Azolla Ventures

Azolla Ventures is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused exclusively on climate technology, named after the azolla fern, which was responsible for a dramatic drawdown of atmospheric CO2 approximately 49 million years ago, a historical precedent the firm cites as an illustration of nature's capacity for large-scale carbon removal. The firm invests at the earliest stages of company formation, before most institutional capital enters, in founders applying rigorous science and engineering to address the structural causes of the climate crisis. Azolla's investment philosophy is grounded in the belief that the most consequential climate solutions require long development timelines and deep scientific validation, and that therefore the highest-impact role for early-stage capital is to absorb the risk and uncertainty of this pre-commercial phase when companies are most vulnerable and most underfunded. The firm focuses across a range of climate sectors including carbon removal, clean energy, industrial decarbonization, sustainable agriculture, and materials science. Azolla typically writes checks from $1 million to $5 million at pre-seed and seed stage, often leading or co-leading rounds. Notable portfolio companies include Nori, a carbon credit marketplace that rewards farmers for regenerative agriculture practices, Tierra Climate, which develops high-integrity carbon offset projects, Cement Lock, a technology company developing low-carbon cement and concrete solutions, and Greenovate. Beyond its original investments, the portfolio includes additional companies spanning energy, agriculture, and materials.