World-Changing Investors

The companies on this list are mobilizing the creative tools of capitalism to help solve social problems.

CTW 2023-LeapFrog Investments

<strong>Flagship Pioneering, LeapFrog Investments, TPG/TPG Rise</strong><br />
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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.

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