This is a guest post by Richard Armstrong who is an early stage investor in many startups in both SE Asia and globally. Plus Richard has cofounded several companies.
Guest Author: Richard Armstrong
As most of you know I live in Bangkok. And there is one main topic that is top of mind for most folks that live in Thailand right now…. it is hot!!!!!!
And it has been like this for weeks.
Bangkok has been setting records.. for example its ‘heat index’ that also takes into account humidity was listed as above 52 degrees Celsius.
In that type of heat you pretty much don’t want to go outside. You just stay inside in the A/C and daydream about being on some ski slopes. lol
But what worries me more is… “what if this only gets worse?” For example what if it was like this for half the year? Despite the fact that I love this city, would I still even want to live here?
I’m honestly not so sure.
Global temperatures are rising fast!
Just look at how rapidly temperatures have risen in the last 30 years. And note how it is worst in areas like the north pole where glaciers are melting and raising sea levels.
There is research that by 2050 about 150 million people are now living on land that will be below the high tide line. And it will particularly impact SE Asia.
Vietnam alone will have more than 20 million people (~25% of the population) living on land that will be inundated.
Just think about how much damage that is. It’s massive amounts of value being wiped off the face of the earth forever.
A flock of global startups are taking on this challenge of rising sea levels
One example would be California-based, Upstream Tech, who uses satellite data and machine learning to show if a conservation project is delivering results.
Another one is Jupiter Intel who raised $10m in VC funding so far. Jupiter Intel’s models, satellite data and sensors help community planners, developers and city officials anticipate challenges such as sea level rise, erosion and impermeable pavement.
Plus there are many more.
And these startups are being started not only in the US and Europe but also here in SE Asia.
Wavemaker Impact is one of the most active in the region in the area of climate tech
Not that long ago Wavemaker Impact announced closing their debut fund at $60m, which is 2.5x higher than their initial target of $25m.
Wavemaker Impact is a venture builder built by the VC, Wavemaker Partners, and focuses on sustainability-focused startups with the goal of reducing 10% of global emissions by 2035.
They’ve created six startups so far and aim to build “100×100” ventures. Meaning that each startup has the potential to cut 100m tons of carbon while making $100m of revenue. Thereby showing that doing good for earth can be very profitable.
Their portfolio includes companies like Agros, which offers value-added services like soil testing and solar pump installations to help small farmers achieve higher profits while also decarbonizing.
Another company that was in the news recently was their WasteX, who raised $450k to expand their biochar solution across Indonesia.
Basically they provide an end-to-end solution that can turn biomass into biochar through its proprietary, small-scale, and semiautomated carbonizer. While such equipment usually run on electricity, WasteX’s equipment operates using biomass and captured gas.
Another big player in this space in the region is B Capital
B Capital is an investment firm founded by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. And just recently they closed a new fund at $750m with the objective to finance businesses aiming at global net-zero targets.
It previously invested in carbon credit platform, Patch Technologies, and an AI-powered decarbonization solution provider, Accacia.
The time to act is now
It’s very clear that the time to tackle this growing issue is now. And it is starting to happen but a lot more effort is needed.
The capital is starting to become available but we also need our best and brightest entrepreneurs taking this area very seriously.
Enough tackling problems that are not that important… let’s take on the ones that are going to give our kids a better future!
