Madrid investment firm Seaya has closed Seaya Andromeda, the first Article 9 climate technology fund based in Southern Europe, at €300 million.
LPs in the new fund include Iberdrola, Nortia, Santander, BNP Paribas Group, NextTech Fund and Bpifrance, bringing the total assets under management on the Seaya platform to over €650 million, making it the largest venture capital investor in Spain.
With 12 years of experience in climate technology, Seaya founded Andromeda to invest in impact-driven growth companies specializing in energy transition, decarbonization, sustainable food value chains and circular economy.
The fund only invests in companies that promote sustainability by reducing waste and pollution. The fund is a signatory to Article 9 of the SFDR, which ensures that all investments made by companies have a positive social and environmental impact.
What Article 9 of the SFDR means in practice
Article 9 of the SFDR classifies EU financial instruments as having sustainability as their primary goal. These “dark green” funds aim to have a positive environmental or social impact and have the most stringent sustainability requirements. These funds must invest primarily for sustainability, thoroughly disclose their approach, and comply with the EU’s Green Activities Classification System.
While some Article 9 funds focus on broad ESG factors, a significant proportion target specific social or environmental issues, and these impact-focused funds often have higher fees.
Seea has already made its first investments from the fund into five impact technology companies, including:
“Recycleye,” an AI-driven robot that separates recyclable waste, and “011h,” an eco-friendly construction company that reduces CO2 emissions on construction sites by 75%.
The new Ceaya fund will invest between €7 million and €40 million in initial investments and will retain capital for follow-on investments, with plans to make a total of 25 investments between now and the end of 2027, including around five further transactions this year.
Seaya is one of the few female-founded venture capital firms in Europe and was founded in 2013 by former private equity investor Beatriz Gonzalez.
Beatriz González, Founder and Managing Partner of Seaya, said: “We are delighted to be working with Seaya to bring this technology to market.
“From the beginning, we have been focused on impact and climate. We have a strong technical background in this space. We started backing climate tech companies in 2012 and have led three to successful exits.”
We have 12 years of experience in this field and are able to offer our knowledge and expertise to founders through this specialized vehicle.”
Pablo Pedrejon and Carlos Fisch are the investment partners leading Andromeda. The fund has four areas of investment:
Energy transition Decarbonization Sustainable food value chain Circular economy
“We are very pleased to be working with Seaya,” said Pablo Pedrejón, partner at Seaya.
“Deep tech climate entrepreneurs face unique challenges compared to their software tech counterparts. Climate tech companies need to translate research into working products, bring them to market, and scale.”
This long journey requires a different kind of support than is typically offered to software startups. This is why climate tech startups need Series B and B+ investors to help them navigate the ‘valley of death’ – the gap between early development and large-scale deployment.”
Main image: Beatriz González, founder and managing partner of Seaya, Photo: Uncredited.
