Climate VC Fundraising Projected Below $1 Billion for First Time Since 2015

Climate-specialist venture funds had raised $546 million across six funds as of Aug. 18, and 2026 fundraising is projected to finish below $1 billion, which would be the first sub-$1 billion year since 2015.

The $546 million figure is a snapshot, not a year-end total. The projection remains a forecast, and the available figures do not show how much more specialist funds raised after Aug. 18.

A separate measure of the market shows climate-tech companies received $40.5 billion in venture and growth investment during 2025, an 8% increase from 2024. The number of deals fell 18% to 1,545 over the same period.

The Energy category accounted for $14.4 billion of company investment in 2025, up 31% and its highest level in three years. These company-level figures cover a different period from the 2026 fundraising snapshot and track a different stage of financing.

Climate-specialist funds raised $3.9 billion in 2025, down 39.7% from 2024. Fundraising reached $10.5 billion across 85 funds in 2021.

The figures show lower fundraising by specialist funds alongside higher investment in climate-tech companies during 2025. They do not establish that one trend caused the other, identify how much company investment came from specialist funds or show company investment in 2026.