#116: Yair Reem - From Net Zero to Gigatons: The Extantia Capital Blueprint for Climate Tech Investing

Did you know that the fight against climate change is shaping up to be the biggest business opportunity since the rise of the internet?

Imagine a multi-trillion-dollar market waiting to be tapped! Yair Reem and his €300M venture capital firm, Extantia Capital, are not just imagining it—they're building it.

Tune in to discover how you can be part of this green gold rush!

🎙️ What's in the Episode:
1️⃣ The Urgency of Climate Change: Yair discusses why climate change is not just an environmental issue but a ticking time bomb that affects every sector of the economy.
2️⃣ The Role of Venture Capital: Learn how Extantia Capital is more than just a fund—it's a €300M platform that unites mission-driven entrepreneurs, scientists, and business leaders to advance the transition to a greener future.
3️⃣ The Multi-Trillion Dollar Opportunity: Yair shares insights into how the fight against climate change creates unprecedented business opportunities, potentially even 100x bigger than the internet revolution.

👨‍💼 About Yair Reem:
Yair Reem is more than an investor; he's a builder. From childhood Legos to Electrical Engineering and co-founding Extantia Capital, his path is fueled by a drive to make impact. With experience on both sides of investment, he knows what makes a firm succeed. His motto, "Do well by doing good," shows his belief that profit and impact can coexist.

💡 LINKS TO MORE CONTENT
Host:
Speaker

📌 Quotes:
(21:10) "The technologies we have today can only take us halfway to net zero emissions. There's a lot of technology that still needs to be developed and scaled to make it ready for the mass market."
(23:38) "To bridge the 50% gap in fighting climate change, we need to deploy capital to motivate scientists to develop new solutions and companies to scale those solutions."
(57:58) "When we look at the intersection of public and private sectors, we see that regulators are essential for both basic research and for making certain industries profitable where they currently aren't. But the key question remains: How do we ensure that these profits are reinvested to drive down costs and improve processes, rather than being siphoned off for other uses?"
(1:07:08) "The worst time to raise money is when you need it; the best time is when you don't."
(1:36:32) "We don't just take a good team and build a good product with them; we take a good team with a good product and help make that an excellent business."
(2:01:12) "My wish is that we will see much more peace in the future, thanks to ubiquitous and cheap energy."

⏰ Timestamps:
(03:30) Yair Reem's Journey: Electrical Engineering to Climate Tech
(09:33) Urgency of Climate Change
(21:10) Tech Gap: Net Zero Emissions by 2050
(22:06) Tech Innovation in Climate Change
(23:38) Bridging the 50% Gap
(30:36) Sustainability, Growth, Social Justice
(40:38) Short-Term Sacrifice for Long-Term Gain
(42:31) Role of Regulation in Climate Solutions
(48:47) Financial Returns in Climate Investments
(59:01) Airline Profits: Bankruptcy to Flourishing
(1:03:34) The Tim Cook Effect
(1:13:02) VC Ecosystems: Secret Sauce
(1:19:57) Art of Syndication in High-Stakes
(1:28:35) Retrofitting the Future
(1:39:40) Uninvestable Cap Tables
(1:40:56) Negotiating Equity with Universities
(1:47:44) Double-Edged Sword of Secondary Investments
(2:01:05) Future of Energy: Ubiquitous, Free Access