Some retired CEOs are going into area. Others transfer to Hawaii. However Unity co-founder David Helgason has chosen a special path after 12 years on the helm of the sport engine firm, which went public in 2020 at a $13.7 billion valuation.
After stepping down as CEO in 2014, Helgason stays on the board of administrators of the corporate he co-founded in Copenhagen in 2004; however most of his time is dedicated to Transition Ventures, an early-stage enterprise capital agency he based in 2021 to give attention to local weather.
This means that the fund known as “transition” and never, say, “apocalypse”. That is partly as a result of Helgason believes that outdated industries that routinely hurt the atmosphere will ultimately be supplanted by extra sustainable options, and partly due to his character. “My pals describe me as ‘a glass one-tenth full,'” he advised TechCrunch.
In an interview at his house close to Reykjavík, the enterprise capitalist-turned-entrepreneur shared his ideas on his ventures and the journey that led him from Unity to local weather know-how, a homecoming of types. “It is type of embarrassing how a lot enjoyable it’s to work on the local weather disaster,” he mentioned.
Good distance house
Unity’s public debut turned Helgason right into a billionaire, at the least on paper. The market cap has fallen since then, however the backside line stays: He made some huge cash from the corporate, and that capital has change into more and more liquid through the years.
This allowed him to change into a prolific angel investor, exercising his pure inclination to spend time with entrepreneurs. However his local weather considerations needed to wait: as a self-described programmer, he had no clear path.
That each one modified when considered one of his siblings, Ingvar, began a lab-grown leather-based firm, VitroLabs Inc. This led Helgason to change into concerned within the startup and artificial biology extra broadly. This ultimately led him to create profound climate-focused know-how startups.
Along with angel investments, Helgason has additionally change into a restricted companion in quite a few climate-focused funds. “I’ve argued for some time that I am in all probability probably the most broadly invested LP within the local weather,” he mentioned.
Each courses gave him the coaching he craved. “I all the time needed to be a scientist,” he recalled. Nevertheless, in his present state, he realized he may add extra worth as an early-stage investor. Thus, Transition Ventures was born as a enterprise capital agency. Helgason already had (and nonetheless has) a household workplace referred to as Foobar. Transition Ventures is a special beast, and never simply due to its local weather mandate.
Acceptable fund
It will be a mistake to think about Transition Ventures as a household enterprise. In fact, Helgason and Ingvar’s brother Ari is likely one of the 4 companions, however Ari’s resume speaks for itself. His startup Fabricly participated in Y Combinator’s 2010 winter batch earlier than he grew to become an investor at Daybreak Capital and Index Ventures.
A 3rd companion, Christian Branaes, an alumnus of London-based Atomico, was on board from day one, and the trio quickly employed New York-based Mona Alsubai, who discovered enterprise capital at Union Sq. Ventures and its local weather fund. The funding group additionally consists of director Clara Ricard, who just lately made the Forbes 30 Underneath 30 Europe 2024 checklist.
Whereas Helgason’s wealth allowed Transition to begin investing instantly, the companions additionally determined to search for restricted companions. “We by no means considered not doing it as a correct for-profit enterprise fund,” he mentioned. This meant becoming a member of the ranks of different local weather funds equivalent to Chris Sackey’s Local weather Capital and Lowercarbon Capital. Though Transition has data, Transition has not disclosed the scale of the funds set, nor how a lot it has invested to this point and plans to take a position.
Though Helgason was capable of safe the muse on his personal, fundraising was not simple. By the point the paperwork had been prepared, market situations had modified.
“Earlier than we may correctly begin fundraising, the warfare began [in Ukraine] began, and we went from the most popular market in reminiscence to the coldest shortly, so there was numerous work,” he mentioned.
After elevating funds, Transition Ventures launched an LP combine that Helgason says is completely wholesome: some mission-minded, but in addition extra financially oriented with out a local weather mandate. In different phrases, they’re there to make a revenue, which is the responsibility of any for-profit enterprise capital fund.
Having data means having to generate income, and doing so for a restricted time frame, however Helgosson is okay with that.
“We now have a reasonably disciplined give attention to deadlines, however the local weather disaster additionally requires us to,” he mentioned. “We do not have time to only cling round and examine. … We’re within the enterprise of discovering firms which can be able to go … after which we assist them speed up considerably.”
Portfolio of tasks
As a result of Transition Ventures appears to be like at local weather as a subject fairly than a sector, the 12 firms in its portfolio are fairly numerous:
- Electrical energy maps that calculate the carbon depth of electrical energy consumption to optimize large-scale use.
- FabricNano, which hopes to make cell-free biomanufacturing cheaper and extra environment friendly at scale.
- Warmth Geek, offering unbiased installers with the assist they should speed up the adoption of warmth pumps.
- Odyssey, a web-based market and software program platform that connects buyers with renewable vitality undertaking builders.
- Part Biolabs, an artificial biology startup that recycles CO2 into ethanol and different chemical compounds.
- Reel, a renewable electrical energy supplier that permits firms to purchase energy buy agreements.
- Revoy, a battery substitute resolution and charging community for changing vans into hybrid and electrical autos.
- Operating Tide, which removes carbon by rising kelp in hatcheries and plunging it into the deep ocean.
- Safi, previously often known as TrueCircle, is a B2B market for the commerce of recycled supplies.
- Upway, which makes electrical bikes extra reasonably priced via refurbishing and recycling.
- Waterplan, which participated in Y Combinator’s summer time 2021 spherical and helps firms handle water danger.
- A watershed that helps firms decarbonize their enterprise.
Not like Helgason, none of those firms are Icelandic, however “that was by no means the plan,” he mentioned. Nevertheless, Operating Tide makes use of Iceland as a analysis and growth base with the assist of an exterior group that Helgason helped construct. Now referred to as Transition Labs, it helps local weather know-how firms use Iceland and its pure and social traits to speed up scale-up.
Shortly after establishing Transition Labs, Helgason returned to his homeland.
“I’ve all the time needed to stay right here,” he mentioned. Having spent most of his life overseas, he now lives in considered one of Iceland’s costliest properties; although, that price ticket is way from invisible within the Bay Space. The home itself is sort of unpretentious; its most placing function is the picturesque view of the ocean.
For many who spend their time worrying about international warming, the ocean is probably going a robust reminder of the necessity to take motion.
“However even to individuals who say local weather change is not actual, I say, nicely, it virtually issues as a result of there are such large crises proper across the nook,” he mentioned. Whether or not it is biodiversity or ocean well being, Helgason is impressed by the caliber of founders tackling these points. “The expertise is unbelievable,” he added.
Though Helgasson not fancies himself an entrepreneur, he additionally has a brand new undertaking, Cleanplay, whose said mission is to “make video games a part of the answer to the local weather disaster.”
The undertaking continues to be underneath wraps, with particulars to be introduced on the Cube Europe convention in September, however we already understand it includes online game luminary Richard Hilleman, in addition to Benedict Franke, CEO of Planetly, a carbon administration startup acquired by OneTrust in 2021 .
It feels like an awesome possibility for Helgasson to mix gaming with local weather influence investing, however now his coronary heart is firmly with the latter.
“A couple of years in the past I made a decision that to any extent further I’d solely take care of local weather,” he mentioned. Transition Ventures nonetheless has work to do on this entrance; he’s “about midway” via deploying his capital in pursuit of a solution to the query on many buyers’ lips: What local weather options are best suited for scale?
Disclosure: Anna Heim traveled to Iceland by invitation Enterprise Iceland on behalf of Reykjavík Science Campus.