The firm, founded by seasoned operators Sarah Sclarsic and Sierra Peterson, has offices in San Francisco and New York. Voyager’s founders have been investing in European climate tech for almost a decade. Upon launching the firm in 2021, Peterson and Sclarsic had envisioned formalising Voyager’s European presence in recognition of the huge potential of European climate tech companies. The new London office is being led by Matthew Blain, a Principal at the firm.

Voyager's European expansion builds on its successful debut of $200 million across its first two oversubscribed funds, which focus on Seed and Series A-stage companies in Europe and North America.

Both Voyager funds invest in exceptional software, hardware, and biotech companies creating the foundations of a new, decarbonised global economy.

Sarah Sclarsic and Sierra Peterson launched Voyager in 2021, making it one of the few venture capital firms to be founded and led by women.

The founders each bring more than 15 years of experience in climate tech, across company-building, policy-making, advanced academic research and investing.

Prior to launching Voyager, Sclarsic and Peterson had built five climate tech companies – including one public exit, crafted policy at the Obama White House Office of Energy and Climate Change and International Energy Agency, lead academic research at Harvard and MIT, and invested in leading early-stage climate tech startups in the US and Europe.

Matthew Blain, a British national, joined the firm in San Francisco as the fund’s first employee within a year after Voyager’s founding. He has been incubating and launching early-stage businesses on both sides of the Atlantic since 2017 as a founder and investor.

The firm has invested in 28 early-stage companies to date, including Intensivate, designer of a chip for data analytics that is more than 80% more energy-efficient than those used in data centres today, and Cache Energy, a company that offers zero-carbon long-duration energy storage for industrial customers at a cost significantly below that of incumbent fossil-based technologies.

In Europe, Voyager has already made several investments, including the British all-electric delivery firm Packfleet founded by early ex-Monzo executives and CarbonChain, the leading product carbon footprint and Scope 3 accounting platform used by global manufacturers. Building on its history of backing teams in Denmark, Germany, and the UK, Voyager expects to continue investing across Europe, and to helping top European teams commercialise on both sides of the Atlantic.

VC investment into UK startups has fallen to $3.9 billion in the first three months of 2024 from $4.8 billion – but it is still ranked third in the world for startup investment behind only the US and China.

Matthew Blain, Principal at Voyager, said: “We are hugely excited to be opening our European presence. The quality of founders, the breadth of innovation and the calibre of the companies we are seeing across the continent is outstanding.”

Sarah Sclarsic, Founding Partner at Voyager, said:  “We have invested in Europe since we launched the fund and are delighted to double-down on our commitment to this incredible ecosystem. We look forward to continuing our work with some of the top research centres in the world, and partnering with early-stage founders to execute on their visions to build the multi-billion dollar businesses that are transforming every industry. From manufacturing to transportation to computing, these startups are delivering better products at lower cost and outcompeting inefficient and polluting legacy technologies while slashing emissions.”

Sierra Peterson, Founding Partner at Voyager, said: “This is a trillion-dollar opportunity. Voyager invests in climate technologies that outcompete fossil-fuel products on price and performance alone. These technologies are reshaping our global economy, and forward-thinking investors recognise the potential for robust returns backing the companies that will be the industry leaders of the future.”

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