What Beyond Impact does

Beyond Impact is a privately-held Article 9 SFDR impact venture capital platform founded in 2017 by Claire Smith and headquartered in Luxembourg (entity) / Montreux (corporate) under a SICAV-RAIF umbrella structure. The firm manages two venture funds and rolling co-investment vehicles deploying seed-to-Series A capital into 23+ portfolio companies developing vegan, cruelty-free biosolutions in four sectors: Advanced Nutrition ($1.9T TAM), Ingredients ($200B+ TAM), Life Sciences ($500B TAM), and Materials ($1.5T TAM), spanning precision fermentation, cellular agriculture, molecular farming, algae/fungi platforms, and oleogel technology. The investment thesis is anchored on structural collapse of legacy animal supply chains (H5N1-driven culling of 168M+ US birds, 25% to 3% decline in marine aquafeed ingredients, 275% egg price surge, 6% YoY dairy herd contraction), with portfolio underwriting against a proprietary triple-pillar impact tracking framework covering Biodiversity, Climate, and Health & Wellbeing. Fund I delivered a 2.3x TVPI by January 2024, and combined AUM across VC funds, co-investments, and the Beyond Investing sister-entity US ETF is approximately $160-191M. The platform is operated by a lean team of 1-10 employees with 80-100+ years of combined investing experience.

The business model combines three revenue streams: (1) venture capital fund management with Article 9 SFDR Article 9 fund vehicles (Fund I, Fund II) generating management fees and targeted market-rate returns via portfolio exits, (2) Advisory Services structured as Impact Investing-as-a-Service (IIaaS) for corporates, philanthropists, and international NGOs requiring bespoke impact vehicle design and structuring, and (3) public market exposure via the Beyond Investing ETF (~$133M AUM) that creates ethical and sustainable stock indexes. Distribution relies on direct enterprise outreach to qualified institutional LPs and HNW/family foundation investors globally, supplemented by strategic partnerships (UMITO Partners for the Blue Frontier Fund and Japan/APAC access; APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture for cellular agriculture deal flow) and inbound founder submissions via a dedicated portal. Beyond Impact's customer base spans institutional LPs, HNW individuals and family foundations, corporate sustainability programs, international NGOs, and ETF investors, with the firm positioned to capture both LP fee income and the upside from portfolio company M&A and IPO exits.

Name

Beyond Impact

Legal name

Beyond Impact

Website

https://beyondimpact.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Beyond Impact is a privately-held Article 9 SFDR impact venture capital platform, founded in 2017 and operating a Luxembourg SICAV-RAIF umbrella that invests seed-to-Series A in vegan, cruelty-free biosolutions across nutrition, ingredients, life sciences, and materials for institutional LPs, family offices, and corporate sustainability clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital and Impact Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Financial Vehicles (525990)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Impact / ESG Venture Capital (FSANAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG), SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN)

Keywords

• Impact venture capital
• Climate VC investing
• Bioeconomy investments
• Alternative protein funds
• Sustainable investment management

Headquarters

HQ city

Montreux

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: Beyond Impact generates returns through managing Article 9 SFDR venture capital funds (Fund I, Fund II) and co-investment vehicles, investing in seed to Series A companies across animal-free nutrition, ingredients, life sciences and materials. Returns are generated through portfolio company exits via M&A and IPO. Target is market-rate returns equivalent to mainstream VC.
2. Advisory Services (IIaaS): Beyond Impact provides Impact Investing-as-a-Service to corporates, philanthropists, and International NGOs, designing and launching bespoke impact vehicles. Revenue likely comes from management fees and carried interest structured into each mandate.
3. Public Market ETF (via Beyond Investing): Beyond Impact's sister entity Beyond Investing sponsors a US Exchange Traded Fund and creates ethical and sustainable stock indexes, generating management fee income on ETF AUM of approximately $133M.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Beyond Impact operates as an Article 9 SFDR impact venture capital platform under a Luxembourg SICAV-RAIF umbrella, deploying capital into seed-to-Series-A biosolutions across animal-free nutrition, functional ingredients, life sciences, and next-generation biomaterials. The platform comprises Beyond Impact Ventures (Fund I closed, Fund II active) plus co-investment vehicles, supported by bespoke Impact Investing-as-a-Service advisory mandates for corporates, philanthropists, and International NGOs, and a sister public-market entity (Beyond Investing) that sponsors a US ETF on ethical and sustainable stock indexes.

Product overview

Beyond Impact operates as a multi-vehicle Article 9 SFDR impact fund platform under a Luxembourg SICAV-RAIF umbrella. The core offering consists of Beyond Impact Ventures (Fund I and Fund II) investing in biosolutions across nutrition, ingredients, life sciences, and materials, supplemented by rolling Co-Investments for follow-on opportunities. The platform is supported by Advisory Services for bespoke vehicle design and the sister entity Beyond Investing for public-market exposure. Blue Frontier Fund, developed via the UMITO Partners strategic partnership, extends the platform into ocean-focused impact investing across Europe, Japan, and Asia-Pacific.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Beyond Impact Ventures: Flagship VC platform with Article 9 SFDR venture funds investing seed to Series A across animal-free nutrition, ingredients, life sciences and materials
• Beyond Impact Blue Economy
• Blue Frontier Fund (BFF)

Products and services

• Beyond Impact Ventures (Fund I and Fund II) Article 9 SFDR venture capital funds deploying LP capital into seed-to-Series-A biosolutions companies across advanced nutrition, functional ingredients, cruelty-free life sciences, and next-generation biomaterials; available to qualified institutional investors.
• Co-Investments

Quantifiable outcome

• 168M+ U.S. birds culled by H5N1 since Feb 2022, illustrating collapse of legacy supply chains
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• UMITO PartnersflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 April 2026Beyond Impact and UMITO Partners, a Japan-based ocean sustainability consulting platform, announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the blue economy across Europe, Japan, and Asia-Pacific. The partnership aims to bridge advanced European ocean technologies with Japanese and Asian implementation platforms, enabling scalable ocean innovations. At the core is the development of the Blue Frontier Fund (BFF), a cross-regional fund connecting ocean technologies with real-world implementation environments across food tech, biotechnology, ocean tech, clean tech and climate solutions. Shunji Murakami (CEO, UMITO Partners) and Claire Smith (CEO, Beyond Impact) jointly represent the partnership.
• APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture (APAC-SCA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 October 2025Beyond Impact VC partnered with APAC-SCA and Beyond Animal to promote investment in cellular agriculture and future food sectors. Peter Yu will advise Beyond Impact VC as part of this arrangement. The partnership includes a webinar series highlighting eight APAC-SCA member companies through live online events to connect them with the investment ecosystem.
• Beyond AnimalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 October 2025Beyond Animal platform (co-founded by Claire Smith) partners with Beyond Impact VC and APAC-SCA to promote investment in cellular agriculture and future food sectors across the Asia-Pacific region.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Big Idea Ventures: Alternative protein and food tech VC fund manager with multiple fund vintages backing early-stage plant-based and cellular agriculture companies. Most directly comparable to Beyond Impact given shared seed-to-Series A thesis and impact orientation.
• CPT Capital: Impact VC firm focused on plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived food technologies. Direct peer with comparable portfolio companies (including some of the same names as Beyond Impact) and similar Article 9 / sustainable mandate positioning in Europe.
• VegInvest: Plant-based and alternative protein focused investment fund (former trustee affiliation of Beyond Impact partner Jody Rasch). Closely aligned thesis on cruelty-free food systems and a similar early-stage VC mandate in the alternative protein category.
• Obvious Ventures: Purpose-driven venture firm investing across climate, health, and sustainability themes with multi-fund platform structure. Comparable as a thematic, values-aligned VC with multiple vehicles, though broader in scope than Beyond Impact's animal-free bioeconomy focus.

Broad incumbents

• Khosla Ventures: One of the largest US venture firms with material exposure to climate tech, alternative protein (including early Beyond Meat investment), and deep tech. Overlaps with Beyond Impact's alternative protein / bioeconomy thesis but operates at materially larger fund sizes and broader sector mandate.
• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Bill Gates-backed climate VC fund (>$2B AUM) investing across food, agriculture, and industrial decarbonization. Adjacent incumbent peer that overlaps in alternative protein and fermentation investments but with much larger fund capacity.
• Closed Loop Partners: Investment platform spanning venture, growth, and private equity across circular economy, food systems, and climate. Comparable multi-vehicle platform structure with both VC and PE exposure in bioeconomy themes relevant to Beyond Impact.

Emerging players

• 2150: European early-stage VC focused on urban sustainability, construction tech, and climate solutions. Comparable as a thematic European VC firm at similar fund size, but oriented to built environment rather than bioeconomy.
• Pale Blue Dot Capital: European climate VC firm backing early-stage companies across climate mitigation, food systems, and circular economy. Comparable in stage, geography, and climate thesis, though broader than Beyond Impact's animal-free focus.

Others

• NatureVest (The Nature Conservancy): Impact investment arm of The Nature Conservancy deploying capital into nature-based and biodiversity-positive ventures. Adjacent rather than directly competitive, sharing Article 9-style impact framing but operating under a non-profit umbrella.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments46 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Beyond Impact