Abundant, stable, and ready for scale:                                 

We invest in breakthrough
geothermal techNOLOGY

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What We Do & Why

We are the first venture capital firm dedicated to investing in geothermal technologies that produce heat or electricity from within the Earth itself. Our goal is for geothermal to provide 10% of global energy production by 2050.

Created by technology startup founders, Underground Ventures was built to take early-stage technology risk and work with inventors and engineers to scale beyond first-of-a-kind deployments. We are not a VC fund, we are a technology investment firm deploying $40m into the future of energy across a handful of startups.

Collaboration is everything, so we invest in tech companies that can scale the global geothermal industry as a whole, rather than individual developers or projects. Our goal is thousands of geothermal power and heating/cooling plants by 2050, the majority of which will be outside of Europe and North America.

TEN PERCENT OF GLOBAL ENERGY
FROM BENEATH OUR FEET

Portfolio companies

Investment Scope (FAQ)

  • UGV invests in the picks and shovels of geothermal — the technologies the industry needs to scale, regardless of which developers or projects ultimately win.

    We pick up where existing oil & gas technologies stop, going deeper to solve geothermal-specific pain points like equipment temperature limits, corrosive geochemistry, hard basement rock, etc.

    We are open to technologies that have applications in industries other than geothermal, but their impact in geothermal must be catalytic.

  • Anywhere across the geothermal value chain that doesn't involve developing or operating the projects themselves. Typical segments:

    • Siting and Characterisation — subsurface data and AI platforms, reservoir modeling and simulation, and novel sensing technologies.

    • Drilling and Rock Destruction — rock destruction technologies, drilling rigs and automation, downhole electronics and sensors.

    • Well Design and Construction — completion and zonal isolation tools, advanced casing and in-situ deployment.

    • Reservoir Engineering and Heat Extraction — reservoir stimulation, flow monitoring and control, and reservoir management.

    • Power Production and Surface Systems — heat exchangers, power conversion systems, and plant control/optimization.

    We're indifferent to the resource model — EGS, AGS, SHR, or conventional hydrothermal. What matters is that the technology is genuinely differentiated and that it is transformational to the industry.

  • UGV has no geographical limitations or scope. We invest where the technology and talent is based, and where the right home for the company is found.

    Past investments are located in North America or Europe, often across both.

  • Pre-seed through to Series A.

    We lead, co-lead, or follow, depending on round dynamics and where we can be most useful — we’re often the first institutional check, but we’re equally comfortable joining a syndicate that's already taking shape.

  • We typically invest between $500k and $2m in the first round. We reserve a significant amount for follow-on investments, but rarely join new companies in later/larger rounds.

We have built global start-ups from scratch, done extensive subsurface R&D and geothermal operations, and invested broadly in physical industries. We know the founder journey, and we are here to support you as you take on big geothermal endeavors.

Who we are

Meet the team