Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
Early-stage venture firms and accelerator programs are getting a boost from some unlikely LPs — federal agencies' investment programs.
Why it matters: Federal funding could help steady the early-stage climate technology sector as private groups and angels get more skittish due to the volatile market.
Driving the news: Elemental Excelerator, an early-stage accelerator program for climate startups, announced Wednesday that the Office of Naval Research invested in its program to the tune of $32.5 million over five years.
- It is ONR's third investment in the program, bringing its total backing to more than $90 million.
By the numbers: Though data on LP commitments from the U.S. government is sparse, data from European venture firms in 2019 suggested that nearly one-third of all venture capital investments in a year, on average, came from firms with government LPs.
State of play: General partner investors are looking to bolster their war chests to outlast a downturn, without the pressures that come from traditional LPs like institutional fund-of-funds that require a certain return threshold.
- The appeal of federal LPs is the institutional money piece without that added return pressure.
- Federal LPs are especially appealing to early-state GPs that rely heavily on angel investors and universities. While those entities are pulling back amid the market rout, Uncle Sam is stepping in.