Reduce A/C Energy by 40%: MIT Spinout + Top Climate Tech VC Investors

Hear 5 themes from Sept. 10th EFI CEO & investor discussion on AI in climate tech in practice. Additionally, discover 7 ways AI is a climate champion, along with 14 example companies. (From my newsletter. Join 40,000 who get it. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com)

Using robots and microfactories to build energy-efficient, affordable homes, resilient to natural disasters.🎧 Episode SummaryReframe Systems, led by CEO Vikas Enti, is a climate‑tech startup building compact, robotic micro‑factories that can construct climate‑resilient, net‑zero homes—specifically “missing‑middle” housing—significantly faster, cheaper, and with far lower carbon emissions than traditional methods. Having previously led robotics innovation at Amazon Robotics (and before that, Kiva Systems), Enti’s Reframe was recently awarded LACI’s LA Resilient Rebuilding Cup, recognizing both his vision and progress toward scalable, resilient housing solutions. 🔑 HighlightsRaising a new $20M round co-led by Eclipse and VoLo Earth Ventures, with support from MassMutual Catalyst Funds, Cubit Capital, Planetary Health at RA Capital Management, Saga Ventures, and Nor’easter VenturesBuilding affordable, high-efficiency homes 2.5x faster and 30% cheaperLeading teams at Amazon Robotics with 1 million robotsAddressing a 500,000-worker shortage in building construction, with 40% of tradespeople expected to retire in the next 10 yearsChanging a career based on children and finding more meaning in life🌎 Join EFI’s Climate CEO Peer GroupBecome an EFI Climate CEO Fellow—North America’s top invite-only peer community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. 100 CEOs and Mentors representing $40B in market value or investment assets.👉 https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📨 Get Our 4-Minute NewsletterFor entrepreneurs and investors: 5 quick points on climate data, CEO to know, investor spotlights, AI insights, and mindfulness moments—drawn from 400+ climate CEOs and 25 years of meditation practice.👉 https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com/⭐ Leave a ReviewNo sponsors—just real conversations with climate leaders. If you found this episode valuable, please leave a review to help others discover it.👉 https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🎙️ About the HostDr. Chris Wedding is a CEO coach, investor, serial founder, board member, professor, and occasional monk. Follow daily insights on climate tech startups and leadership on LinkedIn:👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwedding

Learn 5 quick insights in climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI for entrepreneurs, and mindfulness in leadership — straight from my newsletter. Join 40,000 who get it. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com

AI-powered agtech infrastructure is growing climate-friendly crops while boosting farmer profitability—backed by horticultural expertise and data science.🎧 Episode SummaryIUNU is a Seattle‑based ag‑tech startup using AI‑driven computer vision and autonomous sensors—via its LUNA platform—to monitor greenhouse crop growth in real time, optimize operations, and boost farm productivity across 100 facilities in 18 countries.They've raised over $60 million to scale up, including a recent $20M round led by our friends at S2G Investments. Adam Greenberg is the CEO and co-founder. As a servant leader, he believes that "true leaders base their success on the success of those around them." Amen, brother! His prior roles include consulting for Fortune 100 companies, volunteering with youth programs, and co-founding Pure Blue Tech (a reverse osmosis water tech co). 🔑 HighlightsHow they recently raised $20 million in a challenging market by demonstrating strong market pull from customersWhy they help farmers, retailers, and breeders with real business benefits before mentioning their environmentally friendly attributesWhat he means by Chief Translation OfficerHow great leaders create an environment where everyone is willing to go the extra mileThe inverse correlation between high-impact work and personal balanceHow Wim Hof breathing and meditation keep him healthy and sane🌎 Join EFI’s Climate CEO Peer GroupBecome an EFI Climate CEO Fellow—North America’s top invite-only peer community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. 100 CEOs and Mentors representing $40B in market value or investment assets.👉 https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📨 Get Our 4-Minute NewsletterFor entrepreneurs and investors: 5 quick points on climate data, CEO to know, investor spotlights, AI insights, and mindfulness moments—drawn from 400+ climate CEOs and 25 years of meditation practice.👉 https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com/⭐ Leave a ReviewNo sponsors—just real conversations with climate leaders. If you found this episode valuable, please leave a review to help others discover it.👉 https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🎙️ About the HostDr. Chris Wedding is a CEO coach, investor, serial founder, board member, professor, and occasional monk. Follow daily insights on climate tech startups and leadership on LinkedIn:👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwedding

Learn 5 quick insights in climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI tips, and mindfulness in leadership — straight from my newsletter. Join 20,000 who get it. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com

Learn how to dramatically lower HVAC energy use via metal organic frameworks with Sorin Grama, CEO of Transaera.🎧 Episode SummaryTransaera is reimagining air-conditioning with solid desiccant materials that strip out moisture before cooling. Translation: less energy, fewer emissions, and a planet that sweats less.It’s a plug‑and‑play upgrade across residential and commercial HVAC systems.Sorin is an MIT-trained engineer, inventor, and serial entrepreneur. He’s also the co-founder of Greentown Labs, a lecturer at MIT, and a Climate CEO Fellow in our EFI peer group program.🔑 Key Takeaways“Don’t fall in love with tech. Fall in love with the customer’s pain.”Promethean Power Systems and the art of keeping dairy cold in rural IndiaThe weird science of Metal Organic FrameworksLeadership lessons from Hard Thing About Hard Things + Zen and the Art of Motorcycle MaintenanceHis 5-minute journal + the radical act of slowing down to think clearly🌎 Join EFI’s Climate CEO Peer GroupBecome an EFI Climate CEO Fellow—North America’s top invite-only peer community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. 100 CEOs and Mentors representing $40B in market value or investment assets.👉 https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📨 Get Our 4-Minute NewsletterFor entrepreneurs and investors: 5 quick points on climate data, CEO to know, investor spotlights, AI insights, and mindfulness moments—drawn from 400+ climate CEOs and 25 years of meditation practice.👉 https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com/⭐ Leave a ReviewNo sponsors—just real conversations with climate leaders. If you found this episode valuable, please leave a review to help others discover it.👉 https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🎙️ About the HostDr. Chris Wedding is a CEO coach, investor, serial founder, board member, professor, and occasional monk. Follow daily insights on climate tech startups and leadership on LinkedIn:👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwedding

Learn 5 quick insights in climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI tips, and mindfulness in leadership — straight from my newsletter. Join 20,000 who get it. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com

Legendary VC investor Brad Feld explains why “giving first” (his new book) is the key to building resilient founders, impactful startups, and thriving startup communities—especially in climate tech and turbulent times.🎧 Episode SummaryBrad Feld, co-founder of Foundry Group and Techstars, joins Dr. Chris Wedding to discuss why his “Give First” philosophy—mentorship without expectation of immediate return—matters more than ever. Brad shares lessons from four decades as a VC investor, board member, and mentor. These include how startup founders can survive near-death experiences, embrace long time horizons, and create positive-sum relationships that outlast cycles of hype, political polarization, and shifting government priorities.Brad dives into the difference between being a mentor, advisor, coach, and investor—and why setting boundaries and focusing on the long arc of reputation and karma is critical for mental health and sustained impact. He also shares insights from his latest book, Give First, and how the practice of non-transactional mentorship can unlock new opportunities and durable communities in climate innovation.🔑 Key TakeawaysPrivate sector innovation—and founders with grit—are more important than ever for climate solutions, especially as government support and data become more fragile.Most startups fail, but even failures drive learning, progress, and future breakthroughs—long-term impact compounds through experimentation.The best founders are resilient, adaptive, and motivated by mission, not just market conditions; they see setbacks as “type 2” fun (enjoyable in hindsight).“Give First” means engaging in relationships without upfront transactional expectations—positive outcomes flow back in unpredictable ways over time.Mentorship is distinct from advisory, coaching, or investing: mentors give with no guarantee of return; advisors and coaches are transactional; investors have skin in the game.Healthy boundaries are essential: founders and mentors must balance generosity, mental health, and financial realities.Community building in climate tech—and beyond—relies on trust, shared learning, and a willingness to help without keeping score.Reputation and “karma” accrue over decades, not quarters; the most satisfying business relationships are long-term, peer-based, and founded on authenticity and empathy.Brad’s Mentor Manifesto (from Techstars) and the concept of “entrepreneurial tzedakah” (righteous giving) offer frameworks for effective, fulfilling mentorship.Giving first in business isn’t altruism; it’s a philosophy for creating positive-sum games in a world fixated on transactions.🌎 Join EFI’s Climate CEO Peer GroupBecome an EFI Climate CEO Fellow—North America’s top invite-only peer community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. 100 CEOs and Mentors representing $40B in market value or investment assets.👉 https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📨 Get Our 4-Minute NewsletterFor entrepreneurs and investors: 5 quick points on climate data, CEO to know, investor spotlights, AI insights, and mindfulness moments—drawn from 400+ climate CEOs and 25 years of meditation practice.👉 https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com/⭐ Leave a ReviewNo sponsors—just real conversations with climate leaders. If you found this episode valuable, please leave a review to help others discover it.👉 https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🎙️ About the HostDr. Chris Wedding is a CEO coach, investor, serial founder, board member, professor, and occasional monk. Follow daily insights on climate tech startups and leadership on LinkedIn:👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwedding

Learn these 5 quick insights in climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI tips, and mindfulness in leadership — straight from my newsletter. Join 20,000 who get it. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com

Learn how Realta Fusion raised a giant Series A VC round to commercialize university tech for affordable fusion energy in industrial heating. 🎧 Episode SummaryKieran Furlong, Co-Founder and CEO of Realta Fusion, joins host Dr. Chris Wedding to reveal how his team is commercializing a breakthrough approach to fusion energy, spinning out of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Realta’s “CosmoFusion”—compact, scalable, and modular—aims to bring affordable, zero-carbon energy to hard-to-abate sectors much sooner than the world expects.Kieran shares why their recent funding round was oversubscribed, details the world record 17 Tesla magnetic field their team achieved, and demystifies the practical steps from deep science to the first-of-its-kind commercial fusion plant. He digs into how Realta’s engineering mindset speeds up the path to market, why industrial heat (not just electricity) is an overlooked fusion product, and how the company is tackling public perception, regulation, and customer partnerships head-on.🔑 Key TakeawaysRealta Fusion’s CosmoFusion approach centers on building compact, modular, and scalable fusion plants—right-sized for private industry, not just distant grid-scale promises.Their team achieved a world-record 17 Tesla magnetic field strength in plasma containment, a major technical milestone for fusion’s viability.Realta targets delivering industrial heat directly to energy-intensive sectors (like petrochemicals and data centers), unlocking decarbonization beyond the electric grid.The business model: ‘build-own-operate’ for the first commercial plant, with future expansion to OEM and global partnerships, rather than risky licensing.Realta’s cost curve strategy borrows from the modular scaling seen in wind and solar, aiming for rapid cost declines as more units are built.Fusion’s safety profile is fundamentally different from fission: no long-lived radioactive waste, no runaway reactions, and intrinsic fail-safety—the technical and public education challenge is a top priority.Regulators in the US, UK, and Japan are already treating fusion differently from fission, making a faster, cheaper path to market possible.The fusion industry benefits from bipartisan support and national interest in reshoring high-precision manufacturing and energy security.Kieran’s advice for founders: set your personal red lines (e.g., defense work) early and align your team before pressure hits; build healthy routines (like biking year-round in Wisconsin!); and learn from big project management history.Recommended reads: “How Big Things Get Done,” “Energy and Civilization” by Vaclav Smil, and “The Prize” by Daniel Yergin.🌎 Join EFI’s Climate CEO Peer GroupBecome an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — North America’s top invite-only community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. Capped at 100 CEOs and Mentors representing $40B in market value or investment assets.👉⁠ ⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠📨 Get Our 4-Minute NewsletterWritten for entrepreneurs and investors, we cover five quick points on climate data, CEOs to know, investor spotlights, AI insights, and mindfulness moments, drawn from working with 400+ climate CEOs and investors and 25 years of meditation practice.👉⁠ ⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com/⁠⁠⭐ Leave a ReviewThis podcast has no sponsors—just real conversations with climate leaders. If you found it valuable, please take a minute to leave a review so more people can discover these stories.👉⁠ ⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews⁠🎙️ About the HostDr. Chris Wedding is a CEO coach, investor, serial founder, board member, professor, and occasional monk. Follow daily insights on climate tech startups, leadership, and finance on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwedding/