It’s climate science: Atlas Capital bats for greentech in SEA

It’s been two years since Djoann Mbaka Fal launched Atlas Capital, an investment firm tailored to back climate tech startups. With this move, he formally stepped into that sweet spot between venture capital and climate tech.

Djoann Mbaka Fal, general partner at Atlas Capital / Photo credit: Tatler Magazine

When he was starting out in the space, Fal spent his time researching the space and getting on Zoom calls with scientists and researchers. While he even ended up writing a book on the subject, he’s still not entirely comfortable making investment decisions in the space on his own.

“That’s why we have a scientific committee at Atlas. When we were making an investment in a nuclear energy plant, we brought in someone with that specific expertise,” he says.

Besides a laser-sharp focus on climate tech and a new fund expected to close soon, Atlas stands out for another reason: It’s essentially a growing network of entrepreneurs, family offices, Fortune 500 executives, etc.

A sum of its parts
Active since: 2020
General partners: Djoann Fal, Kookai Chaimahawong
Current fund size: Up to US$25 million
Invests in: climate tech
Select portfolio firms: Posh Robotics, Tyfast Energy, Avalanche Energy, Zauben, Avalo AI, Dimension
Headquarters: Singapore
Areas covered: Global
Other highlights: Pala, a venture-building arm

An eye on green gains 💵👀

Fal’s name is familiar to some: He co-founded GetLinks, a Thailand-based multimillion dollar business, before starting Atlas Capital.

While Southeast Asia has a lot of capital available, Fal believes “investors don’t have anything interesting to invest in,” referring to ambitious projects in greentech that can see good returns.

Most deeptech and climate tech innovations are currently happening outside Southeast Asia. While that changes, Atlas’ strategy in the meantime is to invest in early-stage deeptech in the US and Europe before bringing the innovation to Southeast Asia.

Case in point: Posh Robotics, a San Francisco-based firm that makes reusable and recyclable battery packs. Atlas is currently facilitating a discussion about Posh Robotics’ potential expansion to Southeast Asia.

Source: Giphy

Atlas backed eight companies through its first fund (Nano Fund I) of about US$3 million, with 32 investors writing checks worth between US$50,000 to US$200,000 on an average.

The second fund (Climate Tech Decarbonization & Mitigation Fund II ) is targeting a first close of US$10 million and a second close of US$25 million.

Timing matters ⌛

Great power, great responsibility 🏋️