In brief: General Atlantic’s BeyondNetZero has $3.5bn to invest

BeyondNetZero, the climate-focused unit of General Atlantic, has closed its first fund with around $2.6 billion in capital from external investors, according to a source with knowledge of the firm. Combined with around $900 million in capital from General Atlantic’s flagship growth equity programme, the climate team has about $3.5 billion to invest in climate solutions, the firm announced in December.

BeyondNetZero is described by the firm as a “companion fund, investing in climate growth equity companies alongside General Atlantic’s core global growth equity programme”. The core programme will generally contribute 25 percent of the capital to each of the climate investments made, assuming they meet its mandate.

So far, BeyondNetZero has deployed $826 million into five investments, with General Atlantic’s flagship programme investing alongside in each. The investments span vertical farming, off-grid solar energy, ESG ratings and tech platforms for recycling and supply chain management.

BeyondNetZero was launched in July 2021. At the time, sources close to the firm said it would seek to raise up to $4 billion, including the sizeable commitment from the firm’s flagship programme. At $3.5 billion, BeyondNetZero has become one of the largest pools of climate-focused private equity capital in the market, behind Brookfield’s $15 billion Global Transition Fund and TPG’s $7.3 billion Rise Climate Fund.

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