Change the World 2023
Flagship Pioneering, LeapFrog Investments, TPG/TPG Rise
Investors are increasingly on the hunt for startups that can solve social or environmental problems: In 2022, total assets devoted to “impact investing” topped $1 trillion for the first time. These three companies have proved particularly adept at finding companies with world-improving ideas—and steering institutional capital in their direction. Anglo-Australian firm LeapFrog Investments focuses on companies that provide financial services, health care, and clean energy to lower-income consumers in Africa and Asia. Its portfolio of 30 companies includes Sun King, whose rooftop solar-energy panels serve more than 100 million people; and HealthifyMe, an app that delivers personalized health advice to customers in more than 300 cities in India and Southeast Asia. TPG Rise, an impact private equity firm, now manages $17 billion—most notably in its $7.3 billion Rise Climate fund. Rise Climate’s big bets include stakes in Nextracker, whose solar panels move to track the sun across the sky, enabling them to maximize their energy yield; Monolith, a growing player in the race for green hydrogen; and an EV-and-battery-development partnership with Indian automotive giant Tata Motors. Biotech VC firm Flagship Pioneering, best known for founding and incubating vaccine-maker Moderna, has now launched more than 100 companies. Two of those businesses have made waves in 2023: Seres Therapeutics, whose microbiome therapy VOWST was recently approved by the FDA to treat dangerous recurrent C. difficile infections; and Indigo Ag, which helps farmers earn extra revenue by adopting sustainable agriculture practices and selling carbon credits to corporations.
Investors are increasingly on the hunt for startups that can solve social or environmental problems: In 2022, total assets devoted to “impact investing” topped $1 trillion for the first time. These three companies have proved particularly adept at finding companies with world-improving ideas—and steering institutional capital in their direction. Anglo-Australian firm LeapFrog Investments focuses on companies that provide financial services, health care, and clean energy to lower-income consumers in Africa and Asia. Its portfolio of 30 companies includes Sun King, whose rooftop solar-energy panels serve more than 100 million people; and HealthifyMe, an app that delivers personalized health advice to customers in more than 300 cities in India and Southeast Asia. TPG Rise, an impact private equity firm, now manages $17 billion—most notably in its $7.3 billion Rise Climate fund. Rise Climate’s big bets include stakes in Nextracker, whose solar panels move to track the sun across the sky, enabling them to maximize their energy yield; Monolith, a growing player in the race for green hydrogen; and an EV-and-battery-development partnership with Indian automotive giant Tata Motors. Biotech VC firm Flagship Pioneering, best known for founding and incubating vaccine-maker Moderna, has now launched more than 100 companies. Two of those businesses have made waves in 2023: Seres Therapeutics, whose microbiome therapy VOWST was recently approved by the FDA to treat dangerous recurrent C. difficile infections; and Indigo Ag, which helps farmers earn extra revenue by adopting sustainable agriculture practices and selling carbon credits to corporations.
Courtesy of LeapFrog Investments