Fundraising Fox
Chicago · Pre-Seed–Series A · 6 people tracked
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Investment thesis
Buoyant Ventures invests in the 'intelligence layer' of the world's large-scale infrastructure buildout across energy, grid, data centers, and industrial systems. The firm's premise is that over the next two decades more than $100 trillion will flow into this infrastructure, and that even a 1% gain in efficiency at scale generates significant value. It therefore backs technology and software that make infrastructure more efficient and intelligent, positioning at the intersection of energy and tech.
Source: firm website, verified Sep 29, 2026.
Team · 6 people
from the firm's website & curated & public directories
What they invest in
from 29 of 41 portfolio companiesEnergy ×10SaaS ×10Climate Tech ×8AI & Machine Learning ×7Cleantech ×7Data & Infrastructure ×7Enterprise Software ×7Advanced Manufacturing ×3
HQs:United States×21Canada×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 17 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×72 founders×63 founders×24+ founders×2
Where their founders studiedfrom 15 founders with education data
Massachusetts Institute of Technology ×3Indiana University Bloomington ×2The University of Chicago Booth School of Business ×2University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ×2
What their founders studiedfrom 16 founders with field-of-study data
Engineering ×8Business & Management ×4Computer Science ×3Finance & Accounting ×3
Where their founders worked beforefrom 15 founders with career history
HData ×2Hyde Park Angels ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
Investments · 41 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 22025 · 42024 · 22023 · 22022 · 32021 · 22020 · 12019 · 22016 · 119 dated
HData is an AI-native operating system that helps utilities, regulators, and energy companies manage regulatory compliance and business intelligence through centralized data and standardized reporting.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnergyEnterprise SoftwareFintechGovTechJoliet, US
Hudson Hollister(Founder)inYuval Lubowich(Co-Founder)in
BoardJohn Fein(Director)inAnthony Mealey(Director)Mithun Banarjee(Director)
Board seatAmy Francetic· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsFirebrand VenturesHyde Park Venture PartnersTechstarsBlueTree Venture CapitalFrontier Venture CapitalInnovation Depot+8 more
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Aurora Solar makes a cloud-based platform for designing, selling, and delivering solar energy projects, including 3D modeling with shade and tilt analysis, proposal generation, and lead capture tools.
CleantechEnergySaaSSan Francisco, US
Christopher Hopper(Founder)inSamuel Adeyemo(Founder)in
BoardTyler Lancaster(Director)inShvetank Jain(Director)Doug Pepper(Director)
Board seatAmy Francetic· per SEC Form D · $23.5M raise · filed Apr 2019
Co-investorsAngelDAOCoatue ManagementEnergize CapitalFifth WallGROOVE CAPITALICONIQ+6 more
Infrastructure planning tools for medium and heavy duty fleet electrification.
Arlington, US
Patrick Finch(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Yanzhi Xu(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
Board seatAmy Francetic· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsSchematic VenturesSpringTime VenturesEvergreen Climate Innovations
Sunairio develops grid forecasting software that integrates energy, weather, and climate data to help energy traders, grid operators, and renewable asset developers optimize commercial decisions.
AI & Machine LearningCleantechClimate TechData & InfrastructureEnergyInsurTechBaltimore, US
Rob Cirincione(Founder & CEO)inMitchell Walk(Director)
BoardDavid Arcara(Director)
Board seatAlex Behar· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsConstellation Technology VenturesKeiki CapitalMassMutual VenturesMVPRosecliff VenturesTechstars+1 more
FloodFlash provides parametric flood insurance using IoT sensors to detect flooding and enable rapid claim payouts, typically within 48 hours, targeting landlords and businesses seeking alternatives to traditional indemnity insurance.
InsurTechIoTLondon
Adam Rimmer(Executive Officer, Director)Edward Anderson(Director)Ian Bartholomew(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatAmy Francetic· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsGlobal BrainInsurtech Gateway FundLocalGlobeMS&AD VenturesPentech VenturesPT1+1 more
The Center for American Progress is a public policy research and advocacy organization that publishes reports, articles, and analysis on U.S. issues such as immigration, economy, health care, national security, climate, and democracy.
GovTechImpact & Social GoodMedia & EntertainmentWashington, US
Co-investorsBlue Haven Initiative
Audette provides a platform for asset and portfolio managers to identify and prioritize building retrofit investments, using data analysis to uncover high-return opportunities that improve net operating income and reduce emissions.
PropTechSaaS
Co-investorsCreative Destruction Lab (CDL)Energy Impact PartnersForesight CanadaModerne VenturesPanache VenturesStepchange+2 more
Beni is a search and discovery platform that aggregates 300 million secondhand deals across resale marketplaces, allowing consumers to find used items from their favorite brands at lower prices through web, mobile app, and browser extension.
Circular EconomyConsumerMarketplacesBrooklyn, US
Katharine Sanner(Executive Officer)Kate Sanner(Founder)Sarah Pinner(Founder)
Co-investorsBetter Ventures Central LlcXYZ Venture CapitalChingona Ventures
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Blue Tree VC is a venture capital firm based in the Rust Belt tech hub that invests in early-stage companies.
Sector Agnostic
Catherine V. Mott(Managing Partner)inSreekar R. Gadde(Managing Partner)in
Buoyant develops Linkerd, a service mesh platform for Kubernetes that enables organizations to build secure, reliable, and observable software infrastructure.
Cloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software
William Morgan(Founder)inOliver Gould(Founder)in
Co-investorsA.Capital VenturesDCVC (Data Collective)GV (Google Ventures)Harpoon VenturesWebb Investment NetworkBenchmark+2 more
CanopyClimate helps companies, non-profits, and organizations measure and reduce their collective employee emissions through team-based climate action tracking and reporting.
CleantechClimate TechEnergyEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS
Co-investorsWireframe Ventures
Firebranding VC is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies across multiple sectors including urban planning, edtech, mobility, and logistics solutions.
Co-investorsNueterra Capital
Frost & Sullivan is a growth advisory and market research firm that helps organizations across industries analyze emerging trends and identify growth opportunities.
Data & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSan Antonio, US
David Frigstad(Chairman & Founder)inWyman Bravard(Director & Founder)Lore A. FrostDaniel M. Sullivan
Co-investorsInvest Northern Ireland
By Gravity builds enterprise data analytics software that uses generative AI to bridge the gap between data insights and business action.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSaaSBoulder, US
Drew Gillson(Co-Founder & CTO)inLucas Thelosen(Co-Founder & CEO)in
Co-investorsCommunitas Capital PartnersFoundryNext Frontier CapitalRitual CapitalAnsa CapitalCaffeinated Capital+4 more
Gravity develops a suite of WordPress plugins including Gravity Forms (a drag-and-drop form builder with payments and conditional logic), Gravity SMTP (email delivery and tracking), and Gravity Flow (workflow automation and approvals).
Developer ToolsMarketing TechSaaS
Carl Hancock(Founder)in
Co-investorsAugust CapitalGV (Google Ventures)Irregular ExpressionsRedpoint VenturesAnsa CapitalCaffeinated Capital+4 more
Gravity develops wearable human flight technology, including a jet suit that augments human capability to enable individual flight.
Deep TechHardware
Saleh ElHattab(Founder)in
Co-investorsDraper AssociatesAnsa CapitalCaffeinated CapitalCommitted CapitalCommunitas Capital PartnersEclipse+1 more
Gravity is an enterprise carbon and energy management platform that automates data collection and value-chain engagement to produce Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions disclosures.
Climate TechEnergySaaSSan Francisco, US
Saleh ElHattab(Founder)inTed Kornish(CTO)in
Co-investorsEclipse VenturesHNVRAnsa CapitalCommunitas Capital PartnersGV (Google Ventures)Redpoint Ventures+1 more
Hammerhead makes Karoo, a cycling computer device for recording and displaying ride data, routes, and workouts.
CleantechHardwareNew York City, US
Laurence Wattrus(Founder)inRaveen Beemsingh(Founder)inJon Morgan(Founder)in
Co-investorsCourtside VenturesNext VenturesR/GA VenturesStepchangeTechstarsVTF Capital+9 more
Hammerhead develops software that orchestrates power, cooling, and compute in real time to unlock idle GPU capacity in data centers for AI workloads.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnergy
Co-investorsSE Ventures
Hyde Park Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage and growth companies across various sectors.
Sector AgnosticChicago, US
Guy Turner(Partner)inIra Weiss(Partner)in
Co-investorsCharmides CapitalRenaissance Venture CapitalQuiet Capital
Laconia Capital Group is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in pre-seed and seed B2B software founders, supporting them with sales acceleration, operational execution, and capital strategy.
MassMutual Ventures is the venture capital arm of MassMutual, investing in enterprise SaaS, climate technology, fintech, cybersecurity, and healthtech companies and providing capital, connections, and expertise to support their growth.
CybersecurityFintechSaaS
Co-investorsClean Energy Ventures
Ocient builds petabyte-scale agentic AI solutions through its OcientAIQ platform for enterprises managing massive datasets.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareChicago, US
S. Christopher Gladwin(Executive Officer, Director)Chris Gladwin(Founder)inJoe Jablonski(Founder)inKumar Abhijeet(Executive Officer)inWilliam McCarthy(Executive Officer)John Morrisin
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesBlue Bear Capital PartnersGreycroftIllinois VenturesIn-Q-TelValor Equity Partners+7 more
This page is a distribution, marketing, and reseller partner directory for PRWeb, an online press release distribution service.
Marketing TechMedia & EntertainmentSaaS
Co-investorsAdvance Venture PartnersAngel Physicians FundAvestria VenturesAviv Venture CapitalBIGR VenturesBlue Venture Funds+15 more
Raptor Supplies is an online distributor of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products, offering categories such as abrasives, adhesives, electrical, fasteners, hand and power tools, HVAC, safety and lab supplies.
Advanced ManufacturingB2B MarketplacesE-commerce
Co-investorsHoxton VenturesData Point Capital
Raptor Maps provides AI-powered analytics and automation software for solar plant operations, helping owners, operators, and engineers reduce costs and losses through visual data analysis and autonomous drone inspections.
Advanced ManufacturingAgTechAI & Machine LearningClimate TechBoston, US
Nikhil Vadhavkar(President and CEO)inEddie Obropta(CTO)inForrest Meyen(Founder)Courtney Strauss(Business Operations Manager)Assaf Weinberg(Head of Engineering)Elizabeth Bennett(People Operations Coordinator)
Co-investorsArgonautic VenturesBlue Bear Capital PartnersClean Energy VentureCongruent VenturesData Point CapitalDNV Ventures+17 more
ReelData AI provides an AI-powered software suite for land-based aquaculture farms to optimize feeding, monitor fish biomass, manage environmental conditions, and detect health issues.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningClimate TechIoTHalifax, CA
Mathew Zimola(Founder)Matt ZimolainMatthew Zimola Hossein Salimian(Founder)
Co-investorsS2G InvestmentsTechstarsEvergreen Climate Innovations
Shifted Energy develops a Distributed Energy Resources Management System (DERMS) platform for utilities to control and optimize virtual power plants at the grid edge.
CleantechClimate TechEnergyHonolulu, US
Olin Lagon(Executive Officer)Donavan Kealoha(Director)Forest Frizzell(Executive Officer)Nguyen Le(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardAndrew Karetsky(Director)
Co-investorsEPIC VENTURESKapor CapitalSkyview Ventures
SkyFi operates a platform that provides access to satellite imagery and Earth observation analytics from multiple providers through a single, user-friendly interface with transparent pricing.
Data & InfrastructureDeep TechDefense TechSaaS
Luke Fischer(Founder)in
Co-investorsBalerion Space VenturesBeyond Earth VenturesCapital FactoryDNV VenturesIronGate Capital AdvisorsJ2 Ventures+3 more
CleantechClimate TechSeattle, US
Erin Rothman(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)inPat LaPointe(Director)Teri Floyd(Director)
Co-investors9Mile LabsE8 AngelsNext Wave ImpactTechstarsBURNT ISLAND VENTURESGratitude Railroad+3 more
Supply chain visibility, benchmarking, and risk management tools; acquired by Sphera in 2024.
Enterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSSanta Cruz, US
Alexander Gershenson(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)James Barsimantov(Director, Promoter)
BoardDan Levine(Director)Loren Straub(Director)inTara Norton(Director)
Co-investorsAiiM PartnersBlackhorn VenturesBowery CapitalValuestream VenturesVentureSouqWorking Capital Fund+1 more
Thin Line Capital is a venture capital firm that invests $400-$600k into seed-stage, low-capex climate-tech companies focused on renewable energy, electrification of transport, and climate resiliency.
CleantechClimate TechEnergy
Aaron Fyke(Founder and Managing Partner)
Co-investorsWavemaker Partners
Utility Dive is a business news publication covering the utility industry, including topics such as smart grid, regulation and policy, demand response, and power generation.
EnergyMedia & Entertainment
Co-investorsBlueTree Venture Capital
Victorum Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies across the United States, with a focus on high-potential businesses in markets often overlooked by traditional venture capitalists.
Sector AgnosticVancouver, US
Siegfried Guenter(Director)James Roller(Managing Partner)in
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
AudetteColumbiafoundational researchIeaReel Data
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Exits · 5
5 acquisitions · showing 3Gravityacq. by AOLPentec Health Celebrates 35th Anniversaryacq. by Wellspring Capital ManagementSupply Shiftacq. by Sphera
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
Southwire · 3blmedia.com · Sep 3, 2026
Aurora Solar · aurorasolar.com · Mar 26, 2026
SkyFi · techcrunch.com · Jan 14, 2026
Ocient · fintech.global · Apr 23, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc made?
- Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc has 41 tracked investments, 5 of which have exited, including 7 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc invest at?
- Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
- What is Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc's typical check size?
- Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc typically writes checks of $500K – $5M.
- What sectors does Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc focus on?
- Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc focuses on AgTech, AI & Machine Learning, Circular Economy, Cleantech, Climate Tech, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Developer Tools, Energy, FoodTech, Mobility & Transportation.
- Where is Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc located?
- Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc is headquartered in Chicago, US.
- Does Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc lead rounds?
- Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc co-invest with?
- Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc most often shares deals with Techstars, Blue Bear Capital Partners, MassMutual Ventures, among 106 tracked co-investors.
From the blog
visit blog ↗Buoyant has been writing about the convergence of AI infrastructure demands with energy and grid constraints, positioning efficiency software and intelligence layers as critical across energy, computing, industrial, and climate resilience sectors. The firm forecasts that business fundamentals and grid capacity will be the deciding factors for 2026–2027, while expecting consolidation among AI startups lacking defensible moats. AI summary
Images
Co-investors · 8
Energy Impact Partners is an investment firm that connects entrepreneurs with major corporate partners to help drive the transformation of the global economy toward a more sustainable future.
Powerhouse Ventures is a seed-stage venture firm backing startups building software across energy, mobility, and industry, part of a broader Powerhouse platform that began in 2013 as a clean energy incubator.
Schematic Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on technology that makes and moves the world, investing in industrial hardware, supply chain, and related sectors.
OCA Ventures is a venture capital firm that partners with founders from seed stage onward, providing capital along with strategic advice and introductions across sectors including biotech, healthcare, and technology.
Better Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm backing mission-driven technology companies working to build a better world across climate, health, and workforce sectors.
Active Impact Investments is a climate tech seed fund based in Canada, backing early-stage companies that advance planetary sustainability by innovating across production and consumption industries.
Riverwalk Capital Partners is a generalist venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups across diverse industries and geographies, combining financial capital with strategic operational support and mentorship from experienced entrepreneur-operators.
Strawberry Creek Ventures is a private venture investing community for UC Berkeley alumni, part of Alumni Ventures, offering a diversified annual fund and deal-by-deal syndications that co-invest alongside leading VC firms.
Firms observed investing alongside Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc's recorded portfolio.
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