Prelude Ventures

64Credible Contributor· Provisional

0 followersClimate VC·San Francisco, CA, US

San Francisco-based venture firm backing companies transforming energy, transportation, food, and agriculture systems to address climate change.

64/100

Credible Contributor· Provisional

ClimateTicker Green Score · how it's calculated

Greenwashing risk: lowData confidence: medium

Why it's on ClimateTicker

Prelude Ventures is a single-LP, 100%-climate-focused early-stage VC firm backing companies in clean energy, carbon management, mobility, food and agriculture, and advanced manufacturing — making it one of the most thematically consistent climate investors in venture capital. The firm enforces a hard 'no fossil fuels' rule, explicitly rejecting any technology that extends oil, gas, or coal extraction. However, as a VC enabler, Prelude's own operational emissions are negligible; the real climate impact is entirely contingent on portfolio company outcomes, which remain at early commercialization risk.

enablerPrelude Ventures earns management fees and carried interest by deploying capital (checks of $100K–$5M with follow-on capacity) exclusively on behalf of the Nat and Laura Simons family philanthropic entities into early-stage climate technology startups across seven sector verticals.

Commitments & Certifications

other: Founding Member — Venture Climate Alliance (VCA) ↗other: Founding Member — Breakthrough Energy Coalition ↗

Controversy & Greenwashing Watch

lowNo verified own-operations emissions data published

Despite co-founding the VCA and committing to a 2030 net-zero operations target, Prelude has not publicly released independently verified Scope 1–3 figures or a progress update against that pledge, creating a gap between stated commitment and demonstrated follow-through.source ↗

Community Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your experience!