Investor Profile: ArcTern Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

ArcTern Ventures is a Toronto-based climate tech venture firm founded in 2012 by Tom Rand and Murray McCaig. Its thesis is unusually disciplined: back companies that can cut greenhouse gas emissions at scale within the next decade, and measure the result.

The thesis: deployment and impact, not science projects

Unlike funds that chase breakthrough technologies going from zero to one, ArcTern Ventures backs companies that combine existing technology, materials or know-how in new ways to decarbonise fast. Its first screening criterion is carbon: every potential investment gets a carbon total addressable market assessment, and only companies with the greatest potential for greenhouse gas avoidance make the cut. The firm argues that if a company is not rapidly scaling revenue, it is not having climate impact, and the world needs scalable decarbonisation solutions today, not decades into the future.

ArcTern Ventures invests across North America and Europe from offices in Toronto, San Francisco and Oslo, and it deliberately favours software and capital-light models that can scale quickly over projects that would depend on a half-billion-dollar cheque downstream.

Sectors and stages

ArcTern Ventures invests in early growth-stage companies, particularly those raising Series A or Series B rounds, across renewable energy, energy storage, low-carbon mobility, the circular economy, sustainable food, agriculture and industrial decarbonisation. It is sector-agnostic within climate, as long as the technology genuinely reduces emissions.

Fund size and cheque size

ArcTern Ventures closed its third fund at $335 million in 2024, oversubscribed against a $300 million target, making it one of the largest dedicated climate tech venture funds in the world. Its second fund closed at $200 million. Fund III is registered as an Article 9 fund under the European Union's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, meaning it is measured against climate impact criteria to quantify and verify the emissions its investments avoid. Cheque size is not publicly disclosed.

Notable portfolio companies

HydroStor, a compressed-air long-duration energy storage company. Clir, a renewable energy intelligence platform. Soly, a Netherlands-based solar installation company. King Energy and Palmetto in clean energy, Mosa Meat in cultivated meat, Emitwise in carbon accounting, Cyclic Materials in rare-earth recycling, and Muon Space in climate satellite data.

Partners and programmes

Fund III is backed by large institutional investors including TD Bank Group, Allianz, Church Pension Group, OPTrust, Credit Suisse Asset Management and CPP Investments. Those strategic limited partners can become customers, distribution channels and later-stage co-investors for portfolio companies, which is part of why the firm can help companies scale commercially rather than just financially.

How to apply for funding

Founders can reach ArcTern Ventures through its official website at arcternventures.com. A pitch should lead with the carbon case: how much greenhouse gas the technology avoids, how quickly it can scale revenue, and why the business model is capital-light enough to grow without depending on mega-rounds. Series A and Series B companies in North America or Europe with a credible path to large-scale deployment are the sweet spot.