Green transformation: investing instead of moralizing

Posted On: 11. Dezember 2023
Posted By: pr-gateway

Vanagon Ventures launches venture capital fund for 30 million euros

Munich, December, 2023 – Early-stage investor Vanagon Ventures is focusing on B2B start-ups that are transforming the digital green transformation from a cost burden into a profit center. Investments at the intersection of the two megatrends, the new Internet and green transformation, offer great opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs.

„We support young start-ups, who can solve the challenges of a green transformation with innovative technologies and even make them profitable, with capital, know-how and a network,“ emphasizes Susanne Fromm, technology investor and General Partner of Vanagon Ventures. Capital is provided to start-ups that develop digital solutions at the interface of climate and finance. And enable established companies to „use the green transformation as an opportunity“, says transformation expert Susanne Fromm, who founded Vanagon Ventures together with serial entrepreneur Roitzsch and former Microsoft strategist Sandro Stark. The fund managers describe themselves as entrepreneurial investors who have established their own start-ups and have been active in B2B digitalization consulting. As a result, they have first-hand experience with the disruptive power of new technologies on entire industries. The investment focus of the venture capital fund is on young founders who, for example, use tokenization through distributed ledger technology (DLT) and artificial intelligence to create innovative solutions for a sustainable and competitive future.

Powerful tools for the green transformation

According to Jörg Walden, founder and CEO of Walden Holding and investor in Vanagon Ventures, „many innovations fall by the wayside“ without venture capitalists. Investment is needed to maintain the pace of transformation that is being achieved elsewhere. For companies, especially SMEs, and therefore for Germany as a business location, „everything is at stake“, Stark agrees. Whether companies like it or not, adapting to green transparency requirements, converting their core business to regenerative business models and utilizing technological opportunities will determine their competitive position over the next few years. This is because pressure is coming from regulators, consumers and large banks and insurance companies, which are placing net-zero demands on their own portfolios. The result will be a huge wave of software innovations that help companies with this transformation.

First closing completed after just 6 months

A major milestone for the founding trio of Vanagon Ventures is the first closing for the first fund in the amount of 30 million euros, which they were able to complete after just 6 months. The venture capital company is accompanied by Matias Collan and his team from ACE Alternatives. ACE Alternatives is a digitized fund administration service provider and supports fund managers in the launch of investment funds, onboarding of investors, as well as with the ongoing administration of the funds throughout their life cycle. The team was comprehensively advised in the legal structuring of the fund by Dr. Philip Mostertz of Orbit, a law firm specializing in fund law.
To date, Vanagon Ventures has invested in ten start-ups, all of which „have the potential to turn the market upside down in the long term“, says Fromm. Portfolio company The Landbanking Group, for example, which was founded by a former McKinsey partner, uses technology to turn nature conservation into a lucrative investment. Vanagon Ventures is also financing the world’s largest marketplace for digitized CO2 certificates, a kind of Moody’s for digitized environmental goods, a tokenizer of real economic goods and a technology rating company that uses satellite data and artificial intelligence to bring radical transparency to the carbon market.

Focus on change makers, because the clock is ticking

But Vanagon Ventures is not only supporting green transformation as an investor. Together with the University of Frankfurt School of Finance, the venture capital company also set up the 18-week online program „ReFi Talents“. This equips change makers with the knowledge they need to drive innovation for a regenerative economy. In September 2023, the first ReFi Talents cohort started with 160 participants worldwide. And Vanagon Ventures‘ journey continues. Financing talks are currently being held with start-ups in the fields of ESG reporting automation, software for the circular economy and biodiversity measurement. For Stark and his colleagues, there is no question: „The clock is ticking. We cannot achieve the digital, green transformation with idealism and appeals to morality. To tackle the climate crisis, we need to rely on innovative technologies that enable companies to adapt their business models sustainably and profitably.“

About Vanagon Ventures:
Vanagon Ventures is a forward-thinking venture capital firm committed to supporting founders leveraging cutting-edge technology to drive the transition to a regenerative economy. With a focus on circularity and the intersection of climate and finance, Vanagon Ventures empowers startups to create positive real-world impact. The fund’s diverse portfolio already consists of 10 innovative companies at the forefront of sustainability and innovation. https://vanagon.vc/

About The Landbanking Group:
The Munich-based start-up, founded by former McKinsey partner and Systemiq founder Martin R. Stuchtey and serial founder Sonja Stuchtey, enables land managers, investors and companies to open natural capital accounts. Using state-of-the-art technology, these accounts document, evaluate and trade biodiversity, soil health, carbon and water storage. https://www.thelandbankinggroup.com/

About Walden Holding:
Walden Holding is committed to transforming linear business processes into circular ones. The holding company invests in start-ups that use technological innovations to implement aspects of the circular economy. With investments and advice from the team, including founder and angel investor Jörg Walden, Walden Holding drives innovative developments in companies and organizations. https://walden-holding.de/de/

About Orbit:
Orbit is a Berlin-based next generation law firm offering client-centered legal advice in all areas of fund law and investments in alternative assets combined with innovative legal tech tools. Fund managers and investors rely on Orbit and its team of experienced fund advisors. Orbit covers fund structuring, regulatory, tax, compliance, due diligence as well as secondary transactions.
Orbit | All. About. Funds. https://www.orbit.law/

About ACE Alternatives:
ACE Alternatives („ACE“) is a NEO-managed services provider in the Alternative Assets space, focusing on venture capital, private equity, fund of funds, private real estate and more. Through innovative tech-driven processes and decades of industry expertise on the operating side, ACE provides flexible and customized solutions for fund managers looking to outsource their fund administration, compliance and ESG needs. https://www.ace-alternatives.com/

Company-Contact
Vanagon Ventures Management GmbH
Sandro Stark
Birketweg 31
80639 Munich
Phone: +49-7071-93872-0
E-Mail:
Url: https://vanagon.vc