US-based e-commerce, cloud computing and consumer device group Amazon launched a $2bn investment fund yesterday that will back developers of products that can support carbon reductions.
The Climate Pledge Fund is targeting transportation, logistics, manufacturing, materials, food and agriculture technology developers as well as those engages with clean power production and storage and those involved with the circular economy.
Amazon’s business now encompasses its Amazon Web Services cloud offering and consumer devices Echo, Fire and Kindle as well as its e-commerce marketplace. Its market cap has expanded to $1.38 trillion in recent weeks as Covid-19 lockdowns increase remote buying patterns.
The company has been a relatively active investor and its activities include contributions to a $600m round for autonomous driving technology developer Aurora Innovation in June 2019 and the $1.3bn round raised by electric truck developer Rivian six months later.
The launch of comes after Amazon formed a unit called Alexa Fund in 2015 to back startups working on products that can be integrated with its intelligent voice assistant, Alexa.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and chief executive, said: “The Climate Pledge Fund will look to invest in the visionary entrepreneurs and innovators who are building products and services to help companies reduce their carbon impact and operate more sustainably.
“Companies from around the world of all sizes and stages will be considered, from pre-product startups to well-established enterprises. Each prospective investment will be judged on its potential to accelerate the path to zero carbon and help protect the planet for future generations.”
The vehicle is named after the Climate Pledge announced by Amazon in September 2019 and it said it hopes other companies that have signed up to the pledge, including telecoms firm Verizon, consumer goods producer Reckitt Benckiser and IT services provider Infosys, will contribute to the fund.
The pledge is intended to involve Amazon moving toward using renewable energy for all of its operations by 2030, and it may also lead to its transport activities using only electric vehicles.
