A new climate fund from Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) heir Lukas Walton wants to invest $300 million in clean energy firms.
Builders Vision, a philanthropic organization founded by Walton, announced Wednesday the launch of Builders Private Capital, its direct investment arm that will invest $300 million in companies working to clean up the planet. The group is working with Chicago VC firm S2G Ventures, which has raised $1 billion in capital to invest in companies that are addressing climate change. S2G, led by OpenTable founder Chuck Templeton, is serving as Builders Private Capital's direct investment team.
Walton, who is based in Chicago, has remained out of the public eye and intentionally kept a low profile until recently, when he unveiled his plans for Builders Vision, which aims to invest $2 billion in sustainable food and agriculture projects.
Builders Private Capital will invest in areas like climate and energy, food and agriculture, and oceans and seafood. It has hired Stephan Feilhauer and Francis O'Sullivan as managing directors, along with Andrea Woodside as a vice president. The group is also led by Sanjeev Krishnan, its chief investment officer.
The team says its goal is to "invest and support the whole energy system" and mainstream clean energy innovation.
“The next decade of energy transition is about achieving massive scale and overcoming the many complex, system-level challenges that accompany deep decarbonization," O'Sullivan said in a statement.
S2G, which is backed in part by Walton, has become one of the dominant food and ag investors since it raised its debut fund in 2015. In 2020 S2G was the most active food-focused VC fund in the world, and it counts companies like Beyond Meat and Sweetgreen among its investments. The firm has expanded its scope this year to include oceans and seafood, with plans to invest $100 million in seafood startups and other ocean ventures.
