What Leap Forward Ventures does

Leap Forward Ventures (LFV) is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2022 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm invests in seed and early-stage startups making real-world systems more intelligent, adaptable, and cleaner, with primary focus areas in climate technology, clean energy, EV infrastructure, and industrial transformation. Its declared customer segment is early-stage climate tech and clean energy founders building companies that address energy use, industry and manufacturing reinvention, and climate impacts.

LFV is led by Managing Partner David Rusenko, founder and former CEO of Weebly (acquired by Square for $365M), with Jessica Alter (two-time founder; ex-Figma and Bebo executive) serving as Venture Partner. The firm operates with a small team of 1-10 employees, supplemented by two advisors: Michael Wara, Director of Stanford's Climate and Energy Policy Program, and Andrew Krause, CEO of Northern Pacific Power. Rusenko additionally holds a board seat at the Building Decarb Coalition and an advisor role at Climate Changemakers, embedding the firm in building-decarbonization and climate-advocacy ecosystems.

The firm's commercial model is that of an emerging venture capital manager: it raises capital from limited partners, deploys that capital into portfolio companies (26 disclosed to date, including Stand, Copper, Anode, Ezra, Plug, Helios, Phoenix Hydrogen, Recurve, and EcoCart), and earns revenue through management fees and, over the long term, carried interest on successful exits. LFV sources deals via inbound founder outreach ([email protected]), founder networks, and syndication with tier-1 co-investors including Lightspeed, Congruent Ventures, Glilot Capital, Grove Ventures, Arc Ventures, Encoded Ventures, Aurora Capital Partners, Galvanize, Autotech Ventures, Renn Global, Planeteer, Wireframe, KDX, and Stepchange. Notable recent co-investments include Niv-AI ($12M seed, March 2026), Ezra ($8M seed, March 2026), and Plug ($20M Series A, February 2026). AUM, fund size, revenue, and LP composition are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Leap Forward Ventures

Legal name

Leap Forward Ventures

Website

https://leapforward.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Leap Forward Ventures is a San Francisco-based, early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2022 that invests in seed and Series A climate tech, clean energy, and EV infrastructure startups, operating a 26-company portfolio under Managing Partner David Rusenko.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Climate Tech Investment

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA), Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Climate tech funding
• Early-stage startups
• Seed financing
• Clean energy ventures

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Leap Forward Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in startups making real-world systems more intelligent, adaptable, and cleaner. The firm deploys seed and Series A capital into climate tech, clean energy, EV infrastructure, AI-for-finance, and industrial electrification startups, and provides strategic support to founding teams. As an investor rather than an operator of its own products, the firm monetizes primarily through equity ownership in 26 portfolio companies.

Product overview

Leap Forward Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in startups making real-world systems more intelligent, adaptable, and cleaner. The firm focuses on climate technology, energy transition, and industrial electrification. Their investment approach targets founders transforming the physical world through technology solutions addressing energy use, industry reinvention, and climate impacts. As an investor rather than a product company, Leap Forward Ventures does not offer its own software products or services; its portfolio consists of equity investments in external startups across sectors including EV marketplaces, battery technology, AI infrastructure for finance, insurance, and various climate tech solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early-stage venture capital investments in climate tech startups

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Building Decarb CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDavid Rusenko, Managing Partner, serves on the board of the Building Decarb Coalition, a strategic partnership supporting building decarbonization initiatives.
• Climate ChangemakersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDavid Rusenko serves as an advisor to Climate Changemakers, supporting climate-focused advocacy and initiatives.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Energy Impact Partners (EIP): Large-scale climate and energy venture and growth fund with utility LP base. Comparable in climate sector focus but operates at substantially larger AUM and later stages than Leap Forward.
• Khosla Ventures: Large venture firm with a dedicated climate tech practice investing across stages. Has overlapping climate exposure but is a broad incumbent versus Leap Forward's climate-only specialist profile.

Direct peers

• Lowercarbon Capital: Venture capital firm investing across climate tech, including energy, transportation, and carbon removal. Lowercarbon's seed-stage focus and climate-only thesis make it a directly comparable peer.
• Voyager Ventures: Seed-stage venture fund focused on climate tech, mobility, and decarbonization. Direct peer in climate-focused early-stage venture investing.
• Clean Energy Ventures: Early-stage climate tech VC investing in decarbonization startups across energy, mobility, and industry. Similar stage focus and vertical climate thesis to Leap Forward.
• Congruent Ventures: Early-stage venture capital firm focused on climate tech, energy, and sustainability. Congruent led Ezra's $8M seed round alongside Leap Forward, making it a directly comparable sector-focused early-stage climate VC.
• Powerhouse Ventures: Venture firm focused on solar, clean energy, and climate tech at seed and Series A. Operates a founder-focused model similar in ethos to Leap Forward's supportive-investor positioning.
• Prelude Ventures: Early-stage venture capital firm exclusively focused on climate tech and clean energy startups. Prelude is one of the most established seed/Series A climate specialists with a similar investment stage and sector focus to Leap Forward.
• Planeteer Capital: Early-stage venture capital firm focused on climate tech and sustainability startups. Co-invested with Leap Forward in Ezra's seed round and shares the seed-stage climate focus.
• Stormbreaker Ventures: Early-stage climate tech venture capital firm investing in startups tackling energy, transportation, and industrial decarbonization. Closely comparable in stage and sector.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments40 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Leap Forward Ventures