Climate Tech

The latest data and global trends in climate tech startups, venture capital, exits and innovation.

Raised in Q3 2026
$23.9B
VC funding · closed quarter
Raised in 2026 Q1-3
$44.3B
VC funding · year to date
Combined enterprise value
$3.6T
VC-backed Climate Tech startups · founded 1990+
Unicorns
318
$1B+ valuation or exit

Annual venture capital

Funding into Climate Tech startups has grown nearly tenfold over the past five years, reaching $41.5B in 2025. With $44.3B raised in the first 9 months of 2026, the full year is on track to land at $59.0B, a +42% change versus 2025. The chart below shows annual funding totals; the latest year is annualised from observed-to-date data and represents the renderer's projection, not a closed quarter.

Quarterly venture capital

Yearly totals mask the quarter-by-quarter rhythm. The chart below shows Climate Tech startups funding raised in each of the last 21 complete quarters through Q3 2026. All bars are actual closed-quarter sums, no projections, no in-progress quarters.

The shape of climate tech investing

Climate tech is not one market. It spans everything from gigawatt-scale energy projects to early-stage carbon software, and the capital profile changes completely across that range. Reading a single climate funding chart without this split tends to blur three very different markets together.

Energy and power

Generation (solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear and fusion), storage (batteries and long-duration systems) and the grid. This is the most capital-intensive layer: rounds often look more like infrastructure or project finance than software venture, and battery and energy-storage deals carry much of the dollar-weighted total.

Industry, mobility and the built environment

Decarbonising the physical economy: electric and alternative-fuel mobility, green buildings and electrified heating such as heat pumps, industrial heat, and circular-economy and recycling business models. Hardware-heavy, with long development cycles and a blend of venture and growth capital.

Carbon, food and natural systems

Carbon capture, removal and markets, alternative proteins and sustainable agriculture, and the climate-fintech rails that finance the transition. This layer is earlier-stage and more fragmented, but it is where much of the recent venture formation in climate sits.

Climate Tech share of global VC

How much of each region's venture capital flows into Climate Tech startups, and who runs ahead of the global average? So far in 2026, Climate Tech took 4.4% of US venture capital, behind the 5.7% global benchmark, while Europe led at 15.1% and China at 5.2%. The dashed line is the global figure; lines above it are regions more concentrated in Climate Tech startups than the world as a whole.

Climate Tech venture capital raised by stage

How capital deployed into Climate Tech startups is split across round sizes. In the trailing four quarters, 71% of capital landed in scaleup ($100M+) rounds, 22% in breakout ($15–100M), and 7% across startups (under $15M). Each panel below stacks the canonical sub-bands across Q3 2022 → Q3 2026.

Climate Tech venture capital raised by stage, quarterly

Startup

Breakout

Scaleup

Top investors

The most active investors in Climate Tech startups ranked by the number of disclosed VC rounds they've participated in. SOSV leads with 331 rounds, followed by Y Combinator at 305. The table shows the top ten with their firm type, the rounds they've joined and the companies they've backed here (follow-on rounds make the first larger), and headquarters.

Most active Climate Tech investors

#InvestorTypeClimate Tech roundsClimate Tech companiesHQ
1 Venture capital 331 172 Princeton, United States
2 Accelerator 305 189 San Francisco, United States
3
InnoEnergy
Accelerator 273 145 Amsterdam, Netherlands
4 Accelerator 235 191 New York City, United States
5
Breakthrough Energy Ventures
Venture capital 225 111 Kirkland, United States
6 Sovereign wealth fund 200 164 Maisons-Alfort, France
7
EIC Fund
Venture capital 193 92 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
8 Venture capital 192 75 Menlo Park, United States
9
Lowercarbon Capital
Venture capital 177 102 New York City, United States
10
Antler
Accelerator 163 109 Singapore, Singapore

Source: Dealroom.co

Top companies

Two views of leadership in Climate Tech startups: the most-funded companies all-time on the left, and the hottest companies right now by Dealroom Signal on the right. Total-funding figures include all capital sources tracked by Dealroom (VC plus grants, project finance, and other instruments). Signal is Dealroom's live growth ranking, these are the firms with the strongest recent momentum across team, timing, growth, and completeness.

Top funded

All-time total funding (includes non-VC sources)

  1. 1Rivian AutomotiveIrvine, United States$12.3B
  2. 2CruiseSan Francisco, United States$9.1B
  3. 3NorthvoltStockholm, Sweden$7.7B
  4. 4CrusoeDenver, United States$6.4B
  5. 5StegraStockholm, Sweden$4.2B
  6. 6Neta Auto | Hozon AutoMinhang District, China$4.0B
  7. 7The Boring CompanyBastrop, United States$3.9B
  8. 8Commonwealth Fusion SystemsHarvard, United States$3.9B
  9. 9OlaBengaluru, India$3.8B
  10. 10Lucid MotorsNewark, United States$3.6B

Hottest (Dealroom Signal)

Ranked by Dealroom's growth indicator

  1. 1Octopus EnergyLondon, United Kingdom98
  2. 2CrusoeDenver, United States98
  3. 3VintedVilnius, Lithuania97
  4. 4Base PowerAustin, United States97
  5. 5Cowboy Space CorporationSan Carlos, United States97
  6. 6Helion EnergyEverett, United States97
  7. 7DeepWayHefei, China97
  8. 8Vulcan ElementsDurham, United States97
  9. 9TEKEVERLisbon, Portugal97
  10. 10ArcadiaWashington DC, United States97

Source: Dealroom.co

How Climate Tech funding is distributed geographically

Climate Tech venture capital is concentrated in a handful of ecosystems. The map below has a long tail, but a few hubs explain most of the global total.

The United States

The largest single source of climate tech venture capital, anchored by the Bay Area and New York alongside Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles and a long tail of smaller hubs. Deep late-stage capital and the biggest acquirers keep the US share of the global total well ahead of any other region.

Europe

London, Paris, Berlin, the Nordics and a dense network of smaller ecosystems. Europe's climate tech funding has grown faster than the US in percentage terms but from a smaller base, and supportive policy in several sub-sectors has helped specific hubs punch above their weight.

Asia and the rest of the world

China, India, Singapore and Israel contribute meaningfully, though disclosed venture rounds often understate the capital deployed through state-backed and strategic investors. Coverage here is partial, and headline totals should be read as a floor rather than a full picture.

Top hubs

United States leads global Climate Tech startups funding in 2026 Q1-3 (year to date) at $24.5B, followed by China ($5.0B). The chart ranks the top countries; alongside it, the leading Austin metro region leads the city ranking with $4.3B in 2026 Q1-3 (year to date). Use the metric pills, and the dropdown, to switch view. The VC dropdown also covers the fastest-growing hubs (Sweden up +159%) and where Climate Tech startups venture capital and unicorns concentrate against the rest of the world.

Top metro regions

Climate Tech startups venture capital by metro · Last 12 months to end of Q3 2026

  1. AustinUnited States$5.6B
  2. DenverUnited States$5.4B
  3. Bay AreaUnited States$4.7B
  4. Los AngelesUnited States$3.1B
  5. SeattleUnited States$3.1B
  6. LondonUnited Kingdom$2.7B
  7. BostonUnited States$2.5B
  8. StockholmSweden$1.9B
  9. Washington DCUnited States$1.3B
  10. HelsinkiFinland$1.3B
Explore all hubs

Top metro regions

Climate Tech startups venture capital by metro · 2026 Q1-3 (year to date)

  1. AustinUnited States$4.3B
  2. Bay AreaUnited States$4.2B
  3. DenverUnited States$4.0B
  4. SeattleUnited States$2.5B
  5. BostonUnited States$2.4B
  6. Los AngelesUnited States$2.4B
  7. StockholmSweden$1.7B
  8. HelsinkiFinland$1.1B
  9. LondonUnited Kingdom$1.1B
  10. MunichGermany$813M
Explore all hubs

Top metro regions

Climate Tech startups venture capital by metro · Q3 2026

  1. AustinUnited States$4.0B
  2. DenverUnited States$4.0B
  3. BostonUnited States$2.1B
  4. Bay AreaUnited States$1.8B
  5. Los AngelesUnited States$1.7B
  6. SeattleUnited States$1.5B
  7. HelsinkiFinland$1.1B
  8. BengaluruIndia$661M
  9. MunichGermany$653M
  10. LisbonPortugal$583M
Explore all hubs

Top metro regions

Climate Tech startups enterprise value by metro

  1. Bay AreaUnited States$1.8T
  2. AustinUnited States$1.5T
  3. ShanghaiChina$82.8B
  4. Los AngelesUnited States$74.0B
  5. BostonUnited States$55.2B
  6. LondonUnited Kingdom$54.9B
  7. ParisFrance$50.4B
  8. BeijingChina$49.0B
  9. New York CityUnited States$44.5B
  10. Washington DCUnited States$43.4B
Explore all hubs

Top metro regions

Climate Tech startups unicorns by metro

  1. Bay AreaUnited States51
  2. Los AngelesUnited States19
  3. BostonUnited States14
  4. ShanghaiChina14
  5. New York CityUnited States12
  6. BeijingChina11
  7. LondonUnited Kingdom8
  8. HoustonUnited States8
  9. Washington DCUnited States7
  10. AustinUnited States7
Explore all hubs

Top metro regions

Climate Tech VC growth by metro · Last 12 months to end of Q3 2026 vs 2025

  1. HelsinkiFinland+390%
  2. DenverUnited States+273%
  3. AustinUnited States+247%
  4. StockholmSweden+228%
  5. MumbaiIndia+119%
  6. OxfordUnited Kingdom+103%
  7. BengaluruIndia+101%
  8. Cambridge (UK)United Kingdom+85%
  9. Los AngelesUnited States+80%
  10. BostonUnited States+77%

Top metro regions

Climate Tech VC concentration by metro · Last 12 months to end of Q3 2026

  1. NairobiKenya13.80×
  2. DetroitUnited States13.36×
  3. DenverUnited States11.65×
  4. LisbonPortugal11.51×
  5. HelsinkiFinland8.93×
  6. Washington DCUnited States6.87×
  7. AustinUnited States6.58×
  8. HoustonUnited States5.83×
  9. StockholmSweden5.12×
  10. OxfordUnited Kingdom4.91×

Top metro regions

Climate Tech unicorn concentration by metro · by HQ

  1. DetroitUnited States6.58×
  2. HoustonUnited States5.02×
  3. Santa Cruz-WatsonvilleUnited States4.69×
  4. VilniusLithuania4.69×
  5. CharlotteUnited States3.91×
  6. Upstate New YorkUnited States3.91×
  7. PhoenixUnited States3.47×
  8. FrankfurtGermany2.93×
  9. TaipeiTaiwan2.93×
  10. IstanbulTürkiye2.60×

Climate Tech on the map

Where Climate Tech startups VC-backed startups are based. Each marker is sized by the number of VC-backed startups HQ'd in that metro. Bay Area leads at 749, followed by London at 737. Scroll or drag to explore, pinch with two fingers on mobile.

Notable rounds

In 2026 Q1-3 (year to date), the largest VC rounds in Climate Tech startups reveal where capital is consolidating. The table below lists the 15 biggest rounds by amount, with date, company, round type, and lead investors; rounds without a public amount sit at the bottom with the amount left blank. Exits sit in the Unicorns & Exits section.

Biggest Climate Tech rounds · Last 12 months to end of Q3 2026 (Top 15 rounds)

DateCompanyAmountRoundLead investors
Sep 2026Crusoe$3.9BSERIES FAtreides Management, Mubadala Investment Company
Sep 2026The Boring Company$3.0BSERIES DUnited Arab Emirates Government
Jun 2026Stegra$1.5BGROWTH EQUITY VCAIP Management, Altor Equity Partners
Oct 2025Crusoe$1.4BSERIES EMubadala Capital, Valor Equity Partners
Aug 2026ICEYE$1.1BSERIES FEQT Group, General Atlantic
Sep 2026Stoke Space$1.0BSERIES EPoint72 Ventures, Spark Capital
Aug 2026Valar Atomics$1.0BSERIES BSequoia
Aug 2026Base Power$1.0BSERIES DRibbit Capital
Jul 2026Commonwealth Fusion Systems$1.0BSERIES BEni, Google AI
Dec 2025Kraken$1.0BEARLY VCD1 Capital Partners
Oct 2025Base Power$1.0BSERIES CAddition VC
Dec 2025Deepal$874MSERIES CChangan Automobile
Aug 2026Form Energy$750MSERIES GT. Rowe Price
Nov 2025X-energy$700MSERIES DJane Street Capital
Apr 2026Slate Auto$650MSERIES CTWG Global

Biggest Climate Tech rounds · 2026 Q1-3 (year to date) (Top 15 rounds)

DateCompanyAmountRoundLead investors
Sep 2026Crusoe$3.9BSERIES FAtreides Management, Mubadala Investment Company
Sep 2026The Boring Company$3.0BSERIES DUnited Arab Emirates Government
Jun 2026Stegra$1.5BGROWTH EQUITY VCAIP Management, Altor Equity Partners
Aug 2026ICEYE$1.1BSERIES FEQT Group, General Atlantic
Sep 2026Stoke Space$1.0BSERIES EPoint72 Ventures, Spark Capital
Aug 2026Valar Atomics$1.0BSERIES BSequoia
Aug 2026Base Power$1.0BSERIES DRibbit Capital
Jul 2026Commonwealth Fusion Systems$1.0BSERIES BEni, Google AI
Aug 2026Form Energy$750MSERIES GT. Rowe Price
Apr 2026Slate Auto$650MSERIES CTWG Global
Sep 2026TEKEVER$580MSERIES DBaillie Gifford, UC Investments
Jul 2026Redwood Materials$550MLATE VC
Jul 2026Antora Energy$550MSERIES CEclipse Ventures, G2 Venture Partners
Jun 2026Helion Energy$465MSERIES GThrive Capital
Jul 2026Proxima Fusion$452MSERIES BEast X Ventures, XTX Ventures

Biggest Climate Tech rounds · Q3 2026 (Top 15 rounds)

DateCompanyAmountRoundLead investors
Sep 2026Crusoe$3.9BSERIES FAtreides Management, Mubadala Investment Company
Sep 2026The Boring Company$3.0BSERIES DUnited Arab Emirates Government
Aug 2026ICEYE$1.1BSERIES FEQT Group, General Atlantic
Sep 2026Stoke Space$1.0BSERIES EPoint72 Ventures, Spark Capital
Aug 2026Valar Atomics$1.0BSERIES BSequoia
Aug 2026Base Power$1.0BSERIES DRibbit Capital
Jul 2026Commonwealth Fusion Systems$1.0BSERIES BEni, Google AI
Aug 2026Form Energy$750MSERIES GT. Rowe Price
Sep 2026TEKEVER$580MSERIES DBaillie Gifford, UC Investments
Jul 2026Redwood Materials$550MLATE VC
Jul 2026Antora Energy$550MSERIES CEclipse Ventures, G2 Venture Partners
Jul 2026Proxima Fusion$452MSERIES BEast X Ventures, XTX Ventures
Sep 2026Sunwoda Power Technology$393MLATE VCLi Auto
Jul 2026Antares$370MSERIES CCaffeinated Capital, Paradigm
Jul 2026ENN Fusion$300MEARLY VCCathay Capital, CDH Investments

Source: Dealroom.co · Updated 12 Oct 2026

What's heating up inside Climate Tech

Which corners of Climate Tech are heating up fastest? Each sub-sector is scored on a transparent blend of two-year VC growth, unicorn formation, and recent funding scale. Nuclear tops the ranking, with venture capital up 1234% over three years to $2.4B in 2025 and 7 unicorns. Sub-sector tags overlap (a company can sit in several), so this shows where momentum concentrates rather than splitting the total.
1Nuclear
+1234%2-yr VC growth
$2.4BVC raised
7unicorns
$29.0BEV
2Battery
-57%2-yr VC growth
$4.3BVC raised
37unicorns
$334.8BEV
3Renewable Energy
-45%2-yr VC growth
$3.8BVC raised
36unicorns
$238.9BEV
4Circular Economy
-60%2-yr VC growth
$3.8BVC raised
35unicorns
$214.4BEV
5Solar Energy
-36%2-yr VC growth
$4.0BVC raised
33unicorns
$212.7BEV
6Green Buildings
-68%2-yr VC growth
$1.9BVC raised
18unicorns
$96.1BEV
7Smart Grid
-5%2-yr VC growth
$2.5BVC raised
14unicorns
$61.7BEV
8Alternative Protein
-44%2-yr VC growth
$1.1BVC raised
18unicorns
$86.9BEV
9Recycling
-68%2-yr VC growth
$1.4BVC raised
16unicorns
$90.5BEV
10Hydrogen
-68%2-yr VC growth
$1.4BVC raised
14unicorns
$159.9BEV
11Carbon Capture
+31%2-yr VC growth
$2.0BVC raised
8unicorns
$38.5BEV
12Climate Fintech
-62%2-yr VC growth
$772MVC raised
11unicorns
$64.0BEV

Source: Dealroom.co · Updated 12 Oct 2026

Unicorns & exits

Climate Tech startups have minted 318 unicorns to date. Dealroom defines a unicorn as a company that has reached a $1B+ valuation or exit (verified and manually reviewed; other lists use different criteria, this is ours). Of those, 25 are decacorns, companies at a $10B+ valuation. The ecosystem also counts 221 thoroughbreds: companies generating $100M+ in revenue (a separate lens from unicorns, with some overlap). The chart below shows the cumulative count climbing each year, with the line tracking new unicorns minted in that year, peaking at 65 in 2021. On exits, the sector has produced 1,326 tracked exits since 2019 representing $684.2B in disclosed value. Notable exits in the data include CATL ($200.0B, 2025), followed by Rivian Automotive ($77.0B, 2021), Lucid Motors ($24.0B, 2021).

The academic flywheel

Universities are the talent pipeline behind Climate Tech, the institutions whose alumni found the most unicorns and venture-backed companies, and the research that spins out into them.

Universities by alumni-founded unicorns

UniversityAlumni unicornsAlumni EV
Stanford University000$0.0T
Harvard University000$0.0T
MIT000$0.0T
Tsinghua University000$0.0T

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Climate Tech startup IP & patents

The patent portfolio behind Climate Tech startups, granted patent families, where the IP concentrates, and the technologies driving it.

Patent families by startup hub

HubPatent families
Bay Area00,000
New York00,000
Boston00,000
London00,000

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Explore the climate tech landscape

Live, interactive market maps of the climate tech ecosystem, Dealroom-curated landscapes mapping thousands of companies across energy, mobility, industry and carbon. Open any map to explore the full landscape.
Lorenzo Chiavarini
Curated byLorenzo ChiavariniHead of Research, Dealroom

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