Gigascale Capital
Gigascale Capital is a Palo Alto venture capital firm founded in 2023 that backs early-stage deep tech companies rebuilding the physical economy for climate impact. Its $250M Fund I supports pre-seed to Series A founders across energy, manufacturing, grid, fusion, and physical AI.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersPalo Alto, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Gigascale Capital does
Gigascale Capital is a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm founded in 2023 by former Meta CTO Mike Schroepfer, alongside General Partner Victoria Beasley and Partner Evaline Tsai, Ph.D. The firm invests in early-stage (pre-seed through Series A) deep tech companies rebuilding the physical economy for climate impact — spanning clean energy generation, advanced manufacturing, grid infrastructure, fusion, nuclear, robotics, critical minerals, and physical AI. As of June 2026, the firm has invested in more than 25 portfolio companies including Panthalassa, Heron Power, Fractile, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Form Energy, Radiant, Xcimer, Dioxycle, Mill, Arbor Energy, Cocoon Carbon, Vor Systems, Red Metals, and Terradot. The firm's core product is Gigascale Capital Fund I, a $250 million institutional fund that closed on June 1, 2026, marking the transition from Schroepfer's family office to institutional capital.
The firm's proprietary approach combines three layers: technical de-risking (separating real physics from untested market assumptions via a 'Go-to-Discovery' and 'Stop Energy' framework), commercial validation (helping founders identify budget owners, adoption requirements, and proof-of-performance before product-market fit), and capital strategy (navigating venture equity, project finance, and non-dilutive capital). Partners provide hands-on board support extending from first check through scaled deployment, including help with senior hires (first VP of Manufacturing, Head of Regulatory, plant manager). The revenue model combines traditional VC management fees on Fund I AUM with future carried interest on exits; the firm is supported by a syndicate of co-investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Founders Fund, Accel, Lowercarbon Capital, and 2150. The team of 11 includes veterans of Meta, Mozilla, Greylock, Prelude Ventures, Breakthrough Energy, Airbnb, Samsara, and Google, with John Lilly (former Mozilla CEO, Greylock GP) joining as Advising Partner in April 2026.
Gigascale Capital firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Gigascale Capital
- Legal name
- Gigascale Capital
- Website
- https://gigascale.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Gigascale Capital is a Palo Alto venture capital firm founded in 2023 that backs early-stage deep tech companies rebuilding the physical economy for climate impact. Its $250M Fund I supports pre-seed to Series A founders across energy, manufacturing, grid, fusion, and physical AI.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Gigascale Capital industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital / Climate Tech Investing
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282), Investors, Nec (6799)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
Keywords
Where Gigascale Capital is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Palo Alto
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Gigascale Capital business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Management Fees on Fund I AUM: Gigascale earns recurring management fees on the $250 million Fund I AUM, charged annually against committed capital during the investment period and against invested capital thereafter (standard VC fee structure not explicitly disclosed but implied by 'first institutional fund' language).
- Carried Interest on Fund Returns: The firm will earn carried interest (carried interest percentage not publicly disclosed) on profits from Fund I investments, with the firm planning to support portfolio companies 'from first check through scaled deployment' across the 10+ year fund lifecycle.
- Family Office Capital Deployment: Prior to Fund I, the firm was originally launched in 2023 through Mike Schroepfer's family office, deploying personal capital into more than 25 companies before raising institutional capital. The family office operations transitioned into the institutional fund structure.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Gigascale Capital product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Gigascale Capital is a venture capital firm that invests early-stage capital (pre-seed through Series A) in deep tech and climate technology startups rebuilding the physical economy — energy, factories, supply chains, and infrastructure. The firm deploys Fund I ($250 million) and provides hands-on operating support across technical due diligence, go-to-discovery, capital strategy (venture, project finance, non-dilutive), and executive hiring for portfolio founders.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Gigascale Capital Fund I
Companies that use Gigascale Capital
Customer profileNamed customers27 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Gigascale Capital technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Gigascale Capital partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered senior advisor / partner, industry coalition partner, major customer of portfolio companies, major customer of portfolio company, government customer of portfolio company and academic / talent sourcing partner.
- John Lillysenior advisor / partnerFormer Mozilla CEO and Greylock General Partner (12 years) joined Gigascale Capital as Advising Partner (April 2026) to provide veteran operating and investment experience to portfolio companies. Led investments in Instagram, Dropbox, and Figma at Greylock. Advises portfolio companies on scaling operations, senior hiring, and go-to-market strategy. Currently serves on boards of Figma, Duolingo, and Nuro.
- Tech Giants Clean Energy Coalitionindustry coalition partnerGigascale portfolio companies participate in the tech-giants-backed Clean Energy Coalition launched September 2025 to fund 'next Microsofts' in clean energy.
- Microsoftmajor customer of portfolio companiesMicrosoft signed a major offtake deal with Gigascale portfolio company Arbor Energy in September 2024 — contract to remove 25,000 tons of CO2 starting 2027 while generating enough clean energy to power 4,000 homes annually. Gigascale's Aaron Bernstein is former Meta partnerships lead with relationships across hyperscalers.
- L'Oréalmajor customer of portfolio companyL'Oréal signed multi-year offtake partnership with Gigascale portfolio company Dioxycle to turn captured carbon emissions into ethylene (the building block of plastic packaging).
- Googlemajor customer of portfolio companyGoogle signed a $1B battery supply deal with Gigascale portfolio company Form Energy for a massive 100-hour battery project at a Minnesota data center (February 2026). Google is also a Terradot partner.
- Amazon / Whole Foodsmajor customer of portfolio companyAmazon and Whole Foods signed major deal with Gigascale portfolio company Mill to deploy food recycling systems into commercial kitchens nationwide (December 2025).
- U.S. Air Forcegovernment customer of portfolio companyU.S. Air Force selected Gigascale portfolio company Radiant for first on-base nuclear microreactors by 2028 (April 2026 Power Magazine coverage).
- Stanford University (mentioned network relationships)academic / talent sourcing partnerMultiple team members (Mike Schroepfer, Victoria Beasley, John Lilly, Haley Prout) are Stanford alumni. Philipp Hoffmann scouts across universities including Stanford for talent. John Lilly is a Lecturer at Stanford GSB. Terradot founders Scott Fendorf (Stanford Earth System Sciences) and Sasankh Munukutla (Stanford) maintain research collaboration.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Gigascale Capital competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lowercarbon Capital: Climate tech VC led by Chris Sacca focused on early-stage climate investments. Co-leads rounds with Gigascale (Arbor Energy, Panthalassa). Comparable stage, sector focus, and check sizes in the climate tech seed/Series A market.
- Lux Capital: Early-stage deep tech VC with portfolio spanning energy, AI hardware, robotics, and biotech. Comparable in thesis of backing science-driven founders at pre-seed to Series A, with similar focus on frontier technologies.
- 2150: European-based climate tech VC with portfolio across built environment and decarbonization. Co-leads climate rounds with Gigascale (Cocoon Carbon). Comparable stage, sector focus, and recurring co-investment pattern.
- Energy Impact Partners: VC/PE firm focused on energy transition with utility LP base. Co-invests with Gigascale across energy infrastructure portfolio (Heron Power). Comparable in targeting energy startups but with deeper utility distribution advantage.
- DCVC (Data Collective): Deep tech VC with $2B+ AUM investing in early-stage companies using hard science to solve big problems across energy, computing, materials, and life sciences. Comparable in deep tech focus and partner operating backgrounds; Haley Prout worked at DCVC before Gigascale.
- Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Bill Gates-backed climate tech VC with $2B+ AUM across multiple funds. Directly comparable to Gigascale in sector focus (climate/clean energy early-stage) and LP profile; Aaron Bernstein led partnerships at Breakthrough before joining Gigascale. Both target pre-seed to Series A hard tech founders.
- Voyager Ventures: Early-stage climate tech VC focused on energy, mobility, and carbon removal. Co-led Arbor Energy Series A with Gigascale. Comparable stage, sector focus, and climate mandate in the early-stage market.
- Prelude Ventures: $1.5B AUM early-stage climate tech fund. Most directly comparable given Victoria Beasley was a GP at Prelude before co-founding Gigascale, with overlapping investment thesis (energy, mobility, food/ag, carbon, materials) and LP profile.
- Capricorn Investment Group: Impact-focused investment firm with Technology Impact Fund targeting breakthrough energy and climate technologies. Led Heron Power Series A with Gigascale participation. Comparable in targeting deep tech climate companies with impact mandate.
Broad incumbents
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z American Dynamism): Multi-billion AUM venture firm with American Dynamism sub-fund targeting deep tech, defense, manufacturing, and energy. Co-leads rounds with Gigascale (Heron Power). Comparable in targeting hard tech founders but much broader portfolio and far larger fund size.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Competitive moat6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Gigascale Capital social profiles
Digital presenceGigascale Capital financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Gigascale Capital leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Gigascale Capital funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Gigascale Capital M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments39 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Gigascale Capital
What does Gigascale Capital do?
Gigascale Capital is a venture capital firm that invests early-stage capital (pre-seed through Series A) in deep tech and climate technology startups rebuilding the physical economy — energy, factories, supply chains, and infrastructure. The firm deploys Fund I ($250 million) and provides hands-on operating support across technical due diligence, go-to-discovery, capital strategy (venture, project finance, non-dilutive), and executive hiring for portfolio founders.
Is Gigascale Capital a public or private company?
Gigascale Capital is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Gigascale Capital founded?
Gigascale Capital was founded in 2023. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Gigascale Capital based?
Gigascale Capital is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States, in the North America region.
How does Gigascale Capital make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Management Fees on Fund I AUM is the primary driver. The others are carried Interest on Fund Returns and family Office Capital Deployment.
Who are Gigascale Capital's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lowercarbon Capital, Lux Capital, 2150, Energy Impact Partners, DCVC (Data Collective), Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Voyager Ventures, Prelude Ventures and Capricorn Investment Group. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z American Dynamism) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Gigascale Capital have an API?
No public API is recorded for Gigascale Capital.
What industry is Gigascale Capital in?
Gigascale Capital's product category is Venture Capital / Climate Tech Investing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists), with a secondary code of FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B). Its NAICS code is 52394 and its SIC code is 6282.