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The Roda Group
Dan Miller and Roger Strauch formed The Roda Group in 1997, animated by the conviction that the energy transition was a capital-allocation problem being...
The Roda Group
Dan Miller and Roger Strauch formed The Roda Group in 1997, animated by the conviction that the energy transition was a capital-allocation problem being mispriced by traditional venture. The firm's genesis sits outside the standard wealth-management arc: Miller brought a background in engineering and telecommunications, while Strauch was the former CEO of a technology company and an active angel investor. Their combined operating experience shaped a practice that often engages at the board level, not merely as a source of capital. The firm deploys across venture-stage climate technology, with a focus on electrification, low-carbon fuels, grid-scale storage, and carbon transformation. Roda was the first institutional investor in Solazyme (now TerraVia), a synthetic biology platform producing renewable oils, and an early backer of Axion Power International, a lead-carbon battery company targeting utility-scale storage. Positions have spanned renewable natural gas, sustainable aviation fuel, and direct air capture — an asset mix that typically avoids consumer-facing hardware in favor of business-to-business industrial innovation. Geographic exposure is concentrated in the United States, particularly California and the mid-Atlantic corridor, with select engagements in Canada. The Roda Group operates with a lean internal team; specific headcount or total deployment figures are not publicly disclosed. The firm maintains a private, partnership-oriented posture and does not promote ancillary vehicles, philanthropic foundations, or co-investment club affiliations in its limited public communications. In recent years, Roda has maintained a low external profile, a posture consistent with its historical practice of avoiding broad marketing in favor of direct technical engagement with its portfolio companies. The firm's structural niche is its temporal advantage in climate venture. By entering climate technology a full decade before the cleantech 1.0 boom and crash of 2006–2011, Roda developed an underwriting muscle for hardware-intensive, compliance-dependent businesses that clean-tech generalists have struggled to replicate. The partnership model — two managing directors with multi-decade tenure — creates a concentrated governance structure that precludes the style drift common in larger multi-sector funds.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1997
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Berkeley
Corporate office
Berkeley, CA, United States
Principals
Dan Miller
Managing Director & Co-Founder
Roger Strauch
Managing Director & Co-Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does The Roda Group source its investments?
Roda sources primarily through the deep technical networks of its two co-founders, Dan Miller and Roger Strauch, who have operated in climate and deep tech for over two decades. The firm does not operate a public call-for-startups model, relying instead on referrals from research institutions, portfolio company executives, and a disciplined thesis-driven search process. This approach surfaces deals that are often overlooked by generalist venture funds.
Is The Roda Group a single-family office or a venture capital firm?
The Roda Group is structured as a venture capital firm run by its co-founders, not a single-family office investing inherited wealth. While it maintains a low public profile and a concentrated partnership, its capital comes from institutional and high-net-worth limited partners, investing through traditional fund structures. The firm explicitly identifies as an asset manager, not a family office.
Does The Roda Group ever lead investment rounds?
Roda has demonstrated a willingness to lead rounds, particularly in early institutional stages where its technical diligence provides an advantage. Its position as the first institutional investor in Solazyme, where it maintained a board seat and guided the company through its initial public offering, indicates a preference for concentrated positions with significant influence rather than passive syndicate participation.
What sectors does The Roda Group explicitly avoid?
Roda's public portfolio suggests an avoidance of consumer-facing hardware, enterprise SaaS with no physical-science component, and biotechnology outside of industrial applications. The firm has historically passed on consumer internet, fintech, and traditional healthcare IT, concentrating instead on sectors where the primary technology risk is governed by thermodynamics, chemistry, or grid-scale physics rather than user adoption curves.
How does The Roda Group think about exit timelines for deep tech companies?
The firm has demonstrated patience for multi-decade development cycles, consistent with its thesis that climate technology adoption is driven by regulatory mandates and resource scarcity timelines that do not match typical venture liquidity windows. Its involvement with Solazyme spanned over a decade from initial investment through public listing, suggesting that Roda structures its funds to accommodate extended holding periods rather than forcing premature exits.
Who runs investment decisions at The Roda Group?
Investment decisions are made by co-founders Dan Miller and Roger Strauch, who serve as the firm's managing directors. The partnership's governance is concentrated in these two individuals, who have been the sole public-facing investment principals for the firm's entire operating history. No investment committee beyond the co-founders has been publicly identified.
In what ways does The Roda Group support portfolio companies beyond capital?
Miller and Strauch frequently take active roles in portfolio company governance, including board representation and strategic advisory on business development and technical partnerships. For example, the firm's early, hands-on engagement with Solazyme included guidance through the company's IPO process on Nasdaq. Their operating backgrounds in technology and engineering inform a model where capital allocation is inseparable from operational support.
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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