把生物多樣性做成創投生意

成立於 2023 年的創投基金 Superorganism ，正將生物多樣性推向風險投資的核心戰場。共同創辦人暨管理合夥人 Tom Quigley 與 Kevin Webb 向《ESG Dive》表示，該基金專注於 pre-seed 與 seed 階段投資，單筆投資金額介於 25 萬至 50 萬美元，鎖定以生物多樣性為核心的高成長新創。

Founded in 2023, venture capital firm Superorganism is positioning biodiversity at the center of early-stage investment. Co-founders and managing directors Tom Quigley and Kevin Webb told ESG Dive that the fund participates in pre-seed and seed rounds, deploying between $250,000 and $500,000 per company into biodiversity-focused startups.

截至目前，Superorganism 已投資 20 家新創公司，並計畫透過首支基金將投資組合擴大至 35 家。基金策略聚焦三大類型企業：一是位於歷史上高度造成生物多樣性流失的產業；二是兼具氣候與生物多樣性效益的解決方案；三是運用 AI、機器人或太空科技等具明確商業化潛力的「保育促進型技術」。

Superorganism has backed 20 startups to date and plans to grow its portfolio to 35 companies through its debut fund. Its investment thesis targets businesses operating in industries that have historically driven biodiversity loss, ventures addressing the overlap between climate and nature, and conservation-enabling technologies with strong commercial trajectories, including artificial intelligence, robotics, and space-based systems.

生物多樣性不再與經濟成長對立

Webb 指出，Superorganism 的投資決策核心在於兩點：企業是否具備規模化潛力，以及創辦人是否具備長期執行力與產業理解力。

Webb said investment decisions are grounded in scalability and confidence in the founding team. He emphasized that the long-standing assumption that nature and economic progress are inherently in conflict is increasingly outdated.

他強調，將自然保護視為經濟成長阻礙的觀點已不合時宜。 「自然本就支撐著全球經濟，從供應鏈、糧食系統到我們呼吸的空氣，」Webb 表示，「我們支持那些理解這一點的創業者，他們正重新塑造產業，使其同時造福人類與生態系。」

投資組合橫跨材料、食品與太空科技

Superorganism 的投資標的反映其跨產業策略，包括：

資金來源與市場定位

該基金首輪投資人包括私人投資機構 AMB Holdings、基金 Stray、氣候投資人 Understorey Ventures，以及創投人 Jeff Jordan、前自然保護協會（The Nature Conservancy）執行長 Mark Tercek，與慈善家 Sven 與 Kristin Lindblad。

“Nature already underpins our global economy, from supply chains and food systems to the air we breathe,” Webb said. “We’re backing entrepreneurs who understand this and are reshaping industries to work better for humans and ecosystems alike.”

The firm’s portfolio includes Inversa, which produces leather from invasive species such as Burmese pythons and lionfish; Sway, which manufactures seaweed-based plastic films; and Array Labs, a space technology company specializing in 3D Earth imaging.

Quigley 指出，在正式結案前，Superorganism 的資金多來自大型家族辦公室、企業基金會與部分企業投資者。他也坦言，募資過程中顯示市場對生物多樣性高度感興趣，但對「生物多樣性 × 創投」這一投資邏輯仍需大量教育。

生物多樣性基金仍屬早期市場

Investors in Superorganism’s inaugural fund include AMB Holdings, Stray, Understorey Ventures, venture capitalist Jeff Jordan, former Nature Conservancy CEO Mark Tercek, and philanthropists Sven and Kristin Lindblad. Prior to closing the fund, capital was primarily raised from large family offices, corporate foundations, and select corporate investors.

根據 MSCI 數據，截至 2024 年 9 月，歐盟市場中僅有 24 支基金在名稱或策略中明確納入生物多樣性，資產管理規模合計約 16 億美元。Webb 表示，Superorganism 通常與氣候、農業、海洋、材料或綜合型基金共同投資。

Quigley noted that while investor interest in biodiversity is strong, significant education is still required to bridge the conceptual gap between biodiversity protection and venture capital investing.

「我們是少數將生物多樣性作為核心命名策略的基金之一，」Webb 說，「就我們所知，我們是第一支完全專注於此的基金。但我們希望不是最後一支。」

According to MSCI, as of September 2024, only 24 funds listed in EU markets explicitly reference biodiversity in their name or investment strategy, collectively managing $1.6 billion in assets. Superorganism typically co-invests alongside climate, agriculture, ocean, materials, and generalist funds.

他補充，生物多樣性如同早期的氣候投資，是一個可從整體經濟結構中辨識失衡、並支持能在短期與長期創造生態正向影響的新創機會。

“We are one of a small number of funds with biodiversity as a core, named focus, and as far as we know, the first to be entirely dedicated to it,” Webb said. “Like climate investing, this is an opportunity to rethink how the economy operates and to back startups capable of delivering meaningful ecological uplift in both the near and long term.”