Prelude Ventures
Prelude Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2013 that invests exclusively in early-stage climate technology startups across energy, mobility, built environment, carbon management, compute, food and agriculture, and manufacturing sectors, currently holding 50+ portfolio companies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Prelude Ventures does
Prelude Ventures is a privately held, San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2013 that invests exclusively in early-stage startups with technologies positioned to mitigate climate change. The firm invests across seven verticals — Built Environment, Carbon Management, Compute, Food & Agriculture, Energy, Manufacturing & Industrials, and Mobility — and currently holds a portfolio of more than 50 companies. Recent lead investments span stellarator fusion (Thea Energy, $100M Series B), home battery and AI virtual power plant software (Lunar Energy, $102M Series D co-lead), green steel (Boston Metal, Series C participation), thermochemical storage (Redoxblox, $40.7M Series A lead), carbon dioxide removal via organic waste injection (Vaulted Deep, $32.3M Series A lead), battery-equipped induction ranges (Copper, $28M Series A lead), heat pump installation software (Zero Homes, $16.8M Series A lead), and AI-enabled carbon accounting SaaS (Persefoni, Series C participation).
The firm is led by co-founders Gabriel Kra and the broader partner group (Managing Directors Mark Cupta and Tim Woodward, Partner Matt Eggers, Principals Katie Clasen and Carly Anderson, Senior Associate Edward Yang) and operates from One Ferry Building in San Francisco. The team's combined credentials include MS/PhD-level scientific training (atmospheric chemistry, chemical and biomolecular engineering) and operating experience at Tesla, Sunrun, Bloom Energy, Royal Dutch Shell, Sila Nanotechnologies, Bain & Company, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which the firm positions as a core sourcing and diligence advantage. Prelude does not develop proprietary technology; its 'product' is investment capital and post-investment support (governance, recruiting, business development) delivered to portfolio companies through direct equity investments sourced via founder referrals, industry networks, and direct outreach.
Prelude's revenue mechanics follow the standard venture capital model: it raises capital from limited partners into fund vehicles, deploys that capital into portfolio companies, and seeks returns through exits (acquisitions, IPOs, secondary sales). The firm charges typical VC management fees on committed or invested capital and earns carried interest on fund profits; revenue figures, fund size, and AUM are not publicly disclosed. As a pure-play climate investor since 2013, Prelude operates in a differentiated segment of the VC market where thematic specialization, technical depth, and relationships with strategic co-investors (Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Khosla Ventures, B Capital, Activate Capital, Tata Steel, TPG Rise, Imperative Ventures) determine deal access.
Prelude Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Prelude Ventures
- Legal name
- Prelude Ventures LLC
- Website
- https://preludeventures.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Prelude Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2013 that invests exclusively in early-stage climate technology startups across energy, mobility, built environment, carbon management, compute, food and agriculture, and manufacturing sectors, currently holding 50+ portfolio companies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Prelude Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital — Climate Tech Investment
- NAICS
- Miscellaneous Intermediation (52391)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Late-Stage Venture Capital (Series C+) (FSANAAAC)
Keywords
Where Prelude Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Prelude Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Venture Capital Returns: Prelude Ventures generates returns through equity investments in early-stage climate technology companies. The firm invests capital from its fund limited partners (LPs) into portfolio companies and seeks to generate returns through exits via acquisitions, IPOs, or secondary sales.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Prelude Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Prelude Ventures is a climate-focused venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups developing technologies with climate change mitigation potential. The firm operates long-duration (15–20 year) funds and supports portfolio companies through an active operating-partner model spanning technical assistance, customer introductions, fundraising help, hiring, and PR.
Product overview
Prelude Ventures is a climate-focused venture capital firm that invests in and supports early-stage startups with the greatest potential to mitigate climate change. The firm does not offer a product platform; rather, it provides investment capital and strategic support to portfolio companies across sectors including Built Environment, Carbon Management, Compute, Food & Agriculture, Energy, Manufacturing & Industrials, and Mobility. Prelude Ventures operates a job board (jobs.preludeventures.com) powered by Getro Inc. to connect talent with portfolio companies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Climate venture capital investment program
Companies that use Prelude Ventures
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Prelude Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Prelude Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Prelude Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Energy Impact Partners: Climate- and energy-focused venture and growth firm investing across the energy transition stack. Highly comparable in mandate to Prelude, with a similarly broad sector lens including grid, mobility, and built environment.
- Lowercarbon Capital: Climate-tech venture firm investing across carbon removal, energy, and decarbonization. Direct peer in climate-only thesis investing with comparable early-stage check sizes.
- Khosla Ventures: Large venture firm with a significant climate-tech practice. Co-invested with Prelude in Redoxblox and competes for many of the same early-stage energy and climate deals.
- Climate Capital: Climate-focused venture firm investing across climate solutions including energy, mobility, food/agriculture, and industry. Strong mandate overlap with Prelude's sector coverage.
- Prime Movers Lab: Early-stage venture firm focused on breakthrough scientific deep-tech including fusion, advanced energy, and industrial decarbonization — directly comparable to Prelude's deep-climate bets (Thea Energy, Boston Metal).
- Congruent Ventures: Early-stage climate-tech venture firm investing across energy, mobility, built environment, and carbon management — overlapping Prelude's seven-sector thesis and check-size profile.
- Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Bill Gates–backed climate-focused venture firm investing across the same deep-climate categories as Prelude, including energy, industrial decarbonization, and carbon management. Direct co-investor with Prelude on Redoxblox and Boston Metal.
- Clean Energy Ventures: Pre-seed and seed climate-tech venture firm. Comparable mandate at the earlier stage of the funnel, often co-investing in the same climate categories.
Broad incumbents
- DCVC (Data Collective): Deep-tech venture firm investing in computationally driven science and engineering companies, with material overlap in climate-relevant deep tech such as materials, energy, and compute infrastructure.
- Obvious Ventures: Broad-impact venture firm with a strong climate/sustainability practice across food, energy, and mobility. Comparable mission-driven lens but with a wider portfolio and larger fund size than Prelude.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Prelude Ventures social profiles
Digital presencePrelude Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Prelude Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Prelude Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Prelude Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments180 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Prelude Ventures
What does Prelude Ventures do?
Prelude Ventures is a climate-focused venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups developing technologies with climate change mitigation potential. The firm operates long-duration (15–20 year) funds and supports portfolio companies through an active operating-partner model spanning technical assistance, customer introductions, fundraising help, hiring, and PR.
Is Prelude Ventures a public or private company?
Prelude Ventures is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Prelude Ventures founded?
Prelude Ventures was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Prelude Ventures based?
Prelude Ventures is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Prelude Ventures make money?
One revenue line is on record: venture Capital Returns.
Who are Prelude Ventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Energy Impact Partners, Lowercarbon Capital, Khosla Ventures, Climate Capital, Prime Movers Lab, Congruent Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Clean Energy Ventures. Broad incumbents are DCVC (Data Collective) and Obvious Ventures.
Does Prelude Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Prelude Ventures.
What industry is Prelude Ventures in?
Prelude Ventures's product category is Venture Capital — Climate Tech Investment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B), with a secondary code of FSANAAAC, Late-Stage Venture Capital (Series C+). Its NAICS code is 52391 and its SIC code is 6282.