Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Backs 21 Startups Shaping the Future

Breakthrough Energy Ventures has selected its latest cohort of 21 startups, signaling a strategic pivot toward the massive infrastructure challenges that will accompany global electrification. While public attention is currently fixated on the immediate power consumption of AI data centers, the venture capital arm led by Bill Gates views these facilities as merely the opening act of a much larger energy crisis.

Eric Toone, managing partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, argues that the current focus on AI power needs misses the broader structural shift in the global economy. “Data centers are a 10% bump against basically flat demand for electricity over the last 30 years. So it looks like a big bump, but data centers are absolutely the canary in the coal mine,” Toone told TechCrunch. He emphasizes that this surge is a precursor to a far more dramatic increase in demand driven by the widespread adoption of electric technologies across all sectors. “Electrifying everything implies a 3x increase in demand for electricity,” Toone said.

This year’s sixth annual Breakthrough Energy Fellows program showcases companies tackling this looming shortfall through diverse technological avenues. The cohort includes ventures focused on nuclear fusion, robotics, and data center efficiency. Notably, this group was announced following the departure of Ashley Grosh, who previously directed the program before joining WovenEarth Ventures. Benjamin Gaddy, senior director at Breakthrough Energy, is currently serving as acting director while the organization determines its future leadership structure.

Despite the leadership transition, the investment thesis remains consistent: funding high-risk, high-reward innovations that address critical climate hurdles. “We’re always always right on the line that you’re not going to fund things that are silly, but the name of the game here is to take some big bets and hope to get some big payoffs,” Toone said.

Among the most ambitious projects is Borealis Fusion, which is pursuing proton-boron fuel for nuclear fusion. This specific fuel source is abundant but notoriously difficult to heat to the temperatures required for ignition. However, the potential reward is substantial. “If they can do it, you could get to much lower cost of energy,” Gaddy explained. Another fusion-focused company, StarWarden, is developing essential heat management systems for future reactors.

Efficiency improvements in existing technology also feature prominently in the selection. Startups such as Bedrock Semiconductor, K1 Semiconductor, and Vari Flux are working to optimize semiconductor performance and reduce the energy footprint of data centers. K1 Semiconductor, for instance, is creating a novel process for handling materials like gallium nitride and silicon carbide. According to Gaddy, this innovation “You could reduce the cost of these power electronics by maybe 50%, maybe more.”

The portfolio extends beyond energy generation and efficiency into agriculture and mineral extraction. Selected companies are employing molecular sensing to identify crop diseases early and deploying robotics to harvest minerals from the ocean floor with minimal environmental impact. Additionally, the program supports firms like AmyHyTech and Ammovolt Energy, which are pioneering methods to transport and utilize hydrogen using ammonia.

Toone describes hydrogen as a versatile energy carrier, noting its potential to revolutionize multiple industries if costs decrease significantly. “Hydrogen is the Swiss army knife of energy. If you have enough hydrogen, and importantly if its cheap enough, you can do anything,” Toone said. However, he points out that the lack of distribution infrastructure is a major bottleneck. “There’s pretty close to zero installed capacity in this country,” he said. “There’s no simple way to move hydrogen around, and ammonia offers a potential way to do that.”

While decarbonization remains the primary goal, this year’s fellows also include companies dedicated to helping society adapt to a warming planet. Toone acknowledges that progress may be slower than initially anticipated, necessitating a dual approach of mitigation and adaptation. “I think that folks really hoped that we were going to be able to decarbonize faster than we were able to,” Toone said. “It’s going to take longer and it’s going to be harder than we thought, and that absolutely leads you directly to adaptation.”