# Leap Forward Ventures

> Leap Forward Ventures is a VC fund in San Francisco backing Energy and Software. See 30 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: San Francisco, United States
- Total investments: 30
- Last investment: Jul 2026
- Lead investor: 7%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- Website: https://leapforward.vc

Leap Forward Ventures is a VC fund in San Francisco focused on Energy and Software. Leap Forward invests in early-stage climate tech startups that accelerate decarbonization and carbon removal. The firm has a broad focus, including in energy-related sectors (transportation, buildings, grid tech, value chains), hard tech, green fintech and adaptation. Leap Forward is based in San Francisco, CA.

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $2M–$8M |
| Pre-Seed | $125k–$2M |
| Series A | $20M–$30M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Energy | 5 | 17% |
| Software | 5 | 17% |
| Electronics | 4 | 13% |
| Renewable Energy | 4 | 13% |
| Information Technology | 4 | 13% |

51 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 15 | 50% |
| Pre-Seed | 11 | 37% |
| Series A | 3 | 10% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 19 | 63% |
| Israel | 2 | 7% |
| Egypt | 1 | 3% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 3% |
| The Netherlands | 1 | 3% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Squid | Squid offers a workspace for planning, modeling, and testing power grid networks with tools for network analysis and simulation. |  | Seed | Jul 23, 2026 |  |
| Niv-AI | Niv-AI develops an AI platform that optimizes power usage in AI data centers by capturing real-time electricity consumption data and dynamically balancing workloads. It addresses bottlenecks where synchronized GPUs create sharp power spikes, unlocking up to 30% of stranded capacity without new hardware. | $12M | Seed | Mar 17, 2026 |  |
| Ezra | Ezra is an AI-powered infrastructure platform built to transform capital markets. By replacing manual processes with automated data structuring and smart matching, it helps operators raise capital and lenders deploy funds efficiently within the private credit and project finance landscapes. | $8M | Seed | Feb 25, 2026 |  |
| Plug | Plug is a wholesale auction that facilitates online buying and selling of used EVs. | $20M | Series A | Feb 02, 2026 |  |
| Plug | Plug is a wholesale auction that facilitates online buying and selling of used EVs. | $20M | Series A | Feb 02, 2026 |  |
| Copper | Copper is a a battery solutions startup. | $28M | Series A | Aug 27, 2025 |  |
| Plug | Plug is a wholesale auction that facilitates online buying and selling of used EVs. | $6.7M | Seed | Apr 08, 2025 |  |
| Stand | Stand simulates real-world risk using physics and AI. | $30M | Series A | Dec 16, 2024 |  |
| Stand | Stand simulates real-world risk using physics and AI. |  | Seed | Dec 16, 2024 |  |
| Balto energy | Balto energy is a software that equip solar contractors for the low-cost electrified future through solar-led electrification. |  | Pre-Seed | Jun 18, 2024 |  |

10 of 30 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Y Combinator](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/y-combinator) — VC Fund, 10 deals together
- [Autotech Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/autotech-ventures) — VC Fund, 7 deals together
- [Lightspeed Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/lightspeed-venture-partners) — VC Fund, 6 deals together
- [Collaborative Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/collaborative-fund) — VC Fund, 5 deals together
- [Climate Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/climate-capital) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [Climate Tech Circle](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/climate-tech-circle) — VC Fund, 3 deals together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Leap Forward Ventures invest in?

Leap Forward Ventures invests primarily in Energy, Software and Electronics startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 30 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Leap Forward Ventures's check size?

Leap Forward Ventures typically joins rounds of $2M–$8M at Seed, $125k–$2M at Pre-Seed and $20M–$30M at Series A. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Leap Forward Ventures participates in.

### When did Leap Forward Ventures last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Leap Forward Ventures closed in Jul 2026. Shizune tracks 30 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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