Investing in energy transition and sustainability for Africa and beyond.
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PROBLEM:
Too much crop inputs are applied because they are not delivered properly.STATUS QUO:
Applying higher-than-necessary to compensate for lack of precision.BREAKTHROUGH:
Proprietary encapsulation technology that can lower active ingredient usage. -
PROBLEM:
Most soil analysis today test for chemical and physical properties of soil, ignoring biology, which is expensive and complex.STATUS QUO:
Fertilizer recommendations are made with inadequate information. Growers overspend in certain areas and underspend in others.BREAKTHROUGH:
By marrying DNA sequencing with AI, Pattern has built industry-leading tech stack, radically improved our understanding of soils and further enables customized application as needed. -
PROBLEM:
Phosphogypsum (PG), a byproduct of mining, is difficult-to-manage.STATUS QUO:
PG gets stacked that looks like a mountain or can end up in oceans.BREAKTHROUGH:
Proprietary electrochemical process to upcycle PG into useful industrial inputs while permanently sequestering carbon. -
PROBLEM:
Agri yields are lagging in Africa because of lack of access to high quality inputs, credit, and sound agronomic advice.STATUS QUO:
word-of-mouth, ad-hoc approach to making agronomic decisions.BREAKTHROUGH:
software-based, digital-first solution that provides credit, access to inputs, and agronomy advice to farmers in Africa. -
PROBLEM:
Most crop inputs are over applied. This leads to environmental issues and impacts human health.STATUS QUO: Tools required to apply precisely are inadequate or economically unviable for half of humanity.
BREAKTHROUGH:
Niqo lowered the cost of spot-sprayer by 10x-30x, democratizing access for all of us – Unlike others, this can see & apply in Salinas, Senegal, and Santiago. -
PROBLEM:
CO2 emissions from industrial production of fertilizers and othersSTATUS QUO:
SMR process, while low-cost and scaled is environmentally taxing.BREAKTHROUGH:
Low-cost electrolytic co-production of H2 and indispensable commodity chemicals. No CO2 emissions and no subsidies required. -
PROBLEM:
Proliferation of “forever chemicals” or PFAS, polluting drinking water and causing severe environmental and health issues.STATUS QUO:
No scalable and reliable method to remove PFAS forever; EPA has issued new limits for safe level of PFAS in drinking water and most companies are not ready to meet that threshold.BREAKTHROUGH:
Permanently removes PFAS with a proprietary electrochemical process to break down contaminants. -
PROBLEM:
CO2 emissions from industrial production of fertilizers and others.STATUS QUO:
SMR process, while low-cost and scaled, is environmentally taxing.BREAKTHROUGH:
Alkaline Water Electrolysis (AWE) innovation that lowers capex by order of magnitude thereby making it affordable and scalable globally.
Portfolio
Our Story
IRR is important, but not in a conventional sense. It is important the way oxygen is important to living – need it to live, but that’s not what we live for.
We live for, our north star, is to back the most tenacious leaders determined to solve the most daunting challenges of our times in energy transition and sustainability.
Our investor base is patient, comfortable with complexity, and values applied learning and scholarship.
We think in decades, not quarters. While many are in a hurry to publish paper markups, we are a source of patient capital.
We are unafraid of getting dirt under our nails and have built things you can see from space. Where others recoil in backing “hard” tech, we lean-in.
We recognize the importance of scholarship and applied learning. As a result, we back researchers at leading universities working on the bleeding edge ideas.
We are stage-agnostic. From pre-seed to post-IPO, our leading criteria is – Can this make a tangible difference at scale?
From founders, we expect Niya (good intentions), boldness, and clarity. In return, we offer customers, talent, and capital – three most important ingredients to turn vision into reality
We are for doers, by doers. Less puff pieces, more purchase orders. Less decibels, more decisiveness. No committees, all conviction.
