Can Venture Capital Make America Do Tough Things Again?

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Venture capital is an effective source of money for scaling companies quickly. But what if your company needs 15 years to prove itself?

That’s the time horizon for many “tough tech” companies in energy that are developing new semiconductors, industrial processes, chemical production methods, and long-duration storage systems.

The first cleantech bubble showed the limits of VC in backing tough, capital-intensive tech. So we are asking: can venture capital ever step up to the big industrial-scale challenges of our day?

Our guest, Katie Rae, believes it can. Katie is the CEO and managing partner at The Engine, a venture firm based in Cambridge, Mass that invests in a wide-ranging sector she calls tough tech.

Katie joins us to explain why she’s hopeful that startups doing difficult things are finding more opportunities to connect with investors.

You can also learn more about The Engine’s upcoming Tough Tech summit next week.

Support for the Interchange comes from Schneider Electric, the leader of the digital transformation in energy management and automation. Schneider Electric is pioneering solutions like microgrids, for everything from community resiliency to higher adoption of electric vehicles.

Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.

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