XL Ventures Pte Ltd, a climate tech company based in Singapore, has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to operate as a licensed Venture Capital Fund Manager (VCFM) in the country.
XL Ventures said in a statement on Friday that the firm plans to partner closely with a select number of early-stage companies, providing hands-on support to help them establish operations and scale in Asia.
The company will also work with big local businesses to help reach more customers and distribute their products.
Started by Amit Sharma and Saroj Mishra, the company plans to invest in and support tech startups that use data, sensors, and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve energy use in commercial buildings and power systems — areas that can help reduce carbon emissions a lot.
“All climate technologies required to save the planet already exist; the missing piece is rapid global scaling,
“While breakthrough innovations like fusion and new materials will be critical in the long term, we believe software and AI offer immediate and scalable tools to optimize complex, energy-intensive systems that currently run in silos with excessive safety margins,” said Sharma and Mishra.
They added that XL Ventures is particularly focused on technologies that are ready for deployment and can deliver measurable impact at scale.
“Corporates want to improve the bottom line and returns,” the founders noted.
“Technologies that solve real business problems from day one will see strong adoption. When they also deliver climate benefits, it’s a win-win.
“Energy efficiency and consumption optimization are cross-sector needs where immediate impact is possible — commercially and environmentally,” they added.
They believe there are great opportunities for European tech startups in energy efficiency and smart technology.
“They fit well with the government and private sector agenda in Singapore, India, and other Asian economies,” said the founders.
“We are currently helping several UK based startups to get traction in these markets,
“While the US was the obvious scaling market for them in the past, the focus has now firmly shifted to Asia and some extent the large GCC economies who have similar agenda,” they added.
Amit Sharma, based in Singapore, previously served as Global Head of Business Development (Digital) for Tech Mahindra, the information technology (IT) services arm of Mahindra Group.
Saroj Mishra, based in London, co-founded Tazapay, a Series A cross-border business-to-business (B2B) payments company funded by Peak XV, RTP Global, PayPal, and others, as well as Bayfront Capital Advisors, a Singapore-based corporate finance advisory practice.
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