Sustainability

Australia’s New Forests announces first close of SE Asia-focused fund at $120M

New Forests announced Thursday the first close of its Tropical Asia Forest Fund 2 (TAFF2) with $120 million of capital commitments. Investors in the first close include Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Australian Government, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SuMi TRUST), Temasek and TotalEnergies. New Forests will continue to…

Meatless food & plastic-free packaging trends driving innovations in APAC, says Mi Terro CEO Robert Luo [ORIGIN Innovation Awards Q&A]

Luo also shared what are the challenges faced by businesses in the context of sustainability and his firm's strategies to overcome these challenges.

GreenArc Capital’s Rony J Palathinkal on building tech solutions that enable impact and sustainability at scale [ORIGIN Innovation Awards Q&A]

As investors change their investment models and expand their product offerings to reflect the growing sustainability trend, GreenArc’s Impact Solution can provide the digital tools required to help institutions create impact at scale.

Singapore’s Aera VC raises $30M for climate breakthroughs

Aera VC announced Monday a $30 million first close of its new fund investing in startups accelerating the planet toward a sustainable future. The new climate-focused fund is launching with a portfolio of global climate stars including Houston-based chemical decarbonisation firm Solugen, as well as Shiok Meats (Singapore), Carbon Chain (London), Noya and…

Singapore SaaS firm RIMM Sustainability raises $3M in Pre-Series A funding led by BEENEXT and others

Real Impact Matters Most (RIMM) Sustainability has raised a total of $3 million in its pre- series A round on its quest to make sustainability accessible and actionable to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The funding round was led by venture capital fund BEENEXT and one of Japan’s most successful tech investors Mamoru Taniya. Other key investors…

Leveraging AI to create safer, ESG-compliant construction sites [Q&A]

viAct, an AI construction tech (contech) startup based out of Hong Kong, automates construction monitoring using a combination of computer vision, edge devices and a mobile app.

Japan’s Kyoto Fusioneering raises $18.6M in oversubscribed Series B funding round and debt financing

Kyoto Fusioneering has raised 1.33 billion yen ($11.7 million) in its latest round of funding, bringing the total amount of funds raised by the startup. to 1.67 billion yen ($ 14.7 million). The oversubscribed series B funding round was supported by existing investors, Coral Capital Co., and underwritten by five new investors from some of Japan's top…

Spain’s ClimateTrade closes $7.92 million pre-Series A, targets another $14.71 million to expand world’s first climate marketplace in new markets

ClimateTrade has raised €7 million ($7.92 million) in a Pre-Series A closed in Europe in late 2021, and is raising another €13 million ($14.71 million) in a US-focused round set to close upon ClimateTrade’s US reincorporation in the next five months. In total, the company is targeting €20 million ($22.63 million) of funding for international……

Indonesian renewable energy startup Xurya receives $21.5M Series A funding led by East Ventures and Saratoga

PT Xurya Daya Indonesia (Xurya) has raised series A funding of $21.5 million. This series A funding round was led by a venture capital firm, East Ventures (Growth fund), and PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya Tbk. (Saratoga) with the returning participation of existing investors Schneider Electric and New Energy Nexus Indonesia.