Ex-Grok CIO Jeremy Kwong-Law wants to solve climate tech’s missing middle
The former Grok Ventures investment chief is tackling the funding gap stranding climate hardware firms between venture capital and traditional infrastructure money.
Four months after departing Grok Ventures — where he spent nine years as chief investment officer helping deploy Mike Cannon-Brookes’ billions into climate technology — Jeremy Kwong-Law has been focused on one of the sector’s most vexing problems: how to fund the critical transition from proven technology to deployed infrastructure.
While venture capitalists eagerly fund software startups and early-stage technology development, and infrastructure investors line up for proven solar farms and wind projects, there remains a missing middle that few are willing to touch.
Specifically, companies needing to build their first commercial plants often require investments of around $50 million, with projected returns of roughly 20% — too capital-heavy for venture capital, but too risky for traditional infrastructure investors.
“Venture capital sucks at doing that because it’s capital intensive, and the returns don’t work for venture — they need a huge return to make their funds work,” Kwong-Law tells Capital Brief.
