illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on Forbes or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Equity investment in startups, particularly in the climate tech sector, has seen a significant decline in 2023
• Climate tech startups are finding it challenging to navigate the investment landscape due to geopolitical turmoil, inflation, and rising interest rates, setting the investment back to levels seen five years ago

🔭 The context: The decline in investments has created a tough environment for climate tech startups, but the demand for climate investment remains high
• The sector has demonstrated its resilience by increasing its share relative to the overall startup market

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The growth and development of climate tech solutions are crucial for addressing climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• Hardware innovations in this sector have a tangible impact on mitigating the effects of climate change
• However, the current investment trend, with a disproportionate focus on software, leaves early-stage hardware companies at a disadvantage

⏭️ What's next: The climate tech sector needs patient capital from venture capitalist investors, long-term strategic plans, and targeted policies from governments to drive future breakthroughs
• There is a call for investors to rethink their risk tolerance and for an increase in access to growth-stage capital to help climate tech companies overcome barriers and scale their solutions

💬 One quote: “Funds are taking too long to make up their minds about whether to invest, or they're not investing at all… It's a shame because we need these technologies, we need these teams in the market faster.” (Robert Hokin, Managing Partner, Greenbackers Investment Capital)

📈 One stat: Venture and private equity investment in startups declined by 50.2% year-on-year, reaching US $638 billion in 2023

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