AlwaysOn: where Green Tech VCs are betting

Posted on October 15, 2007
Filed Under All, Green Tech, Technology |

AlwaysOn pulls up this session from their Davis Going Green greentech conference (I was there) last month where a group of prominent VCs outline their bets. This group said they liked energy efficiency, utility scale projects, plastics, building materials, carbon reduction, and transport.

I interviewed IBM Capital co-founder Drew Clark the week after Going Green, and his main interests were green data centers, water quality, energy supplies (including photovoltaics) and the global power grid. Despite its name, IBM Capital doesn’t mainly put money into startups - Clark says there are plenty of places for good startups to find funding. Rather, IBM Capital tries to introduce startups to customers, in deals that work out for IBM, too. IBM sells the startups’ innovative products and services, and customers get a guarantee from Big Blue that the startup will be around to deliver….

Comments

5 Responses to “AlwaysOn: where Green Tech VCs are betting”

  1. j. Dirte on October 15th, 2007 10:36 am

    Any basic recommendations/references on how a company can reduce their carbon footprint? We’re trying to take baby steps & I have to admit I don’t know where to start.

  2. cg on October 15th, 2007 9:30 pm

    Anything you do to reduce energy use - from the grid, from the gas pump, anyway - reduces your carbon footprint. Turn off lights that aren’t needed, offer public transport to employees etc.

    If your firm is using energy-intensive industrial processes, there may be other things you can do - investigating the viability of alternative energy, buying/trading carbon credits et al.

    I’ll do a quick search and see if I can send you some pointers…

  3. cg on October 18th, 2007 8:05 am

    WSJ article on energy use and reducing carbon footprint:

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118772418179504367.html?mod=2_1316.htm_1

  4. j. Dirte on October 18th, 2007 9:59 am

    danka

  5. Live from Stanford : www.gulker.com on July 24th, 2008 1:35 pm

    [...] Bumped into IBM Venture Group’s Drew Clark, who we talked to at last year’s conference. Drew had some very interesting ideas about water and power, and what he saw as a ‘VC wedge’ of opportunities that will open in the future - he offered Onzo as a sample. More from Drew in a bit (and maybe a podcast). [...]

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