CNBC Features Launch of Starshot Fund I
Starshot founders and lifelong best friends Jeremy Brewer and Sam Levac-Levey discuss the
May 9, 2024
We support ambitious founders building gigatonne-scale
climate solutions to decarbonize massive markets.
Every industry is going through a radical transformation to decarbonize. We believe this is the greatest opportunity for massive impact paired with tremendous financial returns.
There is so much more to solving the climate crisis than solar panels and electric cars. Every single industry is or will soon be going through a radical transformation to decarbonize, survive, and thrive. We believe this is currently the single greatest opportunity for massive amounts of impact paired with tremendous financial returns.
We have deep knowledge and networks in the climate ecosystem. We helped start the Work on Climate community, the world’s largest and most active climate slack community, the Diamond List, an initiative that surfaces high-potential early-stage climate companies, and the Solutions board game, an educational tool about climate solutions endorsed by Paul Hawken himself.
Managing Partner
Founding Partner
Venture Partner
Principal
MBA Associate
Managing Director Roda Group, 20+ years investing in climate
CIO for 30+ years, successful investor
Managing Partner Incubate Fund, leads Google Alumni startup events
20+ years of executive & investment experience
Former CSO of Unilever, VP of Coca Cola
Venture Investor, former Merrill Lynch banker
Leader of EU Google Alumni community
CEO of OTPP backed climate startup
Chief Innovation & Growth Officer for XPrize
Moonshot thinking has enabled tremendous innovation and the advancement of the human species. However, what drove us to the Moon was fear, more than curiosity – the need to outcompete other humans. Once the competition was won, funding was cut, and we packed up our bags and left, never to return.
Global challenges such as climate change require a new way of thinking. We need to create long-term, collaborative, sustainable solutions. We need to be more ambitious than moonshot thinking.
Every industry is going through a radical transformation to decarbonize. Innovating on decarbonization is not only an opportunity for monumental impact, but is also the economic opportunity of a lifetime. At Starshot Capital we are proud to support founders building high-impact high-growth businesses: those ambitious enough to change the world and improve the lives of millions of people.
Starshot founders and lifelong best friends Jeremy Brewer and Sam Levac-Levey discuss the
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Jeremy is the founding Managing Partner of Starshot Capital. He also serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for Work on Climate, the largest technical climate community in the world.
Prior to Starshot Capital, Jeremy led investment vehicles for the Google and Facebook alumni communities and did venture capital and private equity work for a large Canadian family office. He previously held product, data analysis, and anti-abuse roles across Google, Facebook, and Dataminr, spending his 20% time at Google with CapitalG, Google’s growth equity fund.
Jeremy graduated from Cornell University with a triple major with distinction. Outside of work Jeremy enjoys hiking, spending time with family, and swimming with his dogs.
Sam is a founding Partner of Starshot Capital. He is also the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Work on Climate, the largest technical climate community in the world.
Prior to Starshot Capital, Sam did venture capital and private equity work for a large Canadian family office and helped Jeremy evaluate investments for the Google alumni community. He previously worked at SpaceX on the Octaweb, at Tesla on the Powerpack Inverter prototype, and at Lilium Aviation on the fuselage design.
Sam graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree from Dalhousie University where he was President of the Robotics team and recognized as a Sexton Scholar for outstanding academic achievement in engineering. He has also developed the Solutions board game, a climate education tool endorsed by key leaders in the climate movement.
In a past life, Sam aspired to be a professional basketball player. He loves dancing, exploring the science of happiness, philosophical conversations, and creative drawing.
Zoe Samuel is a Venture Partner at Starshot Capital. Zoe previously worked at Google, where she co-created Alphabet’s largest internal grassroots climate solutions community, Anthropocene, now over 4000 strong. Anthropocene supports Google climate projects such as Project Sunroof, AnthroKrishi, and many more, as well as providing educational and career resources to Googlers seeking to contribute to climate solutions. Zoe also led circularity and climate programs and engagement for gTech, one of the larger divisions at Google, working toward a world without waste.
Fun fact: Zoe once milked over 250 cows, knows the scores of over 50 musicals, and regularly makes world-class roast potatoes.
Nick is a Principal at Starshot Capital. Prior to joining Starshot, Nick worked as a Principal Research Engineer at Air Products and Chemicals, the world’s largest hydrogen supplier. At Air Products, Nick validated catalysts for various hydrogen-related chemistries and optimized amine-based carbon capture systems for blue hydrogen production.
Nick received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware, publishing twelve papers on the topics of heterogeneous catalysis, adsorption, solvent thermodynamics, and in-situ spectroscopy. Outside of work, Nick enjoys going to indie/foreign film theaters, shopping at farmer’s markets, spending time outside, and learning to speak Spanish.
Praveen Mahendran is a MBA Intern/Associate at Starshot capital. Prior to Starshot, Praveen spent 8 years in analytics and consulting, specializing in internal product development and bridging the gap between business and technical teams. He has also worked on or consulted for companies in the agricultural, energy, and carbon utilization cleantech spaces. He is currently pursuing a dual-degree through the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan, which entails a MBA and MS in Sustainable Systems.
Fun fact: Praveen has participated in a half marathon at a national or state park for the past 4 years.