Venture capital firm Pappas Capital has closed on its first investment in the renewable energy sector – but it’s not deviating from the mission.
That’s according to the Durham firm's founder, Art Pappas, speaking after the firm announced an investment in Singapore-based VFlowTech.
For Pappas Capital, whose portfolio companies have pushed out 25 FDA-approved drugs over the years, it’s just a different angle to the mission, Pappas said.
“We see it having an application at some point in health care,” Pappas said. He sees the battery technology that VFlowTech is developing as having “a very unique application to hospitals, medtech, all sorts of things.”
The latest investment – part of an overall $10 million raise by VFlowTech – is out of Pappas Capital’s Asia Innovation Fund, which closed in 2021. The fund is Pappas Capital’s vehicle to tap into next-generation innovation coming from places such as China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The fund targets a slew of what Pappas labels “disruptive technologies,” from quantum computing to, in the case of VFlowTech, battery storage – all with applications in health care.
VFlowTech manufactures what it calls PowerCubes, a type of rechargable flow battery with 25-year lifespans.
The VFlowTech deal is the third investment from the Asia fund. In the next few months, Pappas Capital will likely be up to six companies out of the fund, including two from China, where geopolitical tensions with the U.S. are rising. Pappas said it’s something the firm is “concerned about.”
“We’re watching how that is all going to play out, but we have been able to put money to work,” he said. “We are cautious watching how things are going to sort out as we make decisions.”
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Pappas Capital launched its sixth flagship fund last year and is currently conducting due diligence on what will likely be the first investment in that portfolio, Pappas said.