Prelude Ventures: The Landscape of Climate Tech Investment
2025
| Case No.
E895
| Length
9 pgs.
In 2021, Gabriel Kra, cofounder and managing director of Prelude Ventures, decided to build on the success of his pioneering, climate tech-focused Prelude Fund. With the continued investment of the Simons family, Kra set out to design a new fund with a fresh structure, reflecting the growth of the climate tech space and the lessons that Kra learned on the first fund. After looking back at Kra’s early career and the era known as “Clean Tech 1.0”, this case delves into several key decisions that Kra faced when creating Prelude Climate Fund II, including deciding on the optimal scope, size, and duration.
Learning Objective
Using Prelude Ventures as an entry point, this case gives students a brief history of climate tech investment in the 21st century and an overview of the major climate-related categories of investment in 2021. The narrative offers insight into the kinds of decisions faced by climate tech investors, while also exploring the unique challenges and opportunities that set climate tech apart from other areas of investment. Students are asked to synthesize this information and contemplate the decisions that they would make in structuring a new fund.
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