Carbon13 News - September
September often feels like it should be the real New Year, the real fresh start and new beginning, and this September for Carbon13 marks the biggest new start in our history: the launch of the Venture Builder in Berlin.
This will be the first time that Carbon13 will run the Venture Builder programme outside of our base in Cambridge. We will be bringing the same structure, principles, support and goal of 10 million tonnes of CO2e emissions reduction per year as we applied to the Cambridge cohorts - which have generated 32 invested ventures in just 18 months.
Read the full announcement here, including comments from our cofounder Michael Langguth, who will lead the Carbon13 team in Germany.
Applications are open now for this first Berlin cohort which will start in February 2023 - we're running a webinar for founders interested in this cohort on the 19th October, please feel free to share with your networks.
Cohort 4
September is also the new beginning for Cohort 4 in Cambridge. Our biggest ever cohort began its journey this month: over a hundred founders in one room, all deeply committed to launching ventures to reach 10 million tonnes of CO2e emissions reduction per year.
Cohort 5
Applications are now also open for Cohort 5 in Cambridge, which will begin in March 2023, one month after Berlin's Cohort 1. As Cohort 4 was the most oversubscribed cohort yet, we strongly recommend that founders apply by the 22nd November. As always, we're running a weekly series of webinars tailored to specific skillsets such as science or software, you can see the full schedule here.
Not sure whether to apply? You can now sense check your application here.
Here's what else is going on at Carbon13:
Job opportunities
- Carbon13 is hiring a Head of Venture Launchpad
- Emeralga Biotech are seeking a technical cofounder to join the team full-time and take the venture forward in R&D. Emeralga specialises in producing nutritious proteins and vitamins cultivated from microalgae and applicants to this role should ideally have experience working in biotech and algae. Email [email protected] for full details and to apply.
Alumni news
- PuriFire Labs, Kita, Infyos, and Agreed Earth are all part of Tech Nation's Net Zero 3.0 programme, with Tierra Foods participating as part of Libra 2.0. Big congratulations to all of them as they join an exclusive network of high-growth UK tech companies tackling the climate crisis.
- Biozeroc (Cohort 2) have been selected as one of only five global companies to take part in the Undivided Ventures Workshop programme.
- Kita (Cohort 2) were selected as "one to watch" by Business Insider's Tamsin Lockwood
- Infyos (Cohort 1) CEO Sarah Montgomery joined Sifted's Freya Pratty on stage at the European climatetech conference The Drop in Malmo, talking climate tech talent.
- Bluemethane (Cohort 2) are partnering with Shema Power Lake Kivu (SPLK) to test their methane capture technology in Rwanda, transforming this potent greenhouse gas into a source of clean energy. Full details here.
- Circular 11 (Cohort 3) have raised ￡95k in grant funding; secured a contract with the Woodland Trust to provide traceable recycling services; and joined Aster's INC social incubator, to partner with the UK's largest housing associations.
- Limetrack (Cohort 2) have avoided nearly 10 tonnes of CO2e in three months as part of their proof-of-concept trial for commercial food waste. They're now working with Zero Carbon Guildford on their next PoC, and raised a ￡200k seed round over the summer. As their cofounder Cord says "When it comes to food waste… separated we stand, co-mingled we fall."
- And finally, it's easy to get caught up in the frantic hamster wheel of startups and overlook the relationships that matter, so I wanted to share a simple post from Phoenix Carbon CEO Rick Stuart, who took the time to do nothing more than thank his cofounder Luca Frondoni. Kudos to both of you ??
For investors
We are now raising SEIS Fund IV to invest in the next generation of high-growth businesses focused on the climate emergency. You can read more here and download the Pathfinder.