Bengaluru, March 7, 2024: NOW, a pioneering Sustainability Action Venture Studio (SAVES), has announced its official launch for driving innovation and entrepreneurship in the sustainability and climate-tech sectors in India.
As a first of its kind venture studio in the climate tech and deep tech space in India, NOW will act as an institutional cofounder that proactively invests in and co-builds ventures from scratch, de-risking the idea to commercialisation journey for startups. In the next 12-18 months, NOW will invest in and co-build 3-4 startups.
Early-stage deep tech founders that are developing critical sustainability and climate technologies, often struggle to move beyond the early stages due to the challenges of scaling innovative solutions in traditionally slow-to-change industries. They need a partner and a supportive ecosystem that goes beyond financial backing.
"NOW" stands for "No Other World” to bring a sense of urgency to work on climate action and sustainability.
Venture Studio is a new business model, under which NOW will assist founders by providing finance, mentorship, product-market fit, access to market opportunities, corporate partnerships for prototype/solution validation, and access to climate-tech experts.
Founded by Gayathri Kuppendra Reddy, an entrepreneur, trained climate leader, and active angel investor, NOW is led by a core team combining 40+ years of experience across startup scaling, climate entrepreneurship, innovation, SaaS, and venture capital. In the next 12-18 months, the company will invest USD 250K-500K each in 3-4 deep tech sustainability and climate tech startups.
"At NOWVenture Studio, we believe that climate and sustainability present the greatest challenge but also the most significant opportunity– of our lifetime," said Gayathri Kuppendra Reddy, Founder of NOWVenture Studio.
"NOW’s vision is to build category leaders in sustainability and climate tech by leveraging deep tech and deep science-led innovations. We are looking for bold, disruptive, and audacious entrepreneurs or founders with an idea/patent/prototype who are committed to solving and building critical areas of sustainability and climate,” she said.
Pradeep V, Venture Partner at NOW Venture Studio, said, “Environmental issues on the ground highlight the urgent need for the development and scaling of innovative solutions that can address these adverse effects. Entrepreneurs are key to unlocking these solutions while initiating change from the ground up. NOW operates in a venture studio model, whereby we accelerate the journey of a founder from Idea-to-Revenue through a unique de-risking methodology, hands-on entrepreneurial co-building, and milestone-based funding.”
As part of its holistic approach, NOW’s focus for the first phase will be on key sectors vital to reducing the global carbon footprint and advancing environmental resilience, including Built Environment, Industrial and Supply Chain decarbonization, Energy, EV and Mobility, Agri and Food, Circular Economy, and Low Carbon Materials, among others.
NOW’s business model is structured around providing not only financial capital but also strategic support, a network of industry experts, and mentorship to ensure the success and scaling of startups. The company’s focus areas include Built Environment, Industrial & Supply Chain decarbonization, Energy, EV & Mobility, Agri & Food, Circular Economy, Low Carbon Materials, and other areas vital to reducing the global carbon footprint and advancing environmental
