NY-based Climate Tech Investor Micah Kotch Joins Blackhorn Ventures
Blackhorn Ventures is thrilled to announce that NY-based climate tech investor Micah Kotch will join the firm and lead platform and value creation activities.
Micah joins Blackhorn Ventures from the BMW Group, where he started and served as Managing Director for URBAN-X, the accelerator for startups reimagining city life. With a successful track record of identifying and supporting more than 70 leading startups working on industrial decarbonization and climate adaptation and mitigation over the past five years, he is focused on supporting early-stage entrepreneurs transforming our energy and transportation systems and our built environment.
Blackhorn has raised three funds with investments across 60 early-stage technology companies, totaling $200M in AUM over the last five years. Blackhorn funds are performing in the top quartile of US venture according to Cambridge Associates, where they are an approved manager. The fund is currently raising Industrial Impact Fund II, LP to support a portfolio of 40 Seed and Series A stage venture investments in capital-efficient companies redefining resource use.
Blackhorn recently entered into a strategic partnership with Riverstone LLC, ( a leading private markets firm investing primarily in energy, power and infrastructure, with a 15-year franchise in low-carbon investments) to enhance access to deeper sources of later-stage capital, while also opening up near term paths to liquidity through both the private and public markets. This partnership provides leverage for outsized climate-related impacts, while improving financial outcomes for portfolio companies and limited partners across both organizations.
As Partner, Micah will be working with the firm’s Managing Partners and Operating Partners to lead deal sourcing, investment support, and value creation.
Micah Kotch said:
“I’m excited to join the leading investor advancing resource efficiency and decarbonization in the industrial sector, and with our limited partners and portfolio companies, in this crucial decade to decarbonize our energy and transportation systems and our built environment. With dire environmental warnings from scientists coupled with increasing market demand for low-carbon enterprise-grade solutions, as well as regulatory and capital markets tailwinds, the call to action is clear: our mission is to accelerate emissions cuts while figuring out new paths to adapt to the changes already baked in.
For nearly 20 years, I’ve had the honor of working with entrepreneurs and other leaders from the private and public sector whose success generates positive social, financial, and environmental outcomes. The leverage that we can provide at Blackhorn is transformative. This moment in time calls for pairing bold approaches to decarbonizing our most resource-intense industries with the networks, resources, services and capital to achieve speed and scale.”
Melissa Cheong, Managing Director of Blackhorn Ventures said:
“Blackhorn Ventures focuses on the most resource-intensive industries in the global economy: energy, transportation, and the built environment. With his years of success in startup acceleration, and deep experience in energy resiliency, electric mobility and proptech investment, Micah Kotch is the ideal leader to help us build Blackhorn Ventures as a differentiated venture fund for climate impact.”
Phil O’Connor, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Blackhorn Ventures said:
“Micah is an exceptional addition to our team, his expertise in developing early-stage companies in our sectors is a perfect and timely fit. We’re excited for him to jump right in and help our founders accelerate industrial transformation, furthering Blackhorn’s ability to meet the massive opportunity we are investing in.”
