Reaction

A huge congrats to Reaction Founding Partner, and dear friend, Katrien Verlinden who was awarded the 2024 Power Play Low Carbon Accelerator Award for her leadership driving the #energytransition!

Reaction is proud to announce its participation in the $33 million Series B funding round for GALY, a trailblazer in sustainable cellular agriculture led by Founder and CEO Luciano Bueno. This investment, part of an oversubscribed round led by Breakthrough Energy underscores Reaction's commitment to driving innovation in climate-resilient technologies. GALY's groundbreaking work on "GALY Cotton," a lab-grown cotton that drastically reduces environmental impact, aligns with Reaction mission to support and scale world-changing solutions. The Series B funding will accelerate GALY's efforts to transition its cotton product from the lab to pre-industrial scale, offering a viable alternative to conventional cotton farming. This initiative not only reduces water usage by 99% and land usage by 97%, but also cuts CO2 emissions by 77%. By backing GALY, Reaction Global continues to champion innovative technologies that address the urgent challenges posed by climate change, fostering a more sustainable future for the textile industry and beyond. Please find the full article here --> https://lnkd.in/gWeeS-xM #stanford #climate #tech #change #global #innovation #venturecapital Rui Barros Carlos Moreira Jr. Irmak Ers?z Enrico Carbone Michael Dorsey Charles Froland David Suarez Franz Z?chbauer Howie Xu Henko Haasbroek Claudio Sassaki Maria J. Trapani Rachel Zhang Olga Paxson, Ph.D. Natasha Thomas James Summerfield Jordan Deasy Angela Sun

We're thrilled to welcome two incredible leaders to the Reaction board —Howie Xu and Claudio Sassaki, to boost our engagement with the Stanford entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem! Howie Xu brings a wealth of experience in technology innovation and leadership, having driven transformative change in top-tier tech companies. He is also a proven founder with successful exits and has served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Greylock Partners. Howie is currently the Chief AI and Innovation Officer at Gen as well as a guest lecturer at Stanford University. His deep expertise in AI and entrepreneurship will be invaluable as Reaction continues to scale and innovate ventures in the AI space. Claudio Sassaki is an accomplished entrepreneur and visionary in education technology, joining us with a proven track record of empowering learners and educators globally. Currently an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Stanford University Graduate School of Education, he was the co-founder and CEO of Geekie, Brazil's most decorated edtech company, pioneering real-time data-based learning systems and earning acclaim in publications such as The Economist, BBC, and The Guardian. Claudio is also the Lead Consultant on AI for Social Innovation at the World Economic Forum. His insights and drive to make an impact will guide Reaction as we explore new innovation horizons. Both Howie and Claudio share our passion for driving meaningful change and their unique perspectives will undoubtedly help us navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead. Please join us in welcoming Howie and Claudio to the Reaction family. We’re excited to work together and continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible! #Leadership #Innovation #Change #Reaction Rui Barros, Carlos Moreira Jr., Claudio Sassaki, Howie Xu, David Suarez, Henko Haasbroek, Hong (Henry) X., Enrico Carbone, Michael Dorsey, Charles Froland, Natasha Thomas, Olga Paxson, Ph.D., Khalil Alnammari ???? ?????? , Sue Cheung, Ph.D., Angela Sun, Ryann Price, Angela Fogarty Thomas, Asher Bergmann, Jordan Deasy, James Summerfield, Rachel Zhang, Claudia Mitchell, Pedro Testa, Singari S., Markus Sieger

Our team is growing! Please welcome Irmak Ers?z, our new Investment Associate Partner! Irmak graduated from Stanford with a Bachelor's in International Relations and Data Science. She brings expertise in global economic policy and data science, as well as experience in venture capital and global development. As a Community Engaged Scholar at Stanford, she has engaged meaningfully with global development and innovation. We are looking forward to leveraging her experience in diverse sectors to drive new and equitable ventures across the world! We’re excited to have Irmak on board for the next chapter! Irmak, welcome to the team!

In July, our new Board member Howie Xu and our CEO Dan Matthies, CFA CAIA presented to the 2024 class of the Stanford Executive Program, part of Stanford GSB Executive Education. We loved meeting the new SEP cohort members and talking to them about our community and investments, including Antora Energy, Nitricity and Splight! We're looking forward to collaborating with this year's SEP graduates beyond the classroom!

We're excited to announce our participation in Splight's $12M seed round, led by noa (formerly A/O) and joined by EDP Ventures, Draper Cygnus, Draper B1, Ascent Energy Ventures, Fen Ventures, Barn Investimentos, Elewit and UC Berkeley Foundation! Splight is on a mission to tackle one of the biggest challenges in clean energy – grid congestion. Their innovative AI technology is transforming how we manage grid infrastructure, preventing bottlenecks and maximizing transmission capacity. Congratulations to Fernando Llaver, Thomas Vadora, and Carlos Caldart, and the whole Splight team! We are looking forward to working with you to drive the transition to a sustainable energy future! Read the full press release on our website: https://lnkd.in/gXVsR8vn #AI #Climate #Sustainability #CleanEnergy #Innovation

Last month, Reaction hosted the foremost academic expert on #venturecapital, Stanford's esteemed Professor Ilya Strebulaev, for an event centered around his groundbreaking book, #TheVentureMindset which offers insights gleaned from two decades of research at Stanford University. His highly anticipated publication has already received glowing endorsements from Eric Schmidt (former CEO and Chairman of Google), Eric S. Yuan (he / him / his) (founder and CEO of Zoom), and Carlos Brito (former CEO of AB InBev) among others. And now, the book is finally here! We can attest to its value—#TheVentureMindset is an invaluable resource, providing actionable insights on taking risk, seizing opportunities, and cultivating the entrepreneurial spirit. Our event, attended by a global community of Stanford alumni and leading investors, highlighted strategies for outperforming in the competitive world of venture capital. Professor Strebulaev shared his unique perspectives on identifying high-potential startups and leveraging data-driven decision-making to achieve superior returns. Attendees left with exploitable takeaways and a renewed understanding of the dynamics that drive successful venture investments. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Professor Strebulaev for his expertise and to all participants for making this event a resounding success. Stay tuned for more enriching events designed to empower and connect our exceptional community! #VentureMindset #StanfordAlumni #VentureCapital #IlyaStrebulaev

In his legendary Chairman’s Letter to investors, Larry Fink highlighted BlackRock's investment in Reaction portfolio company, Antora Energy, a company that uses cheap and abundant renewable energy to heat up carbon blocks with wind or solar. These "thermal batteries" can reach up to 2,400 degrees Celsius and glow brighter than the sun, providing power to industrial facilities around-the-clock. The $150M funding round, led by Decarbonization Partners, a partnership between BlackRock and Temasek, will help Antora Energy scale up to build and deploy thermal batteries that directly replace fossil fuel combustion, delivering billions of dollars worth of zero-emission energy to industrial customers. In addition, Larry highlighted how capital markets are crucial to meeting infrastructure needs. The energy transition, driven by nations representing 90% of the world's GDP, is a major economic trend, with renewable energy sources becoming cheaper and addressing climate change. This shift has created both risks and opportunities for investors, including BlackRock's clients. The energy pragmatism, which includes decarbonization and energy security, is being discussed by regional leaders. The transition will only succeed if it is "fair," with a lower green premium indicating that decarbonization will be more affordable. Countries like Germany and state's like Texas are demonstrating the importance of a fair transition, as they are investing in renewable energy sources to address the climate crisis. Reaction is catalyzing change towards this outcome and is excited to partner with industry leaders like BlackRock, Temasek and Antora Energy on our journey ahead! To read Larry's full newsletter please click here: https://lnkd.in/eeW3FxKC

Jumbotail aims to empower kirana retailers to meet the growing needs of the future generation of Indian consumers. Reaction strengthened its commitment to portfolio company Jumbotail in its latest round, alongside Artel Asia and other investors, in raising Rs 151 crore in the Series C3 equity funding round. Jumbotail, founded by Karthik Venkateswaran and Ashish Jhina, aims to utilize its extensive national network to help more brands reach consumers in the mass market. Jumbotail leads the industry in both wallet share and monthly purchase frequency amoung small and medium-sized kirana retailers, with over 60% of the market penetration of kiranas in the cities it serves. The company plans to hire world-class teams in various segments to accelerate its pace towards profitability.?

Reaction was delighted to host thought leaders from Stanford University, Terradot, and 3Degrees Group, Inc. for a partner event focused on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS). The fireside chat was moderated by investment partner, Julieta Romero and joined by members from the Stanford community to share their research and perspective. Sarah Dawn Saltzer, Catherine Callas, and Gege Wen have attended Stanford, but come from different academic paths and research providing Interesting perspectives and discussions. Carbon capture is critical for mitigating climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial processes and power generation. It is crucial and could reverse 19% of emissions. It is a vital tool in our efforts to combat climate change and transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon future. Moreover, billions, likely hundreds of billions, will be allocated by companies and governments to scale its impact. Terradot and 3Degrees Group, Inc. are proactive and leading our world with innovative solutions. Terradot was founded in the Stanford Soil & Environmental Biogeochemistry lab.?CEO James Kanoff spoke about its mission to regenerate Earth by building the most impactful and scalable permanent carbon dioxide removal solution on the planet. BY permanently removing carbon through Enhanced Rock Weathering on tropical farmland. Additionally, Elizabeth Geller, P.E. from 3Degrees explained its strategy to help organizations around the world achieve renewable energy and decarbonization goals. Aids businesses in taking immediate action on their emissions by incorporating carbon credits into GHG reduction strategy and supporting the development of new carbon reduction?projects.