Impact
Impact Investing with Pal Erik Sjatil from Lightrock
In our “Meet the Managers”-series, we introduce you to our universe of SFDR 9-compliant impact funds with ambitious, measurable environmental and social sustainability objectives alongside market-rate return targets.
Lightrock is a global impact investing platform that backs purpose-driven companies tackling the world’s biggest challenges around the key impact themes of people, planet, and productivity. The investment advisor has its headquarters in London and offices across Europe, Africa, India, and Latin America. The Lightrock Climate Impact Fund invests in European and North American growth-stage companies that are innovating towards a net-zero economy and building an operating system for climate action. Together with the company's Managing Partner & CEO, Pal Erik Sjatil, we talked about their strategy and goals.
What does it take to make successful investments in your sector?
Pal Erik Sjatil: For our fund’s climate strategy, we are advising on and seeking Series B+ companies that can demonstrate clear, significant contribution to greenhouse gas avoidance and mitigation. As growth-stage investors, we avoid unproven solutions and instead aim to identify companies with emerging commercial validation—where informed customers, often some of the most sophisticated industrial companies, have started to buy their products and services.
In addition to finding the right companies and conducting our detailed due diligence, we look for purpose-led founders who value an impact-centred approach. The fund is a supportive, engaged minority investor and often partners with like-minded investors to provide the best possible support to our entrepreneurs.
Lastly, we take an active and consistent approach to portfolio company value creation through strategic engagement with top management, development and benchmarking of functional capabilities, and leveraging global partnerships via the Lightrock network for financing and fundraising.
What keeps you up at night?
Pal Erik Sjatil: At Lightrock, we dedicate considerable time to pondering solutions to humanity's most pressing issues. One of these concerns revolves around striking a balance between the potential positive impact of AI and the risk of its inequitable deployment. As impact investors, our commitment is to harness AI to address global challenges and boost productivity. Simultaneously, we place a strong emphasis on ensuring its fair and ethical use, acknowledging the potential negative consequences for individuals, industries, and communities.
What was your latest investment and how does it make our world more sustainable?
Pal Erik Sjatil: AiDash is the Lightrock Climate Impact Fund’s most recent investment. It’s an enterprise SaaS company that leverages cutting-edge satellite technology and AI to enhance the resilience and sustainability of critical infrastructure industries. The global energy and grid infrastructure, upon which we all depend, faces escalating threats from climate change-related events such as storms, floods, and wildfires.
AiDash has successfully developed a comprehensive suite of services empowering clients, including many major utilities worldwide, to proactively monitor and manage risks across extensive infrastructure networks spanning thousands of miles. The impact of AiDash's initiatives is commendable, contributing to a 5-15% enhancement of grid reliability, operational and maintenance savings ranging from 10-20%, and a 15% reduction in power outages caused by vegetation during storms and adverse weather.
