition Ventures as a household affair. Certain, Helgason and Ingvar’s brother Ari is certainly one of its 4 companions, however Ari’s résumé speaks for itself. His startup, Fabricly, took half in Y Combinator’s Winter 2010 batch earlier than he turned an investor at Daybreak Capital and Index Ventures.
The third companion, Kristian Branaes, a London-based Atomico alum, was on board from day one, with the trio shortly hiring New York-based Mona Alsubaei, who realized the ropes of VC at Union Sq. Ventures and its local weather fund. The funding group additionally contains principal Clara Ricard, who lately made the Forbes 30 Underneath 30 Europe 2024 listing.
Whereas Helgason’s wealth made it potential for Transition to begin investing instantly, the companions additionally made a degree of in search of restricted companions. “We by no means actually thought-about not doing it as a correct business enterprise fund,” he mentioned. This meant becoming a member of the ranks of different local weather funds similar to Local weather Capital and Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital. Though it has LPs, Transition doesn’t disclose set fund sizes nor how a lot it has invested so far and plans to speculate.
Even supposing Helgason was in a position to anchor the fund himself, fundraising wasn’t straightforward. By the point paperwork was prepared, market circumstances had modified.
“Earlier than we may begin fundraising correctly, the battle [in Ukraine] had began and we went from the most popular market in reminiscence to the coldest market in fairly some time, so it was various work,” he mentioned.
As soon as fundraising was accomplished, Transition Ventures ended up with an LP combine that Helgason thinks is kind of wholesome: some mission-aligned backers, but additionally extra financially pushed ones with no local weather mandate. In different phrases, they’re there for the returns, which is the dedication of any business enterprise fund.
Having LPs means having to generate returns, and doing so inside a restricted timeframe, however Helgason is okay with that.
“We’re fairly disciplined about specializing in timelines, however the local weather disaster additionally requires that of us,” he mentioned. “We don’t have time for simply lingering round and exploring. … We’re within the enterprise of discovering firms which might be primed to go … after which we assist them speed up lots.”
A portfolio of tasks
As a result of Transition Ventures sees local weather as a theme, not a sector, the 12 firms in its portfolio are fairly diversified:
- Electrical energy Maps, which calculates the carbon depth of electrical energy consumption to optimize utilization at scale.
- FabricNano, which hopes to make cell-free biomanufacturing cheaper and extra environment friendly at scale.
- Warmth Geek, which gives impartial installers with the assist wanted to speed up the adoption of warmth pumps.
- Odyssey, a web-based market and software program platform connecting traders to builders of renewable vitality tasks.
- Part Biolabs, an artificial biology startup upcycling CO2 into ethanol and different chemical compounds.
- Reel, a renewable electrical energy provider that lets firms purchase energy buy agreements.
- Revoy, a swappable battery answer and charging community to show vehicles into hybrid and electrical automobiles.
- Working Tide, which removes carbon by rising kelp in hatcheries and sinking it into the deep ocean.
- Safi, previously referred to as TrueCircle, a B2B market for buying and selling recyclables.
- Upway, which makes electrical bikes extra reasonably priced by refurbishment and recycling.
- Waterplan, which took half in Y Combinator’s summer season 2021 batch and helps firms handle water danger.
- Watershed, which helps firms decarbonize their enterprise.
Not like Helgason, none of those firms is Icelandic, however “that was by no means the plan,” he mentioned. Nonetheless, Working Tide makes use of Iceland as an R&D base, with assist from an exterior group that Helgason helped arrange. Now known as Transition Labs, it helps local weather tech firms leverage Iceland and its pure and societal traits to speed up their scaling up.
Not lengthy after initiating Transition Labs, Helgason moved again to his dwelling nation.
“I at all times wished to dwell right here,” he mentioned. After spending most of his life overseas, he now resides in certainly one of Iceland’s costliest properties; though, that price ticket is much from unseen within the Bay Space. The home itself is pretty unassuming; its most placing characteristic is its scenic view of the ocean.
For somebody who spends his time worrying about world warming, the ocean is probably going a robust reminder to take motion.
“However even to individuals who say local weather change isn’t actual, I say, nicely, it virtually does matter, as a result of there are adjoining crises which might be so massive,” he mentioned. Whether or not it’s biodiversity or ocean well being, Helgason is impressed with the caliber of founders tackling these points. “The expertise is unbelievable,” he added.
Whereas Helgason now not fancies himself as an entrepreneur, he additionally has a brand new venture, Cleanplay, whose said mission is to “make video games part of the answer within the struggle towards the local weather disaster.”
The venture continues to be beneath wraps, with particulars to be introduced on the Cube Europe convention in September, however we already know that online game hotshot Richard Hilleman is concerned, as is Benedikt Franke, the CEO of Planetly, a carbon administration startup acquired by OneTrust in 2021.
It seems like an amazing match for Helgason to mix gaming with investing round local weather influence, however his coronary heart now sits firmly with the latter.
“A couple of years in the past, I made a decision I’ll solely do local weather any further,” he mentioned. Transition Ventures nonetheless has work to do on that entrance; it’s “roughly midway” by deploying its capital, in pursuit of the reply to the query on many traders’ lips: Which local weather options are finest positioned to scale?
Disclosure: Anna Heim traveled to Iceland on an invite from Enterprise Iceland on behalf of Reykjavík Science Metropolis.
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