Closed Loop Partners’ second venture capital fund, Closed Loop Venture Fund II, is driven by the success of its Fund I. The strategy of both funds capitalizes on the growing need to shift away from inefficient, linear and extractive supply chains and toward healthier, waste-free circular systems. The Closed Loop Venture Fund II is strategically positioned within the firm’s broader ecosystem that includes growth equity, private equity and project-based finance, as well as the Center for the Circular Economy. The Ventures Group benefits from a broad range of investors including multinational corporations like Microsoft and GS Group, foundations like the Autodesk Foundation, and single and multi-family offices from across the United States, Asia and Israel.
“At Microsoft, we’re advancing a more sustainable and resilient way of producing and consuming products and services. The breakthrough solutions that the Closed Loop Ventures Group invests in help pave the way toward a more circular future, one that aligns with our vision of a zero waste world,” says Brandon Middaugh of Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, an investor in Closed Loop Partners’ funds. “Our investment in the Ventures Group’s Fund II is a key part of our efforts toward our 2030 zero waste goals, driven by the innovators and emerging companies that help make this possible.”
“Venture capital plays a key role in accelerating the circular economy, seeding the next generation of solutions to overcome legacy take-make-waste systems, encourage innovation and help transformative companies scale,” says Taehong Huh, Managing Director of GS Futures, corporate venture arm of GS Group of Korea. “The Closed Loop Ventures Group is blazing a trail for some of the most innovative circular solutions in the market today, and we are proud to be investors in the Closed Loop Venture Fund II––supporting companies that advance the circular shift of our economic system.”
“The need for solutions that advance the circular economy is coming into focus, and investment is key to scaling their impact. Closed Loop Partners’ venture capital team continues to be at the forefront of this work, supporting founders and businesses that are transforming our systems and supply chains for the better,” says Jennifer Kenning, CEO and Co-founder of Align Impact. “Our partnership with the Closed Loop Ventures Group is mission-critical to our work, advancing investments that have massive positive outcomes for people and our planet.”
“Our support of Closed Loop Partners’ venture funds has been a key part of our work to transition our markets to a full circular economy model by investing in the technologies and solutions that overcome barriers to change,” says Joe Speicher, Executive Director of the Autodesk Foundation and Head of Sustainability at Autodesk. As the philanthropic arm of Autodesk Inc., the Autodesk Foundation was an investor in Closed Loop Partners’ first and second venture funds. “We are proud to have been an early investor of the Closed Loop Ventures Group and are doubling down on our commitment to help scale the emerging design and manufacturing approaches that make end to end circularity possible.”
Led by Danielle Joseph, Managing Director at Closed Loop Partners, Closed Loop Ventures Group demonstrates that builder capital with a hands-on, active approach to building the Circular Economy is what many of the most ambitious entrepreneurs are seeking. The dedicated team brings a combined skill set of entrepreneurial, operating and investing expertise. “Closed Loop Ventures Group enables Closed Loop Partners to activate the most innovative solutions emerging in the circular economy and provide those solutions the full support of the Closed Loop Partners network,” says Ron Gonen, Founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners.
“The Closed Loop Partners team is unique in the venture capital space, proactively bringing to the table their extensive operating experience, network, and strategic expertise on the circular economy,” says Rich Mokuolu, Co-founder & CEO of Partsimony. “We are proud to be among the first portfolio companies of Closed Loop Venture Fund II and we look forward to the continued growth spurred by their investment, as we expand Partsimony’s reach to build more intelligent, resilient, and local supply chains.”
To date, the Closed Loop Venture Fund II has invested in solutions including Partsimony, ucrop.it and dimpora––investments that span supply chain technology, food & agriculture and fashion. Partsimony‘s SaaS network unifies disparate data to help product designers manufacture more locally and with more sustainable materials. ucrop.it operates a collaborative traceability platform that connects farmers to stakeholders across the agriculture value chain, incentivizing supply chain transparency, best agricultural practices and greater value sharing to advance sustainable agriculture on a global scale. dimpora develops sustainable and PFC-free non-harmful membranes to waterproof clothing, to reduce waste and chemicals from apparel production.
“The successful raise of Closed Loop Partners’ second venture fund signals the increasing understanding that circular supply chains represent the future of industry and materials. We are seeing more founders building businesses in the circular economy, and a growing need for early-stage capital,” says Danielle Joseph, Managing Director of the Closed Loop Ventures Group at Closed Loop Partners. “We look forward to collaborating with the broader venture capital community, fostering transparency and open insight sharing to advance breakthrough innovations.”
Across its investments, the Closed Loop Ventures Group sees transparency and digitization as critical tools in building the supply chains of the future, and will continue to support cutting-edge innovations that reimagine and redesign current systems, driven by data and scientific input. They are focused on furthering localized and distributed manufacturing to build resiliency, and accelerating recovery & reuse to reduce a reliance on volatile commodity prices tied to limited virgin resources. Building on its robust thought leadership, the venture capital team at Closed Loop Partners continues to develop its theses on where they want to see additional investment activity and other smart investors participating in the space, including around markets that are misunderstood in traditional venture capital investing––such as biopolymers as plastic alternatives and evolving molecular recycling technologies.
