The fund plans to invest in about 15 companies, reserving twice as much money for follow-on investments as initial checks. Blue Bear aims to maintain ownership and help more companies reach an exit, expecting mergers and acquisitions to be more likely than IPOs in the markets they invest in. While each successful exit might be smaller than typical venture funds target, they hope to deliver similar returns for LPs in aggregate.
Key takeaways:
- Blue Bear Capital is taking a software-centric approach to climate, industrial, and energy investing, which is contrary to the prevailing trend of investing in hardware or a mix of hardware and software.
- The firm believes that the impact potential of digital solutions and applied AI is tremendous, and can be universally applied across various sectors including wind, water treatment, refrigeration, steel, cement, chemicals production, and marine and aviation logistics.
- Blue Bear recently raised a $160 million third fund, with limited partners including the McKnight Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, UBS, Woven Earth Ventures, and Zoma Capital.
- The fund plans to invest in about 15 companies, reserving twice as much money for follow-on investments as initial checks, with the aim of helping more companies make it to an exit.