Climate Tech & Clean Energy
A sector where the funding gap is the opportunity: closing it could unlock $12B in additional annual returns.
additional annual returns available by closing the gender gap
RMI research — the investment case, not just the equity case.
of US climate-tech VC reached all-women founding teams in 2024
Out of $33.5B invested — one of the widest gaps of any sector here.
gender-lens climate investing
We Fund Climate and She Wins Climate now run dedicated gender-action programs for fund managers.
Inside the category
Gender-lens climate vehicles
Peer-learning platforms (not startups) helping fund managers build concrete gender-inclusion plans.
- We Fund Climate
- She Wins Climate
- She Wins Climate Southeast Asia
Notable funded climate-tech startups
Recent rounds across the broader climate-tech wave this thesis rides alongside.
- Brimstone ($55M Series A + up to $189M DOE award)
- BeZero ($109M across 5 rounds)
- ChargerHelp! ($30.6M across multiple rounds)
- Voltic (YC-backed, $100M+ in sales)
Why this fits women investors specifically
Climate tech is the clearest "the gap is mispriced, not the opportunity" case on this list — a $12B return case exists specifically in correcting how capital reaches under-funded teams, and it’s one of the few sectors where dedicated gender-lens investor networks, not just individual funds, are actively forming right now.
How to get exposure
Because mainstream climate-tech VC still under-allocates to women-led teams, some of the most direct entry points are through the dedicated accelerators and gender-lens programs themselves rather than generalist climate funds.
The case against
The $12B figure is a return case for correcting an allocation gap, not a promise that any individual company clears it. Climate covers hardware, infrastructure and software with almost nothing in common on capital intensity: an energy-infrastructure company can need hundreds of millions and a decade before it demonstrates the thing it was funded to demonstrate. Much of the sector's revenue also depends on subsidy regimes and carbon pricing that shift with elections. A gender-lens entry point does not change any of that underlying physics or policy exposure.
How this category returns capital
Software-layer climate companies exit like software — trade sale, sometimes quickly. Hardware and project-development companies exit through infrastructure funds, utilities and industrial acquirers who buy proven assets at asset multiples, or through project finance that returns capital gradually rather than in a single event. Accelerators and gender-lens programmes are a genuine entry route, but entering through one means entering very early, where the number of subsequent rounds before any liquidity is highest. Split an allocation by capital intensity rather than by theme.
What to weigh before writing a cheque
- This is the widest documented funding gap on this list — treat the $12B opportunity estimate as directional, not a guaranteed return.
- Climate tech spans hugely different risk profiles, from hardware-heavy energy infrastructure to software-only adaptation tools — it is not one risk category.
Sources
Figures reflect the most recent public reporting as of 2026. Named companies are illustrative of funding activity, not investment recommendations.