Welcoming Matt Logan as General Partner

We’re driven by the belief that exceptional people build exceptional companies—and that holds true in our own team as well.

We’re delighted to announce that Dawn and I have promoted Matt Logan to General Partner at Earthshot Ventures!

Over the past eight years, I have had the good fortune of working alongside Matt, first at Elemental Impact and then as the first employee at Earthshot Ventures. Matt helped raise Fund I alongside Dawn and me, and since day one, he has been laser-focused on sourcing and supporting some of our most promising investments.

A few of his standout investments include:

• KoBold Metals - AI to discover and develop critical mineral deposits needed for the clean energy transition.
• Etched AI - Specialized chips optimized for AI, improving performance and reducing energy consumption by 90%.
• Vaulted Deep - One of the lowest cost permanent carbon removal solutions available today, backed by market-leading deals with the world’s largest carbon buyers.

It’s been a privilege to work with Matt, and we look forward to the growth ahead!

A Conversation with Matt Logan & Dawn Lippert

To mark the announcement, Dawn sat down with Matt to reflect on his journey, his approach to investing, and what he’s most excited about for the future.

Q: Matt, can you share a few highlights from the last 15 years that brought you to where we are today at Earthshot?

Starting out as an intern with the Cleantech Group in 2010, my main job was to enter fundraising startups into the company’s database. While this was not the most glamorous of roles, I loved learning about new companies and industries every day, and was inspired by founders making a dent in the universe.

Shortly thereafter, I worked for a solar startup as the first business hire, and had the opportunity to help the founder fundraise. It was tremendously valuable for getting my feet wet as an operator, and laid the foundation for my next startup role where I helped AMS raise its Series B and $200M of project finance.

I have loved being on the other side of the table as a VC, working hard every day to bring in more capital to climate. I believe it’s one of the most impactful levers to address the climate crisis with the needed speed and scale. I started at Elemental Impact, sister fund to Earthshot, on the partnerships team. It was such an exciting transition to build on this critical work and help found Earthshot Ventures in 2021. As part of the Elemental investment platform, we’ve been able to supercharge our ability to source, win, and support our portfolio companies.

Q: One of our core values is Play to Win. As someone who’s both an endurance athlete and an investor, where do you see the overlap between endurance racing and venture investing?

There are a lot of parallels, but one that stands out is knowing when to go all in.

At the California International Marathon in 2023, I hit the halfway mark right on PR pace (5:48 / mile) and had a choice: run conservatively and eke out a small personal best, or go all in and try to break 2:30. I decided to push, and averaged 5:38 in the second half and to finish in 2:29:46! This was a big milestone for me after chasing the 2:30 barrier for more than a decade.

The same principle applies in venture. When you see the right opportunity, you have to recognize it and have the conviction to push your chips in. Once KoBold Metals discovered Mingomba, the most promising new copper resource discovered in a long time, we saw that moment. It was a chance to invest meaningfully before the market caught up, and I’m glad we did.

Q: You and I have worked closely to build Earthshot’s outbound sourcing strategy. Can you share what that’s looked like — and how it’s delivered for the fund?

Most of the best investment opportunities don’t just land in your inbox, you have to go find them.

Over the course of Fund I, I’ve personally reached out to over 500 companies, and that’s led to seven of our 27 investments, including KoBold and Etched. Other Earthshot partners have proactively sourced another five.

Doing the small things well compounds over time. Every week, without fail, I set aside time for outbound sourcing, and craft every outreach email to tell a founder why I think what they’re building is special. That approach has worked well for us, and it’s something we’ll double down on in Fund II.

Q: Looking ahead, what are you most excited about?

I am proud of how far we have come, and even more excited about where we are headed. My goal is to help build Earthshot into an enduring firm, one known both for delivering top-tier returns for our investors and for creating a first-class experience for our founders.

I am especially energized by the market opportunity ahead. While the policy landscape can look “doom and gloom” in the headlines, what we’re seeing on the ground is different. We pick teams that don’t depend on long R&D cycles or government incentives, and that have a strong technological ‘why now’ along with standout unit economics. Our discipline around this approach has paid off, and we’re seeing many of our portfolio companies grow through these turbulent market conditions.

Most of our portfolio sits at the intersection of tech, AI, and climate, and that’s exactly where the momentum is building. Over 90% of our companies have generalist tech investors on their cap tables with recent co-investors including a16z, NVIDIA, NEA, BOND, and Foundry Group.

We’re in the middle of a global transition to decarbonization and at the start of a radical shift driven by AI. Generational companies will be built at this intersection, and that is where we are focused.

Q: Any final thoughts?

Putting together the work, the people, the Elemental platform, and the market opportunity, we are exactly where we need to be to capitalize on the opportunity ahead, and I can’t wait to keep building.

Join us in congratulating Matt!

Up next:

• November 6: Matt will be speaking at the SOSV Climate Tech Summit (register here). You can also find him at the event reception from 5-9pm!
• November 19-20: Matt will be at Slush in Helsinki. Please reach out if you’d like to connect.

Warmly,

Mike Jackson

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