As the US scales back climate spending under President Donald Trump’s administration, a coalition of leading private investors is stepping in to fill the gap. Over a dozen venture capital firms and private equity funds – including Khosla Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and DCVC – have launched the All Aboard Coalition, a new initiative designed to support climate tech startups on the cusp of commercialization.
The group aims to close its first fund of about $300 million by the end of October, with initial investments planned before year’s end.
Members of the coalition collectively manage more than $40 billion in assets, leveraging their individual funds alongside the pooled capital.
Bridging the Funding Gap for First-of-a-Kind Projects
The effort comes as private and public funding for high-cost, long-term climate technologies continues to erode. US startups working on direct air capture (DAC) raised just $58 million in Q1 2025, down more than 60% from a year earlier, according to Pitchbook.
With the Trump administration rescinding grants and freezing funding programs, many early-stage companies face significant barriers to building their first commercial-scale facilities.
Several climate tech firms have already succumbed to financial strain. Ocean carbon removal startup Running Tide and DAC developer Noya have folded, while others such as Climeworks have cut staff in response to high operating costs. Similar challenges are playing out across green hydrogen and long-duration energy storage.
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Chris Anderson, a climate investor leading the initiative, said collective action is essential to avoid losing momentum:
“One of the biggest threats to the world’s future is that the companies capable of building a healthy low-emissions global economy are simply not getting the funding they urgently need. The only way to fix that is through collective action.”
By pooling resources, the All Aboard Coalition hopes to keep the next generation of climate innovators on track — even as public support wanes.
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