Meliorate Partners

What Meliorate Partners does

Meliorate Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2014 by Brock Mansfield and headquartered in Mercer Island, United States. The firm invests at the pre-seed to founder stage in climate technology entrepreneurs who are reimagining aspects of daily life across sectors including energy, materials, built environment, nature and biodiversity, waste to value, maritime decarbonization, and digitization and enabling technologies. The firm's investment thesis follows a "replace, transition, mitigate" framework: backing solutions that replace harmful materials and processes where possible, facilitate the transition to sustainable systems where necessary, and mitigate consequences of past decisions when the first two are not viable. Notable portfolio companies include Simplifyber (paper-based shoe materials), Algenesis (algae-based polyurethane), BlueNalu (cell-cultured seafood), Hilos (3D-printed footwear), Itselectric (curbside EV charging), Tidal Vision (chitosan-based materials), and Everbloom.

The firm operates multiple investment vehicles, including the Meliorate Fund, Salmon Innovation Fund, Blue Innovation Fund, and EnVest, with Meliorate Fund III having reached first close. EnVest functions as a subsidiary investment management and advisory entity led by Managing Director Kelci Zile. Revenue is generated through conventional VC mechanisms—management fees on committed capital and carried interest on portfolio exits—with returns realized through IPOs, acquisitions, or secondary transactions. Deal sourcing is relationship-driven, leveraging the Stanford climate tech ecosystem, founder referrals, and co-investment relationships with established climate and impact VCs such as S2G Ventures, Trucks VC, At One Ventures, and Better Ventures.

The firm's go-to-market is founder-focused and sales-led in the origination sense: the team proactively identifies and supports pre-seed entrepreneurs with hands-on partnership beyond capital. The firm does not produce technology products, does not disclose pricing or fee structures publicly, and distributes its offering through direct outreach, network referrals, and co-investment syndication. As of the available data, the firm employs 11–50 people, and its portfolio includes 20 or more named climate tech companies spanning seed through Series B stages.

Name

Meliorate Partners

Legal name

Meliorate Partners

Website

https://meliorate.earth

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Meliorate Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2014 that invests at the pre-seed to founder stage in climate technology startups across energy, materials, built environment, nature, waste, maritime, and digitization verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital Fund Management

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate / Clean Tech & Decarbonization Funds (FSANAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water & Waste / Circular Economy Funds (FSANAJAF), Environmental & Resource Efficiency Funds (Water, Waste, Recycling, Efficiency) (FSANAEAE)

Keywords

• Climate tech venture capital
• Pre-seed investment funds
• Early-stage climate funding
• Sustainability startup investing
• Venture capital fund management

Headquarters

HQ city

Mercer Island

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: Meliorate Partners generates returns through traditional VC mechanisms including management fees on committed capital and carried interest (performance fees) on successful portfolio exits. The firm operates multiple funds including Fund III, with returns realized through portfolio company liquidity events such as IPOs, acquisitions, or secondary transactions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Meliorate Partners manages multiple venture capital funds (including Meliorate Fund III, Salmon Innovation Fund, Blue Innovation Fund, and EnVest) that invest pre-seed to seed capital into climate tech entrepreneurs building solutions across energy, materials, built environment, nature and biodiversity, waste to value, maritime decarbonization, and digitization and enabling technologies. The firm provides capital plus hands-on founder support and network access, targeting startups reimagining daily life through sustainable alternatives.

Product overview

Meliorate Partners is a venture capital firm operating as a single unified investment platform rather than a product-plus-modules architecture. The firm manages investment funds (including Meliorate Fund III) and provides venture backing to pre-seed entrepreneurs across climate and sustainability sectors. EnVest serves as a subsidiary investment management entity. The portfolio spans multiple focus areas: Energy, Materials, Built Environment, Nature & Biodiversity, Waste to Value, Maritime Decarbonization, and Digitization & Enabling Technologies. Rather than offering software products, the firm's core offering is capital deployment, strategic support, and network access to climate tech founders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Meliorate Fund III The firm's third venture capital fund focused on early-stage climate tech investments, with first close completed. The fund continues the firm's strategy of backing pre-seed to seed entrepreneurs reimagining daily life across sustainability sectors including energy, materials, built environment, nature and biodiversity, waste to value, maritime decarbonization, and digitization and enabling technologies.
• Salmon Innovation Fund One of the venture funds managed by Meliorate Partners, part of the firm's multi-fund climate tech investment platform.
• Blue Innovation Fund One of the venture funds managed by Meliorate Partners, part of the firm's multi-fund climate tech investment platform.
• EnVest A subsidiary entity under Meliorate Partners providing investment management and advisory services, led by Managing Director Kelci Zile and Head of Operations and Programs Jackie Moe.

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Steve MaddencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHilos, a Meliorate portfolio company, announced an $8M partnership with Steve Madden at TechCrunch Disrupt, demonstrating fashion industry validation of the 3D printed shoe technology platform.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Climate Capital: Early-stage venture firm investing in climate tech founders across multiple sectors. Comparable as a dedicated, founder-focused climate VC at a similar stage.
• DCVC: Deep tech venture firm with a substantial climate and sustainability investment practice. Comparable as an early-stage investor in science- and engineering-driven climate solutions.
• Voyager Ventures: Early-stage venture fund backing climate tech founders across energy, mobility, buildings, and industry. Comparable stage, geography, and thesis.
• Collaborative Fund: Mission-driven venture firm investing in early-stage companies tackling climate, food, health, and other areas. Comparable thesis, stage focus, and a documented co-investment partner of Meliorate.
• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Venture fund backed by Bill Gates investing in early-stage climate tech companies across multiple verticals. Comparable as a dedicated climate investor with a larger fund size and similar thesis.
• At One Ventures: Early-stage climate VC focused on deep tech and nature-based solutions. Comparable stage focus and a documented co-investment partner in Simplifyber.
• S2G Ventures: Early- to growth-stage investor focused on climate, food, and oceans. Comparable as a thematic climate VC and a documented co-investor alongside Meliorate in Matter.
• Prime Movers Lab: Early-stage investor focused on breakthrough scientific climate and deep-tech ventures. Comparable as a pre-seed/seed backer of climate and enabling-technology founders.
• Lowercarbon Capital: Climate-focused early- and growth-stage venture firm investing across decarbonization, energy, and climate tech. Highly comparable as a dedicated climate VC targeting similar founder-stage opportunities.

Broad incumbents

• Khosla Ventures: Large multi-stage VC with a deep climate and clean-tech practice dating to the mid-2000s. Comparable as a broader incumbent with significant climate tech exposure and much larger fund vehicles.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/100962161

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

Investments34 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Meliorate Partners