Merak Ventures, a sector-agnostic early stage venture capital (VC) firm, on Thursday announced the appointment of Soumitra Mishra as venture partner for investments in climate tech, effective September 2022, the investment firm said in a statement. As a venture partner, Mishra will look at driving deal evaluations in climate tech.
Mint first reported last month that Merak had launched a $100 million fund, its maiden fund.
“Climate tech funding is about 5.5% of total venture funding globally; in India, that number is much lower at over 1.5%. We believe that some of the largest companies in the world in the next couple of decades will come from climate tech. In the past, we have made investments in the broad climate space and will now go after this sector in a targeted manner, with 5 focus areas within climate: AgriTech, mobility, carbon, climate finance, and digital solutions. Soumitra has been an entrepreneur in the renewable energy and agriculture sectors over the last decade, associated with multiple climate action groups, and brings a deep understanding of this space which will make our investments in climate tech informed and meaningful,” said Sheetal Bahl, partner at Merak Ventures.
Mishra has over 30 years of experience in renewables, agriculture, environment, and biotech industries. He founded Claro Energy in 2011, where he engineered a large battery-less solar irrigation system. In the past, he has worked in leadership position with SunEdison, Genentech, and Biogen where he holds two patents. He has also been an active Angel investor and an advisor to startups in India and US.
“Having worked in the climate tech, renewable energy and agricultural spaces, I realize the gap between startups and VC firms. Startups need more than just funding, and VC firms need more than just a pitch,” said Mishra, Venture Partner for investments In climate tech, Merak Ventures
