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I am a technologist, operator, and investor. I am good at connecting dots and like…
Articles by Marianne
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Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs Making History Today
Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs Making History Today
Growing up, it never occurred to me that there were limitations on what women could do. My mother was a Ph.
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Marianne Wu shared thisI’ve been focused on climate and energy for almost 20 years. But before that I was an electrical engineer building internet networks. Today, my tech and climate worlds are merging with the developing AI tech stack. We all know that LLM capability and energy demand are surging. Less discussed, a whole new tech stack is developing to power AI. And energy as a key consideration, not an afterthought. A single data center rack will soon require 600kW of power. enough to power several hundred homes. This means a lot of stuff inside the data center is breaking. Classic tech conferences like OCP and ISSCC are dominated by data center tech and energy is woven into every discussion. Issues like power distribution, optics, and cooling have morphed from afterthoughts to dominant topics and standing room only sessions. AI will require invention across the stack. At the power foundation, a new high voltage DC power architecture to reduce surging current densities. At the compute layer, new architectures to solve memory wall, dramatically reduce energy consumption, and eliminate monster racks. And at the LLM and app layer, smaller distilled models for efficient deployment. Across it all, a coordinating energy manager to provide grid stability while maximizing performance and throughput. There's a lot going on and Divyansh Saksena, Joshua Posamentier and I wrote a piece to share our perspective at Congruent Ventures. For me, it’s exciting to see the community working together to solve so many daunting technical challenges and fun that my old and new worlds are colliding. It’s also an incredible reminder of our capacity to solve hard problems when we have the will. If you’re working in these areas, we’d love to hear from you.
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Marianne Wu shared thisInspired by the companies on this list! Our updated 50 by 2050 list highlights 50 North American companies that can drive meaningful carbon reduction over the next 25 years. They are pioneering change across diverse industries including data centers, energy, manufacturing, and ag. These founders and teams have shown incredible vision, ingenuity and tenacity and they demonstrate our collective potential for impact. Thanks to Silicon Valley Bank for their incredible partnership. It was fun to work on this with the amazing Eliza Cushman Dan Baldi Joshua Posamentier Hillá Watkins #50by2050 #ClimateTech #EnergyTransition #ClimateInnovation #VCMarianne Wu shared this🚨 The 2025 “50 by 2050” List is Live! We’re proud to unveil this year’s 50 companies driving meaningful and profitable carbon reduction over the next 25 years — from energy and food to AI and manufacturing. Curated by Silicon Valley Bank and Congruent, this list showcases the high-growth climate startups solving today’s hardest decarbonization challenges — and building tomorrow’s most valuable companies. 🔗 See the full list: https://lnkd.in/gEsjXfKJ #50by2050 #ClimateTech #EnergyTransition #ClimateInnovation #VC
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Marianne Wu shared thisWe're growing our investment team at Congruent Ventures! 🌱 We're a $1B+ climate tech VC investing in founders who are reimagining mobility, energy, food systems and sustainable production and we are looking for a Principal to join our close-knit team in San Francisco. The ideal teammate will bring 10+ years of investment or operating experience, but what really matters to us is your passion for climate innovation and ability to work collaboratively with founders. We're building a culture where the best arguments win – not the loudest voices. If this describes you, come join us: - Deep curiosity about technical innovation - Track record of supporting founders - Board experience - Authenticity and low ego - Drive to make climate impact We're based in downtown SF with a hybrid schedule that keeps our culture vibrant and collaborative. If this resonates with you, please apply below. We will treat ALL applications confidentially. https://lnkd.in/giHd339F #ClimateTech #VentureCapital #Sustainability
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Marianne Wu shared thisGreat talent is rising to meet our climate challenge! We've highlighted 50 amazing companies in our inaugural Congruent Ventures x Silicon Valley Bank 50 by 2050 list. This list highlights climate tech companies that are pioneering carbon reduction solutions that may help us reach net zero emissions. While climate change is daunting, we are encouraged by the entrepreneurial energy that is rising to meet the challenge. Of course, innovation is highly dynamic – this list captures a single point in time and only a fraction of the much longer list of companies that may have significant climate impact. Read the full report to see the companies that made this year’s list: https://lnkd.in/gTN97GDs And thank you Tim De Chant @ TechCrunch for covering our first list! "The market for climate tech is already $1 trillion and is expected to double every decade. As the specter of climate change looms, companies that have the best shot at reducing emissions could snag a significant portion of that market, and their investors stand to benefit." https://lnkd.in/gMRHBhYr #climatetech #innovation
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Marianne Wu shared thisIt was great to sit down with Ty Findley to discuss, climate, industrial and innovation - three of my favorite topics. Thanks for having me Ty!Marianne Wu shared thisHeavy Hitters: The Digital Industrial Podcast episode 74 is live now with Congruent Ventures Venture Partner, Marianne Wu. Marianne outlines what Climate Tech means to Congruent, shares how her unique industrial innovation background has shaped her own outlook on this topic (hint: all industrial tech companies are climate tech companies), gives us an outlook on how far along we are in the digital industrial adoption curve and what she sees ahead, describes how both hardware (atoms) and software (bits) innovation will play key roles in industrial settings, and finally a “What’s Hot and What’s Hype” section. https://lnkd.in/gqiWwcVN
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Marianne Wu shared thisMore capital for great climate entrepreneurs! Congruent Ventures has raised a new fund to back climate leaders Kudos to a tremendous team and the amazing entrepreneurs that we are fortunate to work with Joshua Posamentier Abe Yokell Jackie Kossmann Christina O’Conor Tanuj Dutta Nicholas Adeyi Tina Bao Suzie Morano Parmar, CFA Nadia Dugal Abby Steele https://lnkd.in/gbWKMsXkCongruent Ventures announces $300 million fund to scale planet-friendly technologiesCongruent Ventures announces $300 million fund to scale planet-friendly technologies
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Marianne Wu shared thisProud and excited to partner with Fictiv to build the future of manufacturing. Congratulations to Dave Evans, Nathan Evans and the entire Fictiv team for their vision and industry leadership. Look forward to working with you to accelerate hardware innovation and product delivery! #FictivSeriesD #digitaltransformation #manufacturing #productdevelopmentMarianne Wu shared thisWe're proud to announce a new fundraise of $35M, led by 40 North Ventures with participation from Honeywell, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Adit Ventures, M20, Accel, G2VP, and Bill Gates! Thank you to our partners, customers, and everyone at Team Fictiv for supporting our growth as we continue to build the future of manufacturing with greater speed, quality, and agility than ever before. 🚀 Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/gDWeSST #FictivSeriesD #digitaltransformationFictiv Raises $35M from 40 North Ventures and HoneywellFictiv Raises $35M from 40 North Ventures and Honeywell
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Marianne Wu shared thisCongratulations John Carrington and the full Stem, Inc. team! Thanks for your leadership transforming Energy with Data. Proud to work with you. #data #analytics #artificialintelligence #energystorageMarianne Wu shared thisStem, Inc. has taken a significant step forward as the global leader in AI-driven energy storage services. We’re excited to share that we have entered into a business combination with Star Peak Energy Transition Corporation that will allow us to list on the New York Stock Exchange #NYSE as the first pure play smart energy storage public company. Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/gMZ5-un
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Monish J ( M. J. ) - glad you enjoyed it!
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Marianne Wu reacted on thisMarianne Wu reacted on thisThis spring I graduated from MIT Sloan School of Management. The most rewarding part of my MBA was co-leading the MIT Climate and Energy Prize, supporting climate and energy founders at the earliest stages through non-dilutive prizes, mentorship, and network building. I was fortunate to stay close to innovators in the space this summer, joining AccelR8 Ventures as a Venture Fellow. Sitting on AccelR8's investment team, I learned a tremendous amount about deploying capital and supporting entrepreneurs. I also led the design of a system of agentic workflows, customized for the pre-seed and seed-stage investment process. I am thrilled these experiences have culminated in a full-time role as an investor with Cerity Partners Ventures. As a member of the Built World practice, I will be backing early-stage founders in energy and critical infrastructure. At Cerity Partners, we manage corporate venture capital programs on behalf of Fortune 1000 companies, providing financial and strategic value to our portfolio. If you are a founder building in energy or critical infrastructure, please reach out!
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Marianne Wu reacted on thisMarianne Wu reacted on thisMISUMI Ventures just launched: $50 million to back the next wave of hardware, robotics, and physical AI companies. The founders I talk to don't just need funding; they need someone who's already solved manufacturing at scale, so they can focus on the breakthrough. That's what this fund delivers: a path from prototype to full-scale production backed by a global manufacturing network and MISUMI’s $1 billion Global Investment Vision. Building something in this space? Let's connect. Read more: https://fctv.info/4cO2dKd
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Marianne Wu liked thisMarianne Wu liked thisFour years ago the question was "can you get GPUs." Two years ago it was "can you power them." This year it's "are the ones you have actually running as rated?" Who owns question three at your company?
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Marianne Wu liked thisMarianne Wu liked thisIt's time for our third 50 by 2050 list and we're highlight 50 amazing companies that have the potential to change the climate by 2050. It was an intensely hard list to curate and balances commercial potential with impact. Writing during the hotest year on record with the most severe el niño in modern history shaping up to hammer us this fall and winter on the west coast. But looking at this list and considering the ways the companies can transform so may facets of civilization gives hope. Some of the 2026 list: 🪴 switch to bio-sourced ag inputs and swing from emission to sequestration 🌎 improve earth observation to catch fires early and make ag more precise 🔋 store cheap intermittent renewable energy to create baseload power 🏭 make AI (that we're going to have in any case) more efficient ⚒️ supplying transition metals and minerals more efficiently at lower costs 🎶 orchestrating and moving power to utilize the grid and DERs better Going through these, I'm more excited than every. And these 50 companies only scratch the surface of the sector. We're about to celebrate Congruent Ventures' 10th anniversary and can see this sector starting to have enough traction to bend the curve. This past year, two companies on the list, Fervo Energy and Cerebras both went public in wildly oversubscribed IPOs, probably the first of many in this wave. As always, big thanks to the behind-the-scene-team that helped put this together both at Congruent and SVB. (highlighting Eliza Cushman, Nicholas Adeyi, Kate Griffith (Lee), Hillá Watkins, Dan Baldi, Jordan Kanis, and many others) Check out the link in the comments to the full report!
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Marianne Wu liked thisMarianne Wu liked thisThis is the 3rd year that Congruent Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank have featured Camus on the “50 by 2050” list of companies powering tomorrow. 🌎 We’re honored to be recognized as a high-growth company with the vision, innovation, and scale to meaningfully advance global decarbonization and redefine our industry. That exact combination is what defines our mission at Camus. Through our FlexConnect software, AI data centers can connect to grid power up to 5 years faster, leveraging the energy infrastructure we already have and maximizing asset efficiency. It's rewarding to be recognized for our work! And a huge thanks to our leadership — Astrid Atkinson, David Bailey, Nathan Case, Sarah Colvin, Laura Cummings, Dylan Cutler, Anthony Harrison, and Raj Raheja, CFA — and team who drive our mission forward every day. Read our full press release. (See link in the comments.) #50by2050
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Marianne Wu liked thisMarianne Wu liked thisThe United States imports more than 90% of its uranium. Two thirds of global production comes from countries that carry real geopolitical risk, and new mines take decades to permit and build. Demand is moving the other way: nuclear generation is projected to grow 2.5x over the next 15 years. Fluxnium is building a domestic supply from the one place nobody is looking: ocean water itself. Seawater holds roughly a thousand times more uranium than every identified terrestrial deposit combined, already dissolved and waiting. The company's high-surface-area fiber, developed with a leading U.S. national laboratory, passively adsorbs uranium as seawater moves past it. It deploys on longline systems in open water, the same infrastructure proven by seaweed and mussel farms, then gets retrieved, processed and redeployed. Capacity grows by putting out more fiber instead of building another mine. And because there is no mine, there are no radioactive tailings, which cuts out the slowest and most contested part of permitting. Today Fluxnium announced a $7M seed round, which we're proud to lead, with participation from Constellation Technology Ventures and Active Impact Investments. Congratulations to Jeff Green and Jim McDermott!
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Marianne Wu liked thisMarianne Wu liked thisToday, Google, NVIDIA, and Emerald AI are officially launching the AI Energy Management Alliance (AEMA), joined by Anthropic, The AES Corporation, Constellation, Generate, National Grid, NRG Energy, and a dozen other industry partners. Our shared mission: modernize power system planning and operations for the 21st century to unlock the full potential of flexible data centers, enabling digital infrastructure to actively enhance system utilization, affordability, and reliability. Instead of waiting 5-7+ years for traditional system upgrades, multiple studies have found that reducing net grid withdrawal for less than 100 hours per year can unlock dozens of gigawatts of capacity, via compute flexibility, storage, or generation. At Google, we’ve proven this model by integrating 1 gigawatt of demand response capacity nationwide. To advance this mission, two new Google-commissioned reports are being released today that map actionable pathways forward: 1⃣ The Brattle Group, "Solutions for Timely Interconnection of Large Loads: Enabling Non-Firm Transmission Service," providing a technical blueprint to turn recent bipartisan direction from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission into operational reality. 2⃣ Aurora Energy Research, "Curtailment Mitigation for Provisional Controllable Load Resources: Modeling the Effects of Front-of-Meter Netting," modeling flexible data centers in ERCOT paired with front-of-meter resources. I’m honored to serve as AEMA's inaugural board chair as we partner with utilities, grid operators, and regulators to harness digital growth to strengthen the grid for everyone. With thanks to AEMA's additional launch partners, Analog Devices, Calibrant Energy, Camus, ClearPath, encoord, Fluence, GridUnity, PassKey Inc., RWE, Splight, Verrus, and Voltus. 🔗 Links in the comments below.
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Marianne Wu liked thisMarianne Wu liked thisThis happens a lot when you work at Google. First, you'll read about something interesting, like contrails and their impact on the climate (see Economist article below), and the relatively low-hanging fruit way to reduce said impact by adjusting flightpaths. Then you'll quietly wish: 'boy, I hope there are some smart people in the world working on this important challenge.' And then, a few days after that, you'll learn that Google not only already has its best and brightest working on it, but that we've announced a potential solution, in partnership with a great company like Cathay Pacific. And so it goes... https://lnkd.in/eckSn_Sh https://lnkd.in/ePZmfQES
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Marianne Wu reacted on thisMarianne Wu reacted on thisIn this particular moment of bad news, it's a joy to celebrate those trying to prolong our life on this spinning sphere. 🌍 Today, we released the third edition of our 50 by 2050 list, they are 50 companies that could change the trajectory of decarb while also growing the economy. It's a labor of love from a lot of people, and I'm thrilled to meet many of them in New York next week during climate week. Congrats to everyone on the list, and thank you to my Congruent team and the SVB team for making this happen!
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