Korea's Envisioning Partners raises $64m climate tech fund
Envisioning Partners, a Korean impact venture capital firm set up last year, has raised KRW 76.8bn (USD 64m) for a climate-focused tech fund, beating a target of USD 60m.
Envisioning is led by managing partners Hyunjoo Je and Yonghyun Kim. Je was previously head The Carlyle Group’s Korea unit and CEO of local VC firm Yellowdog. Kim formerly served as CEO of Hanwha Asset Management.
LPs include Hanwha Solutions, Yellowdog, GS Holdings, IS Dongseo, Yesco Holdings, Hankuk Carbon, Insun ENT, and Musinsa, a local fashion start-up that has raised about USD 285m from IMM Investment and Sequoia Capital since 2019.
The Climate Solutions Fund is being touted as Korea's first private VC fund specialising in climate technology. It invests primarily in the Series A to B range with deployments of up to USD 5m. Favoured themes include circular economy, clean energy, energy efficiency, sustainable food, carbon capture, and recycling.
In October, Envisioning joined a USD 15m Series B for flow battery maker H2 and a KRW 28bn Series C for agriculture platform Gikuin. In December, it backed a KRW 12bn Series B for waste management platform Reco, a KRW 15bn round for cold chain supplier S Lab Asia, and a KRW 17.6bn Series B for E Green Global, which focuses on high-yield micro-potato farming.
Overseas investments include energy storage technology developer Green Li-ion and cell-cultured crustacean maker Shiok Meats, both of Singapore. Portfolio companies in the US include carbon-neutral jet fuel developer Dimensional Energy, plastic recycling player Novoloop, textile recycling company Circ. The plan is to seek synergies between the Korean and international portfolios.
“Climate technology has a high share of deep tech, so it takes more time to be applied to the market, and when introduced, it requires comprehensive support as a universal technology with a great impact on society,” Envisioning said.
“We will actively look for ways to expand the scope of capital and increase the level of cooperation of industry investors and experts so that we can support technology commercialization and business growth step by step.”
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