Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Contrarian Ventures, a European climate tech fund, secured €25 million (~$26.5 million) from the European Investment Fund, the group tells Axios.
Why it matters: The EIF commitment is double the size of Contrarian's first fund, an indication of EIF's confidence in both the fund and the sector.
Driving the news: EIF's €25 million commitment represents one fourth of Contrarian's second fund, which has a hard cap of €100 million. It expects to close the fund in the second half of 2023.
- Contrarian Ventures currently counts 65 organizations among its LP base, including PFR, Korys, Molten and Grantham Foundation.
- That's up from its first fund, vintage 2017, which clocked in at just €12.5 million.
Context: Contrarian is an early-stage firm that is often the first outside money into a startup.
- Its first fund invested in carbon ratings startup BeZero Carbon, e-bike maker Zoomo, satellite-based thermal emissions tracking company Satellite Vu, solar startup PVCase and software company Choose.
- EIF, which is part of the European Investment Bank Group, has acted as an anchor LP in other climate-focused venture funds and credit providers.
