A founding partner at Microsoft's VC arm M12 has left to take up a GP role at a climate tech investor.
"The challenge at M12 was getting the freedom to operate as a VC," Goldstein told Insider."For a while it worked, and then at some point it didn't." Goldstein wants to make Systemiq"the quality mark" for climate tech investments by using his M12 playbook. In the same way an investor may be more bullish on a deal if Y Combinator or Sequoia is on the cap table, Goldstein wants Systemiq Capital to be known for its ecosystem connections, knowledge, and"tremendous amount of diligence" in climate tech deals.
The software and deep tech investor has led deals in companies such as New York-based fleet management startup Nautilus Labs, Massachusetts metal and carbon fibre 3D printing company MarkForged, and zero-emission British aircraft manufacturer Vertical Aerospace. The latter two both went public via a SPAC in 2021.