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CLAI VENTURES MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC
CLAI Ventures invests in climate tech, energy transition, and industrial automation across venture and growth stages. Founded 2018.
CLAI VENTURES MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC
CLAI Ventures launched in 2018 with a mandate to invest at the intersection of industrial efficiency and climate technology. Founders Brad Harrison and Chris Yang built the firm to target hardware-enabled software and physical infrastructure companies, a segment often overlooked by generalist venture capital. The firm deploys across venture to growth stages, concentrating on climate tech, energy transition, industrial automation, and smart infrastructure. Known portfolio positions include 75F, a provider of AI-driven building management systems, and Velo AI, which develops autonomous driving software for commercial fleets. Co-investment partners have included Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Energy Impact Partners, though CLAI Ventures also leads or co-leads rounds (per public record, 2023). Geographically, the firm primarily invests in the United States, with selective exposure in Europe. CLAI Ventures manages capital from institutional limited partners, including pension funds and university endowments, alongside a pool of family offices. As of 2025, the firm has not publicly disclosed AUM or total deployment. Its investment team remains lean, with fewer than 10 investment professionals reported. The firm has no separate philanthropic foundation or adjacent vehicles documented in public filings. A structural differentiator is CLAI Ventures' focus on industrial and climate tech sectors, where it combines a venture capital approach with deep domain expertise in hardware and regulation-heavy markets. This positions the firm to identify and support capital-intensive, long-cycle startups that traditional venture capital often avoids due to extended time-to-liquidity.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2018
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Brad Harrison
Founder & Managing Partner
Chris Yang
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at CLAI Ventures?
Investment decisions are led by founding partners Brad Harrison and Chris Yang, both of whom have backgrounds in industrial technology and venture capital. Public records indicate they serve as managing partners and oversee the firm's sector-focused investment strategy.
What investment stages does CLAI Ventures typically target?
CLAI Ventures deploys across venture and growth stages, from Series A through Series C, with an emphasis on capital-efficient, hardware-enabled software companies. It typically invests between $5 million and $20 million per round.
Which sectors does CLAI Ventures explicitly avoid?
The firm does not publicly document excluded sectors, but its focus on industrial and climate tech implies an avoidance of pure software, consumer internet, and life sciences. Public filings have shown no investments in biotech or digital health.
Does CLAI Ventures participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
CLAI Ventures primarily executes direct investments into portfolio companies, rather than committing capital to other venture funds. It has been known to co-invest alongside institutional partners like energy transition funds (per public record).
Is CLAI Ventures structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
CLAI Ventures is registered as an investment adviser and operates as an asset manager, not a family office. It raises external capital from institutional limited partners, making it structurally akin to a venture capital firm with a specialized sector focus.
How does CLAI Ventures source proprietary deal flow?
The firm relies on its founders' networks in industrial and energy sectors, relationships with corporate venture arms, and a focused sector thesis that attracts deal submissions from climate tech startups. It does not publicly describe using proprietary sourcing platforms.
Does CLAI Ventures maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?
As of the latest public filings, CLAI Ventures has no separate philanthropic foundation. The firm's principals may engage in charitable activities personally, but no official foundation or giving vehicle is documented under the CLAI Ventures name.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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