Climate Tech VC Systemiq Capital Welcomes M12’s Matthew Goldstein as General Partner
by Startacus Admin
Matthew Goldstein joins Systemiq Capital as General Partner, to help further its mission of supporting innovative entrepreneurs positively impacting the world.
Climate tech VC fund Systemiq Capital has officially welcomed Matthew Goldstein as General Partner and Lydia Guett as Head of Growth.
Goldstein joins with over ten years of experience investing in the Silicon Valley and European startup ecosystems through previous roles at Trinity Ventures and M12. In these roles, he led early-stage investments in companies which include zero-emission British aircraft manufacturer Vertical Aerospace, Boston-based additive manufacturing and carbon fibre pioneer Markforged, and Brazilian on-demand logistics provider Loggi. At Systemiq Capital, he will bring his extensive experience investing globally in disruptive technologies and business model innovation to support entrepreneurs positively impacting the world.Systemiq Capital launched its second fund last year and now manages over $125M, with a final close planned for late 2023, investing in the best early-stage climate tech entrepreneurs across Europe and North America. Since 2018 the firm has backed 20 companies and achieved three exits. Amongst its portfolio are Jupiter Intelligence, a leading climate risk analytics company; Basecamp Research, a revolutionary machine learning platform for enzyme discovery in nature; and ZeroAvia, a hydrogen aviation technology company which recently flew the largest-ever hydrogen-powered aircraft.
On joining Systemiq Capital as General Partner, Matthew Goldstein said, “Systemiq sits at the centre of nearly every conversation and constituent critical to addressing the climate crisis. This made it the perfect origin and enduring partner for a truly differentiated venture investor who understands the scale and complexity of the challenges ahead, can access every global regulatory and business leader and truly tip the scales for mission-driven founders. I wanted to share my experience of building a value-add venture capital platform at Microsoft and apply it where I could make a significant impact. Irena and the incredible team she’s built have set out to do exactly this, designing the best possible version of Systemiq Capital. I’m honoured to join them to deliver this vision.”
Goldstein continued, “As a VC sector, climate tech has graduated. Between energy security, food costs, collapsing biomes, power-hungry AI models, supply chain shocks, and the occasional flood… every business is in the climate business. Climate investing is simply investing in the companies best positioned to address these universal, urgent challenges. Large organisations are being built in these spaces today, with software as the point of leverage, marking a true ‘coming of age’ for the asset class. There has never been a better moment for the tech industry to reach this conclusion.”
Goldstein began his startup career as one of the first hires at V-Vehicle Company. This venture-backed automotive OEM was part of a mid-2000s cohort of heavily VC-funded new American car companies, including Tesla and Fisker. He switched to investing in 2012 with Trinity Ventures on Sand Hill Road before joining Microsoft in 2016 in San Francisco to help launch Microsoft Ventures (now M12). He was instrumental in designing its value-creation platform, a source of differentiation for the firm, and one that helped him land early-stage investments in half a dozen startups that went on to exit at valuations north of $1bn.
Systemiq Capital is also welcoming Lydia Guett as its new Head of Growth. Guett has a decade of experience in sustainable and impact investment, focusing on climate tech. She was previously a Sustainable and Impact Investing Specialist at Cambridge Associates, responsible for leading the diligence of emerging and established investment funds. Before this, she worked with endowments and foundations, families, and pension schemes to help align their investment portfolios with sustainable megatrends, including climate change resilience. She is also the co-founder of CA Women, a global company initiative championing diversity across the firm and the investment industry.
As part of Systemiq Capital, Guett will grow and nurture its climate ecosystem, connecting investors, portfolio companies, and the wider community.
Irena Spazzapan, Founding General Partner at Systemiq Capital, commented, “Since the start of Systemiq Capital, we have had an incredible team who have been crucial to our success. Matt has been an invaluable advisor since we began our second chapter, and I’m so glad to have him join me as a partner in driving this next growth phase. Lydia brings a new and valuable lens to our work and will be a game-changer for our portfolio and our increasingly large network of mission-aligned LPs. Attracting both of them from their respective organisations is a credit to what we are building and who we are backing, and I am delighted to welcome them to the Systemiq Capital team.”
Systemiq Capital is based in London and invests in Series A and B companies across Europe and North America. The fund links high-growth climate change innovators with its global network of corporates, policy-makers, and follow-on investors to accelerate market adoption and change economic systems. It backs businesses that can significantly impact four key areas in the fight against climate change: sustainable food and materials, clean transport, climate intelligence and finance, and climate restoration.
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Published on: 5th May 2023
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