Billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya says he's working on private funding for a new climate investment
- Billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya tweeted on Tuesday that he's working on private funding for a new climate investment.
- He did not specify further about the investment but may have hinted about it in an earlier tweet.
- His announcement comes just one week after he announced a $415 million private investment he led in commercial EV company Proterra.
- Sign up here our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.
Billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya tweeted on Tuesday that he's working on private funding for a new climate investment.
Though he did not specify further the details of the investment, he said the firm "powers a lot of progress in an area that is very important to me and they partner with some great companies to do it."
Palihapitiya explained that the investment will be a PIPE, or a private investment in a public entity, where an investor buys shares of a publicly traded stock at a price below the current market value per share.
His announcement comes just one week after he tweeted about the $415 million private investment he led in commercial EV company Proterra. He called that funding his "biggest investment in climate change."
In what may have been hints from Palihapitiya about what kind of company his latest investment is, he tweeted earlier on Tuesday seven different areas of the climate change investing landscape that he's "following closely."
He first listed "materials and mining-getting the raw inputs we need for battery and electric motor manufacturing."
Palihapitiya also said batteries, electrification, grid level storage, and resiliency including local energy storage and potable water are areas he's interested in. He added that he's following project finance for all of the areas listed. And, he's looking into recycling and particularly what it has to do with batteries and mining.
His new private investment differs from the numerous companies he's invested in before they go public via SPACs.
In 2020, Palihapitiya co-led a $275 million private investment to take 3-D printing company Desktop Metal public via a SPAC. In December he said Desktop Metal is a "really important company in fighting climate change."