Contrarian Ventures supports entrepreneurs working to solve the problems created as a result of climate change.
EUR 1-4m
Pre-Seed, Seed & Series A startups
Contrarian Ventures is a pan-European seed-stage venture capital firm focused on climate tech, investing €1-4 million in startups addressing decarbonisation across energy, transport, buildings, and industry. Founded in 2017 by Rokas Peciulaitis and Tomas Kemtys, the firm targets solutions tackling 77% of global greenhouse gas emissions, operates with a founders-first, impact-driven approach, and is backed by leading institutional and individual investors.
Mission: Let’s not be mindless. The world’s carbon budget is finite.
Goals:
Values:
Contrarian Ventures was founded in 2017 by Rokas Peciulaitis and Tomas Kemtys, two former London-based bankers who pivoted from traditional finance to climate tech investing. Rokas Peciulaitis, who founded the firm, previously worked as an inflation and derivatives trader at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London. Tomas Kemtys joined the founding team later, bringing his experience as an M&A banker from Centerview Partners, where he focused on healthcare and consumer retail transactions.
Rokas Peciulaitis Founder & Managing Partner
Tomas Kemtys General Partner
Contrarian Ventures is a seed-stage climate tech VC investing €1-4 million per deal in startups tackling decarbonisation, with a portfolio targeting 77% of global GHG emissions through segments such as renewable energy, smart grids, electrification, carbon management, and sustainable mobility. Their thesis allocates 60% to software-first solutions, 20% to hardware/deep tech, and 20% to hardware-enabled software, excluding food and agriculture to concentrate on energy, transport, buildings, and industry.
Contrarian Ventures is a pan-European climate tech venture fund based in Vilnius, Lithuania, with planned offices in London and Berlin. Its portfolio spans 11 European countries, including the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Estonia, and the Nordic and Baltic regions, and extends into Israel.
Green Energy: Focuses on renewable energy generation, energy storage, and grid optimisation technologies, with notable investments in solar software and revolutionary hydrogen production.
Transportation: Targets electrification of mobility across vehicle categories, from light electric vehicles for delivery to electric intercity bus networks and truck-as-a-service solutions.
Carbon: Encompasses comprehensive carbon management including carbon market transparency and risk assessment, carbon accounting, and removal technologies.
Built Environment: Concentrates on smart building technologies and energy efficiency solutions, particularly IoT devices for social housing and smart thermostats.
Industry: Addresses industrial decarbonisation through heavy industry transformation, manufacturing automation, and process optimisation technologies.
Climate: Covers cross-cutting technologies that support multiple decarbonisation efforts, including climate data analytics, earth observation, and environmental monitoring systems.
Contrarian Ventures selectively backs seed-stage climate tech startups with a validated prototype or early revenue, investing €1-4 million (often leading or co-leading) to accelerate growth. Focused exclusively on solutions targeting greenhouse gas reductions, spanning renewable energy, energy storage, smart grids, electrification, carbon management, and sustainable mobility. Investments are made across Europe and Israel in companies demonstrating initial traction and ESG readiness, with active post-investment support, rigorous impact KPIs, and a remuneration structure tied to sustainability outcomes.
Contrarian Ventures conducts a multi-stage selection process, investing only in seed-stage climate tech startups that have a minimum viable product, demonstrable early traction, and validated technology, typically at the prototype or early-revenue stage. Every opportunity undergoes thorough financial and ESG due diligence via structured questionnaires to establish sustainability baselines, and post-investment performance is measured against clear impact KPIs with financial incentives tied to achieving those sustainability outcomes.
A collection of companies from each sector Contrarian Ventures is involved in:
PVcase: Founded in 2017 in Lithuania, provides software to quickly design and optimise commercial and utility-scale solar projects, reducing design time to 80 minutes. With over 215 team members, their mission is to fight climate change through technology. Visit PVcase
Metafuels: A Switzerland-based company founded in 2021, partnered at seed stage in 2023, is developing technology to produce sustainable aviation fuel from green methanol, compatible with current aircraft and infrastructure. With a team of 8, their mission is affordable, low-carbon air travel. Visit Metafuels
BeZero: A UK-based company founded in 2020 and partnered at seed stage in 2021, acts as a global ratings agency for the Voluntary Carbon Market. It helps participants assess carbon efficacy, price, and manage risk. With a team of 147 and over 230 projects, its mission is to create prosperity through climate action. Visit BeZero
42watt: A Germany-based company founded in 2021 and partnered at seed stage in 2023, helps building owners achieve climate neutrality in the simplest way. With a team of 35, their goal is to keep energy consumption below 42 watts per m² per year. Its mission is to create a world where all buildings use climate-neutral energy. Visit 42watt
Altrove: Founded in France in 2024 and partnered at pre-seed stage the same year, designs and manufactures scalable alternatives to critical materials. With a team of 6 (half holding PhDs), their mission is to accelerate inorganic materials discovery for future technologies. Visit Altrove
SatelliteVu: A UK-based company founded in 2016 and partnered at Series A in 2022 uses space-based technology to monitor the temperature of any building on Earth in near real time. With a team of 47 and a cutting-edge 3.5m infrared resolution (vs. the standard 100m), their mission is to help the world tackle sustainability challenges. Visit SatelliteVu
Discover more successful investments: Contrarian Ventures Portfolio.
Contrarian Ventures has built a diverse funding base of more than 65 investors supporting its €100 million second fund, with backing from major institutional investors, strategic partners, and high-profile individual investors. The firm's funding sources include the European Investment Fund (EIF), which committed €25 million through the InvestEU programme as an anchor limited partner, representing the largest single institutional commitment to the fund.
Other significant institutional backers include PFR (Polish Development Fund), Korys Investments, Molten Ventures(formerly Draper Esprit), and the Grantham Foundation. The fund has also attracted notable individual investors, including the founders of Vinted and Wix.com, with Justas Janauskas, co-founder of Vinted, serving as an investor at Contrarian Ventures. This diverse LP base reflects the fund's appeal to both climate-focused institutional investors and successful tech entrepreneurs who understand the sector's potential for both impact and returns.
Investment Stage: Seed stage specialist. The firm targets companies that are "pre-product-market fit" but have demonstrated initial market validation, specifically looking for startups at the prototype and early revenue stages
Funds:
Fund I (2017): Contrarian Ventures launched with a €12.5 million first fund in 2017.
Fund II (2022): The firm successfully raised their €100 million second fund in 2022, attracting more than 65 investors as limited partners.
The firm allocates 60% of its capital to software-first ventures, 20% to hardware/deep-tech, and 20% to hardware-enabled software, collectively addressing 77% of total greenhouse gas emissions in its target sectors and capturing 14% of annual climate-tech financing. In 2024, portfolio companies raised €65 million across 12 funding rounds, supported by over 140 co-investors, and the firm added four new companies, Beebop.ai, altrove, Decade Energy, and Jumptech, bringing the active portfolio to 25 companies. Contrarian Ventures operates under SFDR Article 8 for its Net Zero 2022 fund, employing a three-phase ESG framework-pre-investment risk screening, KPI-linked monitoring during ownership, and post-investment reporting, and has partnered with Apiday to streamline ESG data aggregation (SFDR). Strategic initiatives include “The Climate Brick” scaling taxonomy, the annual Energy Tech Summit, and the Climate50 investor ranking, positioning Contrarian Ventures as a platform-driven ecosystem leader committed to accelerating the transition to net-zero emissions.
Contrarian Ventures positions itself as more than just a venture capital firm, describing itself as a platform-based model that operates with the mantra "Community is our moat". The firm leverages its deep engagement with the climate tech community to create an ecosystem that goes beyond traditional investing, building a collaborative network that mobilises resources for climate action through initiatives like Energy Tech Summit, Climate50 and, Energy Tech Challengers. This community-first approach is central to their identity as ‘hands-on, community-focused and founders vetted European early-stage investors’, creating what they call the "Contrarian Ventures Family" that spans 30 companies across 11 countries with 72 founders, fostering connections and shared expertise that benefits their entire portfolio ecosystem.
Contrarian Ventures has assembled a diverse team of bold investors and seasoned entrepreneurs who bring a process-driven approach to tackle climate challenges together with entrepreneurs moving toward a net-zero planet. The venture capital firm operates across multiple locations in Europe, reflecting their European focus while maintaining a global perspective on climate technology investments.
The team is structured to support the firm's mission of backing talented entrepreneurs working on climate change solutions. The venture industry is filled with constantly evolving challenges, and the firm has built its team specifically to address these challenges through active, hands-on work that benefits entrepreneurs. The team provides a process-driven approach across various areas including operations, business development, and fundraising, which works particularly well for companies beginning to find their traction and needing a partner to support growth.
The firm has grown significantly since its founding, expanding its team to support its portfolio of companies across multiple countries. The team's approach is characterised by being straightforward, succinct, and to the point, reflecting the firm's belief that the limited time available to reduce climate change cannot be wasted on inefficient processes. This direct manner empowers the team to make better and quicker decisions while providing the resources needed for fast growth to their portfolio companies.
Learn more about the team on the Contrarian Ventures Team Page.
1. Who founded Contrarian Ventures and what are their backgrounds?
Contrarian Ventures was founded in 2017 by Rokas Peciulaitis and Tomas Kemtys, both former London-based bankers. Rokas Peciulaitis has a background as an inflation and derivatives trader at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, while Tomas Kemtys previously worked as an M&A banker at Centerview Partners, focusing on healthcare and consumer retail transactions.
2. What types of startups does Contrarian Ventures invest in?
The firm invests in seed-stage climate tech startups with a validated prototype or early revenue, focusing on solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in sectors like renewable energy, energy storage, smart grids, electrification, carbon management, and sustainable mobility.
3. What is Contrarian Ventures’ investment strategy and typical ticket size?
Contrarian Ventures typically invests €1-4 million per deal, often leading or co-leading rounds. Their thesis allocates 60% to software-first solutions, 20% to hardware/deep tech, and 20% to hardware-enabled software, with a strict focus on sectors excluding food and agriculture.
4. Which geographic markets does Contrarian Ventures cover?
Contrarian Ventures is a pan-European fund based in Vilnius, Lithuania, with planned offices in London and Berlin. Its portfolio spans 11 European countries plus Israel, including the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Estonia, and the broader Nordic and Baltic regions.
5. What additional benefits does Contrarian Ventures offer its portfolio companies?
Beyond capital, Contrarian Ventures provides access to a collaborative community, business development support, and a process-driven approach to operations. The team’s straightforward and hands-on support helps founders accelerate growth and navigate challenges in climate tech entrepreneurship.
Are you an innovative climate tech founder seeking funding? Discover how Contrarian Ventures can support your journey by visiting: Contrarian Ventures Website.
Stay updated with the latest news and opportunities by following Contrarian Ventures on LinkedIn: Contrarian Ventures LinkedIn.
Explore more UK opportunities for climate tech investment at Adopter’s Greentech Investors Map.
