Starlight Ventures

Early stage venture firm for founders addressing the world's most pressing challenges via breakthrough science & tech.

[Starlight Ventures @StarlightVC_]

Big milestone for Thea Energy: $100M Series B to expand the company’s magnet manufacturing capacity and support the siting and construction of "Eos".

Congrats to the entire team!
https://t.co/sjFBXkgSQb

[Starlight Ventures @StarlightVC_]

Big milestone for Blue Energy! A 2.5 GW collaboration with GE Vernova to advance the world's first gas-plus-nuclear power plant.

Reliable baseload electricity powers everything from data centers to advanced manufacturing.

Congrats to the entire team!

https://t.co/CyfAqpawd4

[Starlight Ventures @StarlightVC_]

Big milestone for Max Space!

The company announced a strategic partnership with Voyager Technologies to accelerate expandable infrastructure for deep space human exploration, starting with lunar applications.

https://t.co/eRB4gO9krQ

[Starlight Ventures @StarlightVC_]

Big milestone for Ammobia! The company raised a $7.5M seed round, to build its next generation pilot plant.

They are developing a fundamentally new approach to producing ammonia, one of the most critical chemicals in the global economy.

🔗 https://t.co/O6aX1xS69r

[Hannu Rajaniemi @hannu]

Today, we are launching Red Queen Bio (https://t.co/b1szn8oyps), an AI biosecurity company, with a $15M seed led by @OpenAI. Biorisk grows exponentially with AI capabilities. Our mission is to scale biological defenses at the same rate. A 🧵 on who we are + what we do!👇🏻1/19

[Starlight Ventures @StarlightVC_]

Some technologies spark debate before driving progress. Geoengineering is one of them: complex, risky, but potentially key to tackling climate challenges. The goal is to explore it responsibly, early, and transparently. Stardust is taking that step.
https://t.co/Vc96nOVDps

[Starlight Ventures @StarlightVC_]

Congratulations to @CFS_energy on another landmark raise, a key milestone on their path toward commercializing fusion energy. We can’t wait to see them change the world!

[Commonwealth Fusion Systems @CFS_energy]

Today, Commonwealth Fusion Systems announced we’ve raised $863 million in a new funding round — the second largest investment of committed capital into a deep tech or clean tech company ever. And the largest was our $1.8 billion Series B round in 2021.

This Series B2 funding, from investors spanning the globe, speeds up our push to get fusion energy’s clean, secure, affordable power onto the grid as soon as possible. Here’s how we’ll use the funding.

First, it lets us complete SPARC, the one-of-a-kind fusion machine we’re building right now at our headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts to demonstrate net fusion energy. Second, this investment lets us accelerate work on our next machine, the ARC fusion power plant we plan to build in Chesterfield County, Virginia — the first of many.

With this funding round, we broadened our range of investors. Those supporting our fusion energy mission include not just earlier-stage investors like venture capitalists and ultrahigh-net-worth individuals, but also sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, private equity firms, global industrial companies, utilities, and banks.

New investors in CFS include Brevan Howard, Counterpoint Global of @MorganStanley; Stanley Druckenmiller; FFA Private Bank in Dubai; Galaxy Digital’s Galaxy Interactive; @gigascale; @HOFCapital; @NevaSGR; @nvidia's NVentures venture capital arm; Planet First Partners; Woori Venture Partners US, and a consortium of 12 Japanese companies led by Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp.

They join earlier investors that also returned, like @Breakthrough; @EmCollective; @eni; @Ventures_Future; Gates Frontier; @Google; @Hostplus Superannuation Fund; @khoslaventures; @lowercarbon; @safarpartners; former Google CEO @ericschmidt; @StarlightVC_, and Tiger Global.

What unites that diverse group: they see an enormous new industry forming as we harness the power source of the sun here on Earth. And CFS is leading that fusion energy charge.

#PowerMoves #FusionEnergy

[Starlight Ventures @StarlightVC_]

Congratulations to @alexlorestani, @NickOuzounov and the entire @GeltorInc team on closing this financing to scale biodesigned, animal-free polypeptides for the beauty, wellness and longevity industries. We are excited to see what you achieve next!

https://t.co/yLzAhKgLZ6

[Starlight Ventures @StarlightVC_]

Beyond a partnership, this opens a new chapter in fusion. A tech giant backing a commercial fusion offtake is pivotal. Congratulations to @CFS_energy for translating years of scientific progress into a landmark milestone.

https://t.co/sQvdvY51WN

[Starlight Ventures @StarlightVC_]

A historic moment for industrial heat! ♨️
@AtmosZeroSteam has deployed Boiler 2.0, the first-ever drop-in zero-emission industrial steam heat pump, at @newbelgium's flagship brewery.

Congrats to the team on this huge milestone!

https://t.co/fmXPVTrpHq

[Starlight Ventures @StarlightVC_]

Exciting to see @ephos_io’s groundbreaking work in glass-based quantum chips recognized in @WSJ. Pioneering a sustainable approach to the future of computing. Read more: https://t.co/uQYD4ufC2P

[Blue Energy @Blue_Energy_Co]

"By moving nuclear power to preexisting assembly lines, Blue Energy is radically reducing build time and cost, making nuclear power cost competitive with fossil fuels and renewables."

https://t.co/Nt4Jn2giSg

[Blue Energy @Blue_Energy_Co]

We've raised $45m to reduce the cost and build time of nuclear power plants from @engineventures @atoneventures @PropellerOcean @tamarackglobal @AngularVentures @StarlightVC_ @nucleationvc https://t.co/LJQWZARMwt

[Max Space @getmaxspace]

A few weeks back, NBC News Now showcased Max Space in an engaging segment with our co-founder Maxim de Jong.

Maxim discussed our innovative expandable architecture and the bold future we’re building at Max Space.

#NBC #news

[Ephos @ephos_io]

We're thrilled to announce that Ephos has raised $8.5M and opened the world’s first facility dedicated to the design and production of glass-based quantum photonic chips!

https://t.co/gkFYiuIc8E

[Commonwealth Fusion Systems @CFS_energy]

The work happening here in Devens is setting the standard for fusion energy and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

Thanks @RepLoriTrahan for stopping by to see it in person.

[Max Space @getmaxspace]

Launch costs are coming down; it's time for the total cost of space infrastructure to also come down. We deliver the best value for the on-orbit volume overall. Stay tuned for more news about our 1st mission. #SpaceEconomy

[Outpost @outpostspace]

Landing in SF soon 🪂…we’ve made the #StartupBattlefield cut! 1000s applied and we’re one of 200 startups (1 out of 4 space startups!) chosen to exhibit at #TechCrunchDisrupt2024. Join us Oct 28-30 in San Francisco and see what we’re launching!

[Quaise Energy @QuaiseEnergy]

Oil and gas infrastructure is key to accelerating the clean energy transition.

Scale and speed are paramount to reach net zero emissions by mid-century. The global oil and gas industry has a 150+ year head start and boasts the largest workforce in energy today. Geothermal is the only renewable energy source capable of leveraging it all for a sustainable future.

Drilling for geothermal is remarkably similar to drilling for oil and gas. Our millimeter wave drilling system is designed to integrate with conventional oil and gas drilling rigs to create more geothermal power plants in less time. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel (or the rig).

Similar infrastructure requires similar skills to do the job. We don’t need to build an extensive workforce from scratch; oil and gas workers can readily transfer their skills and subsurface expertise to geothermal. Talk about a win-win.

Geothermal provides 24/7 clean energy for a reliable and sustainable future. Leveraging oil and gas infrastructure is how we accelerate the global buildout.

[Twelve | A world made from air™ @twelve_co2]

Exciting news in @WSJ today! @AmrithRamkumar covers our latest funding announcement, and why #efuels are seen as the most practical long-term fuel source for sustainable aviation: https://t.co/w2pknQKqmD