Closed Loop Ventures Group, a US-based venture capital firm, has closed its second fund at more than $50m from limited partners including corporations Microsoft and GS Group.
Other LPs include foundations, such as the Autodesk Foundation, and single and multi-family offices.
The Closed Loop Venture Fund II run by Danielle Joseph will invest in circular economy solutions across plastics and packaging, fashion, food and agriculture, and supply chain technology. The second fund has already invested in Partsimony, Ucrop.it and Dimpora.
Brandon Middaugh, head of Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, an investor in Closed Loop Partners’ funds, said: “Our investment in the Ventures Group’s Fund II is a key part of our efforts toward our 2030 zero waste goals, driven by the innovators and emerging companies that help make this possible.”
“Venture capital plays a key role in accelerating the circular economy, seeding the next generation of solutions to overcome legacy take-make-waste systems, encourage innovation and help transformative companies scale,” added Taehong Huh, managing director of GS Futures, the corporate venture capital unit of GS Group of Korea that had previously committed to Energy Transition Ventures (ETV).
Joe Speicher, executive director of the Autodesk Foundation and head of sustainability at Autodesk, said the foundation had been an investor in Closed Loop Partners’ first and second venture funds. He added: “We are proud to have been an early investor of the Closed Loop Ventures Group and are doubling down on our commitment to help scale the emerging design and manufacturing approaches that make end to end circularity possible.”
