Al Gore, Generation IM co-founder

Generation Investment Management, a sustainability-focused investment firm, has raised $1.7 billion for its fourth Sustainable Solutions fund.

The fund is pursuing investments of between $50 million and $150 million to take minority stakes in growth-stage companies. Its focus is on environment, health and financial inclusion sectors.

“We are continuously iterating on our sustainability imperatives in light of new technological innovations and global economic priorities,” partner Shalini Rao told New Private Markets in an emailed statement. “We will also continue to capitalise on our areas of expertise around planetary and societal health – including in specific segments of the economy such as supply chains, future of work, food and agriculture.”

News of the fund’s launch was first broken by Bloomberg in January, which reported that Generation was targeting $1.25 billion for the fund.

Generation was co-founded in 2004 by former US vice-president Al Gore and former Goldman Sachs Asset Management head David Blood. It closed Fund III on $1 billion in 2019 and launched a long hold strategy last year. Also in 2021, Generation established a climate-focused offshoot firm, Just Climate, to raise flexible, long-dated capital for multi-strategy, sector-specific funds. Generation manages assets worth $32 billion across public and private markets, according to a statement from the firm seen by New Private Markets.

Said Rao: “We believe our experience as a dedicated sustainability investment firm gives us a competitive advantage in the markets. We are excited by the momentum around sustainability and see our role in the ecosystem to help ensure that all actors are applying sustainability with thoughtfulness and rigour. We try to hold ourselves to a very high bar.”