Impact & Innovation
platform launch report
ImpactFest
October 2020
/ 2
The new home of
Impact & Innovation.
Visit the platform »
impact.dealroom.co
/ 3
ImpactCity is the startup and scale-up community of The Hague. We help innovative
entrepreneurs to start successfully and to grow their business.
We are a modern bank for people and businesses across the Nordics with deep
financial competence and leading innovative solutions.
Tech Nation fuels the growth of game-changing founders, leaders and scaling
companies so they can positively transform societies and economies.
Dealroom.co is the foremost data provider on startup, early-stage and growth
company ecosystems in Europe and around the globe.
Knowledge partners
Initiators
Exponential View
Planet+
/ 4
Data curation for deeper insights.
Dealroom’s has an in-house Intelligence Unit to curate the data, and create collections and
interactive landscapes for users. Users can also create their own collections and organise them
into landscapes.
Market landscapes
Sustainable tourism
Water technology
AI for good
Impact startups landscape
European energy landscape
Collections
Impact investing platforms
European impact VCs
Carbon capture & storage
Hydrogen companies
Food waste startups
/ 5
Venture capital investment into European impact startups
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020E
€1.5B
€1.7B
€2.1B
€3.3B
€6.0B
€5.0B
Low-cost batteries for EV
Affordable & Clean Energy #7
$600M Growth equity
Sep 2020
B2C sustainable energy supplier
Affordable & Clean Energy #7
£300M Late VC
Apr 2020
E-powered flying taxi (mobility)
Climate Action #13
$240M Series C
Mar 2020
Sustainability ratings software
Climate Action #13
$200M Growth Equity
Jan 2020
Oat based milk
Climate Action #13
$200M Late VC
Jul 2020
Telemedicine
Good Health and Well-being #3
€140M Series C
Jan 2020
Refurbished electronics marketplace
Responsible Consumption and
Production #12
€110M Series C
May 2020
Electric buses and vans
Climate Action #13
$118M Growth Equity
Oct 2020
In 2019 and 2020, over €11B+ has been invested into European impact startups,
including megarounds for several high-profile startups.
Biggest European impact rounds, 2020
/ 6
VC INVESTMENT 2015-2020
▉ Europe ▉ Global
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020E
€5.8B
€6.2B
€9.5B
€16B
€17B
€19B
€1.5B
€1.7B
€2.1B
€3.3B
€6.0B
€5.1B
Electric adventure truck
Climate Action #13
$2.5B Growth equity
Jul 2020
EV automaker
Climate Action #13
$1.5B Series D
Sep 2020
Clean energy infrastructure
Affordable and Clean Energy #7
$1.0B Growth Equity
Feb 2020
Electric passenger aircraft
Climate Action #13
$590M Series C
Jan 2020
(Lixiang) EV automaker
Climate Action #13
$550M Late VC
Jun 2020
EV automaker
Climate Action #13
$500M Series C
Jul 2020
Plant-based food
Climate Action #13
$500M Series F
Mar 2020
Distributed microgrid platform
Affordable and Clean Energy #7
$300M Growth Equity
Feb 2020
Global impact startups & scaleups are on track to raise record levels of
investment in 2020.
Venture capital investment into impact startups
Biggest non-European impact rounds, 2020
/ 7
2010
2015
2020
Impact investing accounts for over
15% of total European VC
investment, 3x more than in 2010.
Global
Europe
Impact investing as percentage of total VC
European startups are more impact-focussed than
their global peers. €6B was invested into European
impact startups in 2019, making up over 15% of all VC
investment in the region. This research shows that
what was once fringe investment and innovation
activity is finding traction and proven success in
Europe, becoming a core part of European tech
ecosystems.
At 15%, European impact investment now makes up
3x the proportion of total VC investment compared to
a decade ago, and double the global average of 7%.
US
Asia
/ 8
SDGs #1 - #6: A wide range of startups are addressing the UN Sustainable
Development Goal challenges, some have already achieved brand name status.
Gender Equality (#5)
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and
girls
No Poverty (#1)
End poverty in all its forms everywhere1
Quality Education (#4)
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education
and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Zero Hunger (#2)
End hunger, achieve food security, and improved
nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Clean Water and Sanitation (#6)
Ensure availability and sustainable management of
water and sanitation for all
Good Health and Well-being (#3)
Record symptoms and side effects, and medication adherence
Faster intervention in case of an emergency
1) Sustainable Development Goals descriptions have been taken from: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
/ 9
SDGs #7 - #12: Startups producing and distributing clean energy are the most
valuable impact companies, but rising stars appear in every challenge area.
Sustainable Cities and communities (#11)
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe,
resilient and sustainable
Affordable and Clean Energy(#7)
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable
and modern energy for all1
Reduced inequalities (#10)
Reduce inequality within and among countries
Decent work and economic growth (#8)
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth,
full and productive employment and decent work for all
Responsible consumption and production (#12)
Ensure sustainable consumption and production
patterns
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (#9)
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and
sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
1) Sustainable Development Goals descriptions have been taken from: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
/ 10
SDGs #13 - #17: Big and small startups are working towards achieving carbon
neutrality and protecting the terrestrial and marine ecosystem.
Partnerships (#17)
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize
the global partnership for sustainable development
Climate Action (#13)
Take urgent action to combat climate change and
its impacts1
Peace, justice and strong institutions (#16)
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable
development, provide access to justice for all and build
effective, accountable and inclusive institutions
Life below Water (#14)
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and
marine resources for sustainable development
Life on Land (#15)
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification,
and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
1) Sustainable Development Goals descriptions have been taken from: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
/ 11
Planet
57%
Prosperity
31%
Prosperity
12%
Other
0.2%
Climate Action and Clean Energy are the SDGs that have attracted the highest
amount of VC investment since 2015.
/ 12
HQ
Rounds
Selected co-investors
Paris
31
High-Tech Gründerfonds, Talis Capital, Kima Ventures
London
29
General Catalyst Partners, Bessemer Venture
Partners, Entrepreneur First, Seedcamp
London
15
Beringea, Speedinvest, 500 Startups
Vilnius
14
Practica Capital, Maniv Mobility, Gagarin Capital
Partners
London
14
Partech, Draper Esprit, Global Founders Capital
Berlin
14
HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, Union Square Ventures,
Andreessen Horowitz
Stockholm
12
Northzone, EQT Ventures, Almi Invest
Amsterdam
12
Endeavor Capital, Global Innovation Fund,
Liil Ventures
Most active European impact funds, last 24 months
Visit the platform
What is an Impact VC?
Here, Impact VCs have been selected through a
mix of criteria that include: the self-reported
mission statement of the investor; an investor
having a dedicated fund for impact or diversity;
the investor having a specific focus on
under-represented founders.
However, as impact investments now make up a
significant proportion of all investments, the
line between impact and non-impact VCs is
blurring. Impact VCs now frequently co-invest
with established VC funds, making more capital
and expertise available to impact startups than
ever before.
The Impact & Innovation platform’s matching
tool pairs startups with relevant investors based
on funding and sector criteria to foster
connections and fuel growth.
At least 60 European Impact VC funds find
co-investors in established VCs.
/ 13
Climate pledge fund
Climate & nature fund
Climate innovation fund
Sustainable packaging fund
Impact fund
Sony innovation fund:
environment
Impact fund II
Big brands are bringing major fire power in the form of corporate impact funds
along with their carbon neutral commitments.
/ 14
2017
New York, US
$32M, 2020
Visit the platform
Plant-based, insect and lab-grown - understanding
the alternative protein landscape.
/ 15
The job board for the global
impact ecosystem.
We know that 2020 has been a challenging year for many
workers, but as an important job growth engine, many
startups are still hiring.
In Q3 we quietly started rolling out a new job board. The job
board aggregates data from different websites via APIs, and
combines it with the power of Dealroom data. This enables
users to make very detailed curated searches.
You could search for all jobs at impact femtech startups, or
UK-based impact companies that have raised Series A, and
see the company’s growth trajectory directly in the listing.
For version 1 which is live today, we’ve incorporated data
from Indeed, Welcome to the Jungle and TheHub.io. In Q4
and 2021 we’ll be added even more sources and listings.
Search impact job openings by startup sub-sector,
funding round or growth stage.
Visit the platform
/ 16
2015
Aix-en-Provence, France
€1.4M, 2020
Liquid hydrogen transportation technology.
Green hydrogen (created by electrolysis using
renewables) can offer a sustainable option for
some of the hardest parts of the transition to
net-zero - including shipping, heavy industry,
and long-distance freight.
The European Commission’s new hydrogen
strategy from the European Green Deal
forecasts hydrogen to satisfy 24% of energy
demand by 2050 (currently at less than 1%).
Visit the platform
Green hydrogen - the unsung hero in pursuit of
Net Zero.
/ 17
Explore impact themes and
customizable data visualization tools.
Visit the platform
/ 18
M&A activity is hotting up in the mid-market impact space.
Clean Energy
Health & Wellbeing
Mobility
Honda Ubitricity
Bird Circ
Addison Lee Climatecars
Ola Electric Etergo

Zur Rose TeleClinic

Roche mySugr
ASSA ABLOY FocusCura
Bloom
ivary Diagnostics
innogy Greenergetic
4NG 4energy
Galiena CAMEO
Gilde Equity EVBox
Food & Agriculture
Job Security & Recruitment

Gimv Impact.be
Mentha
Capital Aethon.nl

hokify karriere.at
RIG
Cpl Solutions Healthcare
Planet
Inverleith Organic
Glanbia Nutramino
Avallon Organic
DeA Capital Abaco
Education
Smart
Pearson Sparrow
Recruit Quipper
WeWant
Kahoot! ToKnow
Chegg MATH 42
/ 19
Our mission: accelerate
purpose-driven entrepreneurship
and innovation through better data.
Brilliant data has the power to accelerate entrepreneurship
and innovation. It does so by inspiring people and enabling
better decision-making - decisions about capital allocation
and policy design. Data transparency can facilitate equal
access to opportunity and better accountability.
Building an engaged community of
founders, VCs,
researchers and policy makers. Enthusiasts can get inspired
and find jobs. Startup teams can find investors and recruit.
Investors can discover impact startups & innovations.
Anyone can use this platform as a trusted source of data on
key players, investments, trends, etc.
impact.dealroom.co
DISCOVER IMPACT STARTUPS
Comprehensive database of impact startups &
scaleups
IDENTIFY TRENDS
Impact investment strategies
SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE
Uncover data-driven insights
HELPING FOUNDERS
Free tools, including matching investors with
startups

/ 20
Impact methodology.
What is an impact startup?
For the Impact & Innovation database, we consider an
impact startup to be a company that is addressing one or
more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)[1].
So far we have manually classified over 5,000 startups
using this framework.
How do you label impact startups?
We employed a set of keywords to filter Dealroom’s
startups for affinity with the SDGs[2]. We then reviewed
startups’ publicly disclosed information, such as business
model, mission statement, and case studies to assess
their SDGs focus. Companies addressing more than one
SDG are counted against each individual SDG they are
targeting.
Are climate tech and clean tech startups part of your
taxonomy?
We share PwC’s definition of climate tech as “a broad set
of sectors which tackle the challenge of decarbonizing the
global economy”[3]. As a result, climate tech companies
are labelled with SDG 13 and others according to their
sector-focus. On the other hand, we understand clean tech
as a synonymous of clean energy startups.
How do you tackle greenwashing?
We are aware of the constraints of the above mentioned
approach. In fact, there are clear limitations on the
quantity and quality of publicly available information of
often small and private companies. Therefore, this impact
categorization is an ongoing process and a company’s
taxonomy might be subject to change.
What do Core and Side mean?
Additionally, we differentiate between impact startups
that have impact at the ‘core’ of their business model and
the ones that have it as a ‘side’ or peripheral focus[4].
The aim of this distinction is to make easier for the user to
identify and distinguish between companies that are
purely mission-driven e.g. The Ocean Cleanup and others,
like Tier Mobility, that create positive externalities in an
indirect way. Core-focused companies are not necessarily
creating more impact compared to side-focus companies.
This would depend on a variety of factors, such as their
market sizes and reach.
Is impact the same as tech for good, social impact and
purpose-driven tech?
Purpose-driven startups, responsible tech, social impact,
tech for good are other terms[5] that are also used to
describe the space where a company is aiming to create a
positive impact beyond just financial returns.
What about Environmental Social Governance (ESG)
criteria?
Environmental Social Governance (ESG) criteria are a set
of non-financial standards used to evaluate companies
according to metrics like CO2 emissions, employee
relations, and conflicts of interest.[6]
Impact startups go a step further compared to ESG
companies, not only they do not operate in industries like
tobacco, weapons but they try to create a positive impact
on the planet and its people.
[1] https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
[2] All the keywords are listed in the appendix.
[3] See p6, https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/sustainability/assets/pwc-the-state-of-climate-tech-2020.pdf
[4] A similar approach was employed in the 2019 State of European Tech
[5] For example, see https://www.slush.org/entrepreneurship-redefined/purpose-driven-change/
[6] For a more comprehensive overview see: https://www.investopedia.com/financial-advisor/esg-sri-impact-investing-explaining-difference-clients/
/ 21
Venture capital
investment
Investment numbers refer to rounds
such as seed, series A, B, C, …. late
stage, and growth equity rounds.
Venture capital investment figures
exclude debt or other non-equity
funding, lending capital, grants and
ICOs.
Buyouts, M&A, secondary rounds,
and IPOs are treated as exits:
excluded from funding data.
Investment rounds are sourced from
public disclosures including press
releases, news, filings and verified
user-submitted information.
Data source
Dealroom’s proprietary database and
software aggregate data from
multiple sources: harvesting public
information, user-generated data
verified by Dealroom, data
engineering. All data is verified and
curated manually.
For more info please visit
dealroom.co or contact
support@dealroom.co
Startups, scaleups,
grownups and tech
Companies designed to grow fast.
Generally, such companies are
VC-investable businesses. Sometimes
they can become very big (e.g. $1B+
valuation).
When startups are successful, they
develop into scaleups (>50 people),
grownups (>500 people) and result in
big companies, like Adyen or
Takeaway.
In this report, the term “tech
ecosystem” refers to startups,
scaleups grownups from different
vintages/cohorts. Only companies
founded after 1990 are included in
this report.
Valuation
The combined valuation of the tech
ecosystem is based on their market
cap or latest transaction value.
Transaction value is realised from
exit or implied unrealised valuation
from the latest VC round, which is
either announced or estimated by
Dealroom based on benchmarks.
Venture capital methodology & definitions.
October 2020