One Small Planet

What One Small Planet does

One Small Planet is a Boulder, Colorado-based impact investment and philanthropic organization that operates a venture fund (Fire) and philanthropic practice (Water) under the umbrella of the Peterffy Foundation, the family foundation established by Thomas Peterffy. The organization deploys patient capital across two complementary vehicles: a venture fund backing early-stage companies developing life-affirming technologies, and a philanthropic program investing in indigenous leaders and frontline communities working on ecological health across Brazil, Colombia, DRC, Indonesia, and Peru. Will Peterffy, son of the founder, has led the organization full-time since 2020, when he committed to building One Small Planet around a biocentric investment thesis that prioritizes impact on living systems over financial returns.

The organization is structurally organized around four operational pillars modeled on natural elements: Earth (direct land stewardship including 2,500 acres of primary rainforest in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula and 2,740 acres of cropland being restored to native grassland in Western Kansas, operated in partnership with The Provenance Company and the Savory Institute); Water (philanthropic grantmaking to indigenous and frontline communities through a Flow Funding model); Fire (the venture fund with nine disclosed portfolio companies spanning regenerative agriculture, biomaterials, ecosystem restoration, and climate technology); and Air (publications, communications, and community building). Fire Fund portfolio companies include ReSeed, Dendra Systems, Cerulean Ventures, Mad Capital, Regen Network, Cruz Foam, Simplifyber, and Miraterra, with Cruz Foam having been recognized in TIME's Best Inventions of 2023. A core team of seven operates the combined organization, with partnerships extending reach in both stewardship and deal deployment.

As a vehicle of the Peterffy Foundation rather than an independent operating business, One Small Planet does not generate market revenue in the conventional sense. Its economic model rests on patient family capital combined with ecosystem returns: venture investments target financial appreciation alongside ecological outcomes, while the philanthropic stream functions as grant capital without expectation of repayment. Recent disclosed investment activity includes participation in AquaPoro Technologies' $5 million seed round (June 2026) and Magdalena Biosciences' preclinical funding round (March 2026), alongside ongoing portfolio activity such as ReSeed's $4.6 million fundraise and Simplifyber's $12 million Series A. The go-to-market model for the venture side is direct deal sourcing and co-investment relationships with peer climate investors including Breakout Ventures, At One Ventures, Suzano Ventures, Techstars, and Plug and Play, while the philanthropic side reaches indigenous and frontline partners through trust-based networks built over years by the team and external advisors including former UN and Rainforest Foundation Norway leadership.

Name

One Small Planet

Website

https://onesmallplanet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

One Small Planet is a Boulder-based vital capital group operating a venture fund (Fire) and philanthropic practice (Water) under the Peterffy Foundation, backing early-stage climate technology companies and indigenous-led conservation initiatives across five countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Investing & Venture Philanthropy

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Support Activities for Crop Production (11511)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Resource Efficiency Funds (Water, Waste, Recycling, Efficiency) (FSANAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable Real Assets (Green Real Estate, Land, Forestry) Funds (FSANAJAD), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Grassland/Rangeland Management & Restoration (EUABABAF), Ecosystem Services & Natural Capital Programs (Water, Biodiversity Credits, PES) (IMAMAJAK), Climate Finance, Carbon Markets & MRV Systems (BPADALAB)

Keywords

• Impact investing
• Venture philanthropy
• Land stewardship
• Regenerative capital
• Climate venture fund

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture Fund Returns: One Small Planet's Fire Fund generates returns through equity investments in early-stage companies working on life-affirming technologies and sustainable solutions. The fund operates with a biocentric mindset, weighing impact on life first and return on capital second.
2. Philanthropic Grantmaking: The organization operates as part of the Peterffy Foundation, distributing philanthropic capital to indigenous leaders and frontline communities working on ecological health. Founded in 2015 as part of the Peterffy Foundation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

One Small Planet is a Vital Capital Group that operates through four integrated pillars: Earth (direct land stewardship including 2,500 acres of primary rainforest in Costa Rica and 2,740 acres of cropland being restored to native grassland in Kansas), Water (philanthropic grantmaking to indigenous and frontline communities via a Flow Funding model), Fire (a venture fund backing early-stage companies developing life-affirming technologies), and Air (communications, publications, and community building). The organization invests with a biocentric mindset, weighing impact on life first and return on capital second.

Product overview

One Small Planet is a vital capital organization (venture fund and philanthropy) structured around four elements: Earth (Land Stewardship), Water (Philanthropy), Fire (Venture Fund), and Air (Connect/Publications). The organization is not a product company; it operates as a regenerative capital firm that combines land stewardship, impact investing in climate technology startups, and philanthropic giving to indigenous and frontline communities. The four pillars function as integrated programs—the Fire venture fund backs life-affirming technologies, Water philanthropy supports healing and reparations, Earth manages direct land conservation and restoration, and Air handles communication and community building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fire Fund: Venture Fund that utilizes accumulated capital to bring about life affirming tools and technologies. Invests with a biocentric mindset weighing impact on life first, and return on capital second.

Products and services

• Earth - Land Stewardship Direct land stewardship program protecting healthy ecosystems and revitalizing depleted ones through biomimicry principles. Includes rainforest conservation of 2,500 acres in Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica and regenerative rewilding of 2,740 acres of native grassland in Western Kansas. Managed in partnership with The Provenance Company.
• Water - Philanthropy Philanthropic program focused on healing and reparations between people and land. Emphasizes trust, relationships, listening, empowerment, and collaboration with indigenous and frontline communities. Distributes capital through a Flow Funding model across Brazil, Colombia, DRC, Indonesia, and Peru via the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative.
• Fire - Venture Fund Venture fund that invests in early-stage companies developing life-affirming tools and technologies with a biocentric mindset. Portfolio includes ReSeed, Dendra Systems, Cerulean Ventures, Mad Capital, Regen Network, At One Ventures, Cruz Foam, Simplifyber, and Miraterra. Manages deal sourcing, analysis, portfolio management, and investment committee.
• Air - Connect Communications and outreach program focused on shaping public discourse and building community through writing, speaking, and multimedia. Publishes blog posts, news articles, philanthropic fund annual reports, regenerative visions publications, and multimedia content in partnership with Cosmogenesis Media.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,500 acres of primary rainforest under active stewardship in Costa Rica
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Peterffy FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne Small Planet Philanthropic Fund was founded in 2015 as part of the Peterffy Foundation, established by Thomas Peterffy. The foundation comprises three complementary funding portfolios including Living Forest Project, Reweaving the Web, and One Small Planet funds.
• The Provenance CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLand stewardship partner managing Wallace, Kansas grassland restoration project. Led by Julie Mettenburg, a 6th-generation Kansas farmer and Master Field Professional with Savory Institute.
• Savory InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner through The Provenance Company, which is a Savory Institute accredited Hub (Tallgrass Network), influencing over 10,000 acres in the Midwest.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Congruent Ventures: Early-stage impact venture firm focused on sustainability and equitable access, backing tech-enabled solutions in climate, food, and resource sectors. Directly comparable as an impact-first climate VC with similar thesis overlap.
• Better Ventures: Backs early-stage founders solving the world's biggest challenges including climate, health, and food, with explicit impact-first orientation. Closely comparable as a small, mission-aligned climate and impact VC.
• Powerplant Ventures: Early-stage venture fund investing in plant-based and regenerative agriculture, food tech, and climate-aligned consumer brands. Comparable thesis on life-affirming technologies across food and regenerative systems.
• Lowercarbon Capital: Venture fund investing in climate solutions across energy, food, industry, and nature, with a thesis on radically reducing atmospheric CO2. Comparable impact-driven early-stage investing approach targeting planetary health outcomes.
• Nia Tero: Foundation supporting indigenous peoples and local communities as primary stewards of intact ecosystems, with programs in the Amazon and other critical biomes. Closest analogue to One Small Planet's Water pillar working with indigenous-led conservation organizations.
• At One Ventures: Early-stage venture fund backing climate-critical and planetary-health technologies, frequently co-investing with One Small Planet in portfolio companies like Simplifyber. Closely aligned thesis around life-affirming technology investments.
• Prelude Ventures: Early-stage sustainability venture firm investing in breakthrough solutions in energy, transportation, food, and natural resources. Comparable as a sustainability-focused early-stage VC with overlapping thematic coverage.

Broad incumbents

• The Nature Conservancy: Largest global environmental nonprofit with major land stewardship operations and significant climate finance vehicles. Comparable as a major conservation land steward and grantmaker, though vastly larger and more established than One Small Planet's Earth and Water pillars.
• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Multi-billion-dollar climate investment fund backed by Bill Gates and partners, investing across the full climate mitigation spectrum. Represents the institutional incumbent that One Small Planet's Fire Fund themes orient toward but cannot match in scale.

Emerging players

• Cerulean Ventures: Early-stage climate-focused venture firm that is itself a One Small Planet portfolio company (co-investor posture). Demonstrates the firm's strategy of participating in dedicated climate VC managers and offers directional overlap in deal flow.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/we-are-one-small-planet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments18 records

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

Frequently asked questions about One Small Planet