Stepchange Ventures
Stepchange Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm (founded 2023) that invests pre-seed through Series A in software companies accelerating energy abundance and infrastructure modernization across six sectors, managing 22 portfolio companies with operator-led support.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersSan Francisco Bay Area, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Stepchange Ventures does
Stepchange Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2023 by Ben Shwab Eidelson and Anay Shah, focused on investing in ambitious companies building software to accelerate energy abundance and upgrade critical infrastructure. The firm operates a traditional VC model, deploying equity capital at the pre-seed through Series A stages across six thematic sectors: Transportation, Built Environment, Energy Transition, AI Infrastructure, Earth Intelligence, and Resilience. As of early 2026, the firm manages a portfolio of 22 companies, with disclosed investments including Ezra ($8M seed, AI-powered private credit platform), Lucend ($3.3M seed, data center AI optimization), and CapeZero ($2.6M, clean energy project finance automation).
The firm's core "product" is capital plus hands-on operational support — partners provide direct assistance in product strategy, go-to-market, hiring, and fundraising to portfolio companies. The firm is distributed across the San Francisco Bay Area (headquarters), Seattle (Eidelson), and Los Angeles (Shah), with a five-person strategic advisory bench drawn from senior product and engineering leadership at Google, Airbnb, Opendoor, Waze, Strava, and the Seattle Deputy Mayor's office. Marketing and category-defining content are delivered through The Stepchange Show (long-form infrastructure-history series) and the Climate Papa podcast and newsletter, which double as top-of-funnel brand assets.
Stepchange generates returns through equity stakes in portfolio companies, realized at exit via acquisition or IPO; the firm has secured an anchor LP relationship with Bain Capital Ventures (Aaref Hilaly) and a co-investor relationship with PSL Ventures. No fund size, AUM, management fee economics, or revenue figures are publicly disclosed. The firm has no proprietary technology product, no AI/ML models, and no API or platform offering — its value proposition is operator-grade judgment and network access, leveraging the founders' prior product leadership at Google, Stripe, Tala, and Remitly.
Stepchange Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stepchange Ventures
- Legal name
- Stepchange Ventures
- Website
- https://stepchange.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Stepchange Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm (founded 2023) that invests pre-seed through Series A in software companies accelerating energy abundance and infrastructure modernization across six sectors, managing 22 portfolio companies with operator-led support.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stepchange Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)
Keywords
Where Stepchange Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco Bay Area
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Stepchange Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Venture Capital Returns: Stepchange generates returns through equity investments in early-stage climate and infrastructure software companies. The firm takes equity stakes in portfolio companies and realizes returns through exits via acquisitions or IPOs.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Stepchange Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stepchange Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2023 that invests in ambitious companies building software to accelerate energy abundance and upgrade critical infrastructure. The firm deploys capital into pre-seed through Series A rounds across six sectors—Transportation, Built Environment, Energy Transition, AI Infrastructure, Earth Intelligence, and Resilience—and provides hands-on operational support including product strategy, go-to-market, hiring, and fundraising assistance to portfolio founders.
Product overview
Stepchange Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in ambitious companies building software to accelerate energy abundance and upgrade critical infrastructure. The firm does not offer a product platform in the traditional sense; its core offering is investment capital and operational support to climate and infrastructure technology companies. The firm manages a portfolio of 22 companies across six sectors: Transportation, Built Environment, Energy Transition, AI Infrastructure, Earth Intelligence, and Resilience. Notable portfolio companies include Lemurian Labs (AI compute infrastructure), Lucend (data center optimization), GridCARE (power grid optimization for AI), Rhizome (AI grid resilience), Ezra Climate (AI for private credit), Aarden (geospatial intelligence for land portfolios), LGND (geospatial AI models), and others.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Stepchange Show: A long-form series on the history of human progress through the lens of transformative technologies, systems, and infrastructure, co-hosted by Ben Shwab Eidelson and Anay Shah. Episodes cover topics including Coal, Data Centers, and The Grid.
Products and services
- Stepchange Ventures Early-Stage Investment Program
- The Stepchange Show
Companies that use Stepchange Ventures
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Stepchange Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Stepchange Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Stepchange Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Congruent Ventures: Early-stage VC firm investing in climate tech and sustainable infrastructure software, with a comparable sector-specialized thesis and similar check sizes at seed/Series A — the closest direct peer to Stepchange in mandate and stage.
- Energy Impact Partners: Climate-tech-focused VC investing across the energy value chain, including software for grid, buildings, and transportation. Highly comparable vertical mandate though typically writing larger checks than Stepchange.
- Clean Energy Ventures: Seed-stage climate tech fund backing founders commercializing transformative climate solutions. Similar pre-seed/seed orientation and climate-only thesis make it a direct peer in climate software investing.
- Lowercarbon Capital: Climate-focused VC backing companies that reduce CO2, founded by Chris Sacca. Comparable mission focus on climate solutions including software, with broader stage range than Stepchange.
- Climate Capital: Early-stage venture firm investing in climate solutions including software for energy and infrastructure. Operates with a similar conviction-driven thesis at comparable stages.
- DCVC (Data Collective): Deep-tech VC investing in computational, climate, and life sciences companies at seed/Series A. Overlaps significantly with Stepchange's AI Infrastructure and Earth Intelligence verticals.
- Planet A Ventures: Europe-based seed-stage climate tech fund backing software and deeptech for environmental impact. Comparable stage and thesis; serves as a regional peer in the global climate VC landscape.
Broad incumbents
- Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Bill Gates-backed climate tech fund investing across the full climate solution stack. Overlaps with Stepchange's climate software thesis but operates at significantly larger check sizes and broader scope.
- Khosla Ventures: Large multi-stage VC with one of the most active climate tech portfolios. Overlaps with Stepchange on AI Infrastructure and Energy Transition investments but at much later stages and larger checks.
Emerging players
- MCJ Collective: Climate tech investment collective with operator-investor model similar to Stepchange's positioning, though structured more as a community/angel syndicate than a traditional fund.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Stepchange Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceStepchange Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stepchange Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Stepchange Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stepchange Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments8 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stepchange Ventures
What does Stepchange Ventures do?
Stepchange Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2023 that invests in ambitious companies building software to accelerate energy abundance and upgrade critical infrastructure. The firm deploys capital into pre-seed through Series A rounds across six sectors—Transportation, Built Environment, Energy Transition, AI Infrastructure, Earth Intelligence, and Resilience—and provides hands-on operational support including product strategy, go-to-market, hiring, and fundraising assistance to portfolio founders.
Is Stepchange Ventures a public or private company?
Stepchange Ventures is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Stepchange Ventures founded?
Stepchange Ventures was founded in 2023. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Stepchange Ventures based?
Stepchange Ventures is headquartered in San Francisco Bay Area, United States, in the North America region.
How does Stepchange Ventures make money?
One revenue line is on record: venture Capital Returns.
Who are Stepchange Ventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Congruent Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Clean Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Climate Capital, DCVC (Data Collective) and Planet A Ventures. Broad incumbents are Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Khosla Ventures. MCJ Collective is listed as an emerging player.
Does Stepchange Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stepchange Ventures.
What industry is Stepchange Ventures in?
Stepchange Ventures's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B), with a secondary code of FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists). Its NAICS code is 5259 and its SIC code is 6282.