Gigascale Capital, founded by former Meta CTO Mike Schroepfer, has closed its first institutional fund at $250 million, marking a major expansion in its efforts to back early-stage deep-tech companies focused on clean energy, infrastructure, and advanced materials.
The fund supports more than 25 startups developing technologies aimed at reducing the cost of energy systems and accelerating the deployment of clean infrastructure. Gigascale Capital, launched in 2023 and based in Palo Alto, was initially funded through Schroepfer’s personal capital before transitioning to institutional investment.
The firm’s investment strategy focuses on “cost curve” innovation, targeting companies that make clean energy and industrial systems cheaper, faster, and more scalable. This includes sectors such as advanced manufacturing, grid modernization, energy storage, and AI-integrated hardware systems.
Portfolio companies include firms working on nuclear microreactors, fusion energy research, AI inference chips, and next-generation grid technologies. These startups aim to move technologies from prototype stages into real-world deployment, addressing one of the most persistent challenges in deep-tech commercialization.
Gigascale Capital joins a growing group of major climate and deep-tech investors, including Lowercarbon Capital and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, both of which manage multi-billion-dollar portfolios focused on clean energy innovation and long-term climate solutions.
While global climate tech investment reached approximately $40.5 billion in 2025, overall investor participation has declined, indicating that capital is increasingly concentrated among fewer, larger funds. Despite this, total investment continues to grow as more capital flows into scalable energy technologies.
Industry leaders behind Gigascale Capital say the next wave of clean energy progress will be driven by performance and cost competitiveness rather than policy incentives or sustainability narratives. The fund’s launch reflects growing confidence in deep-tech solutions as key drivers of the global energy transition.
The $250 million fund positions Gigascale Capital as a significant new player in the climate technology investment landscape, with a focus on bridging the gap between early-stage innovation and large-scale industrial deployment.
