Zigging when most are zagging, ex-Meta CTO raises $250M climate fund

逆势而行：前 Meta 首席技术官募集 2.5 亿美元气候基金

Gigascale, the venture firm led by former Meta CTO Mike Schroepfer, announced on Monday that it had raised a $250 million fund to back founders who are “rebuilding the physical economy.” The new fund will focus on energy, grid infrastructure, and critical minerals all through the lens of climate tech. 由前 Meta 首席技术官 Mike Schroepfer 领导的风险投资公司 Gigascale 周一宣布，已募集到 2.5 亿美元基金，旨在支持那些致力于“重构实体经济”的创始人。这支新基金将通过气候技术的视角，重点关注能源、电网基础设施和关键矿产领域。

By continuing with the overt climate focus, Gigascale is bucking conventional wisdom, which has soured on the “climate tech” thesis. Gigascale’s second fund is shaping up to be a continuation of the sort of bets that Schrep, as he’s known, has made in the three years since he started Gigascale. The firm has backed some high-profile startups in the climate tech space, including Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Heron Power, Mill, and Form Energy. 通过坚持明确的气候导向，Gigascale 正在挑战目前对“气候技术”论点持悲观态度的传统观念。Gigascale 的第二支基金延续了 Schroepfer（人称 Schrep）自三年前创立该公司以来一直坚持的投资策略。该公司此前已支持了一些气候技术领域的知名初创企业，包括 Commonwealth Fusion Systems、Heron Power、Mill 和 Form Energy。

Gigascale emerged from Schrep’s study of climate tech during COVID, and the new fund is the first with an early-stage focus that includes institutional investors. Climate tech has always been a wide-ranging sector, and Gigascale’s portfolio reflects that. But in recent years, the sector has become increasingly focused on energy and infrastructure, a shift that has been largely driven by the demands of AI. Gigascale 源于 Schrep 在新冠疫情期间对气候技术的研究，而这支新基金是该公司首个包含机构投资者并专注于早期阶段的基金。气候技术一直是一个广泛的领域，Gigascale 的投资组合也反映了这一点。但近年来，该领域已日益聚焦于能源和基础设施，这种转变在很大程度上是由人工智能的需求所驱动的。

It’s no surprise, then, that power is a significant focus of the new fund. With rising demand for electricity, there’s an opportunity to invest in new energy sources and new ways to deliver that to businesses and households. Schroepfer pointed to solar as a recent example of a clean technology that’s faster and cheaper and winning the market. 因此，电力成为新基金的重点关注对象也就不足为奇了。随着电力需求的增长，投资新能源以及向企业和家庭输送电力的新方式正迎来机遇。Schroepfer 指出，太阳能就是一个近期的例子，作为一种更快速、更廉价的清洁技术，它正在赢得市场。

While solar and batteries have come to dominate conversations around clean power, Schroepfer clearly sees more opportunities. AI and broader trends in electrification have made it challenging for companies to connect to the grid. In response, many have been seeking to develop their own power sources, though there, too, competition is stiff. Natural gas turbines, for example, have a waitlist that stretches into the early 2030s. 尽管太阳能和电池已成为清洁能源讨论的主导话题，但 Schroepfer 显然看到了更多的机会。人工智能和更广泛的电气化趋势使得企业接入电网变得充满挑战。作为应对，许多企业开始寻求开发自己的能源，尽管这一领域的竞争也非常激烈。例如，天然气涡轮机的订单排期已经延伸到了 2030 年代初。

The power crunch gives energy startups an opening. In energy-intensive industries, bring-your-own power “is going to be a competitive advantage over time,” Schroepfer said on the Inevitable podcast last year. Startups that can supply power cheaper or more flexibly — or both — can win on those merits alone. 电力紧缺为能源初创企业提供了切入点。Schroepfer 去年在《Inevitable》播客中表示，在能源密集型行业中，“自带电力”将逐渐成为一种竞争优势。那些能够以更低成本或更灵活方式（或两者兼备）提供电力的初创公司，仅凭这些优势就能胜出。

But Gigascale also expects its energy investments to extend beyond generation, citing grid infrastructure, critical minerals, and physical AI as other places where the company will look for opportunities. “The companies we back win because they’re cheaper, faster, and more reliable,” Schroepfer said in a statement. “That’s how adoption scales. Climate impact is the result of better-performing systems.” 但 Gigascale 也预计其能源投资将超越发电领域，并列举了电网基础设施、关键矿产和物理人工智能作为公司将寻找机会的其他领域。Schroepfer 在一份声明中表示：“我们支持的公司之所以能胜出，是因为它们更便宜、更快、更可靠。这就是技术普及的规模化方式。气候影响是系统性能提升的结果。”