Aim small, miss small. Mazarine Climate is a specialist VC operating on the adaptation side of climate-tech, backing early-stage, AI-native companies — the data producers (sensors, satellites, monitoring networks) and the data consumers (AI, digital twins, decision software) out of the Industry 4.0 toolbox — that support the operators, asset owners, and capital providers whose balance sheets are absorbing the cost of floods, droughts, storms, and the cascading hazards they trigger.
Mazarine Climate is built to do one thing exceptionally well: back the AI-native data stack for hydroclimatic risk, drawing on the full Industry 4.0 toolbox. We chose depth over coverage because the buyers, the science, and the buying cycles in this vertical reward investors who actually understand them — and we welcome syndication with VC and PE partners working adjacent climate-adaptation categories such as wildfire, extreme heat, wind, and biological risk.
Most climate funds are built around finance and dealmaking. We are built around the underlying science of hydroclimatic risk and the sectors actually spending to manage it.
Our network of subject-matter experts spans hydrology, atmospheric science, cryosphere dynamics, geohazards, and coastal oceanography — alongside investors and operators who translate those risks into financial exposure.
No consultants between us and what we own. We track the models directly and back founders solving problems we understand at a technical level.
Domain depth is not incidental to how we pick, price, and support companies — it is the process itself.
Headquartered in the U.S. Investing globally. Long-term in everything except how fast we move on a great founder.
Mazarine’s first fund, Mazarine Ventures, was an early-stage venture capital effort focused exclusively on “water risk,” broadly defined, and is done investing — no new deals are being made. Led by partners John Robinson, Anders Hallsby, and Pete Nassos, the firm built a portfolio of 15 companies with technology solutions that are helping their customers manage some aspect of water quantity or quality risk. Mazarine Climate, a separate and currently active vehicle, is entirely focused on the adaptation side of climate, specifically hydroclimatic risk.
The largest buyers of hydroclimatic risk technology are not water utilities — they are operators of linear assets, coastal infrastructure, F.I.RE., and power generation. Where water becomes operational and financial risk, that is where the opportunity sits.
Hydroclimatic risk spans scarcity, impairment, and excess, but flooding, runoff, and system overwhelm are accelerating fastest and creating the clearest demand for scalable solutions across infrastructure, land, and assets.
Industry has long measured hydroclimatic risk, but AI and the broader Industry 4.0 toolbox are transforming how data is generated and used. Sensors and satellites now produce the high-resolution, ground-truth data that AI models and digital twins need to turn hydrological risk into real-time, decision-ready intelligence.
Most of the world struggles to adapt not from lack of intent, but because solutions are too complex and too costly. We back companies that simplify and scale access — the QuickBooks-ing of the adaptation toolbox.
Early-stage founders willing to build in uncertain conditions are what advance climate adaptation. Their work is expanding what's possible and supporting industry & society better withstand rising hydroclimatic risk.
To be clear, this is water risk — not the water sector. Most of what gets filed under wildfire, geohazard, or supply-chain risk is water risk in disguise. Landslides, mudslides, and rockfalls are triggered by intense rainfall and saturated slopes. Sinkholes and subsidence track groundwater depletion. Wildfire severity is set by antecedent drought and atmospheric moisture deficit. Bridge and culvert failures are scour events. Grid outages cascade from storm surge, ice, and hydro shortfalls. Port closures and pipeline ruptures all route back to the hydrological cycle. We invest where the water-risk signal is hiding inside someone else's risk category — not in utilities, treatment plants, or the traditional water industry.
A strategic investor in water risk and climate adaptation, Shirley has spent 12 years supporting early-stage startups that use digital tools to help industries understand and manage climate-driven water risks. A former competitive chess player, she applies a highly strategic approach to investing.
LinkedIn
With 17 years in water risk — broadly defined — as an investor, consultant, and founder, John has extensive experience at the intersection of water risk and software, data science, and the long tail of digital solutions to manage hydroclimatic risk. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, he brings a global perspective to climate adaptation investing.
LinkedInWe say no to most things so we can show up fully for the few. Concentration is a feature, not a bug — it forces us to know each company cold and earns us the right to move decisively when it counts.
We pressure-test every thesis against the underlying physics and the underlying market — in that order. A story that doesn't survive contact with the science isn't a story we're willing to underwrite, no matter how good the deck.
We've sat on the founder side of the table and know what it costs to build through cycles. We invest like it — straight feedback, fast decisions, and the kind of support that shows up between board meetings, not just at them.
In our experience, the technology rarely is the bottleneck. What separates outliers is a founder's command of the customer, the pain, and the market. Show us that, and we'll move at the speed the opportunity demands.
Whether you're allocating capital or building the next company in the hydroclimatic risk stack, we want to hear from you. Each path has its own form so we can route your note to the right person.
LPs, family offices, and co-investors who share our worldview on hydroclimatic risk.
We welcome inquiries — note that we don't invest in companies whose primary customer is water/wastewater utilities or agriculture.