# The Schmidt Family Foundation

> The Schmidt Family Foundation is a VC fund backing Sustainability and Water. See 11 investments, round sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Oct 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Palo Alto, United States
- Total investments: 11
- Last investment: Oct 2026
- Lead investor: 36%
- Last updated: Oct 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tsffoundation/
- Website: http://tsffoundation.org/

The Schmidt Family Foundation is a VC fund in Palo Alto focused on Sustainability and Water. Advancing the creation of an increasingly intelligent relationship between human activity and the use of the world's natural resources.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for The Schmidt Family Foundation. Shizune tracks 1 team members at The Schmidt Family Foundation. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/the-schmidt-family-foundation?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $120k–$2.5M |
| Series A | $8M–$27M |
| Series B | $28M–$60M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sustainability | 3 | 27% |
| Water | 2 | 18% |
| CleanTech | 2 | 18% |
| E-Commerce | 2 | 18% |
| Agriculture | 2 | 18% |

35 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 3 | 27% |
| Series A | 2 | 18% |
| Series B | 2 | 18% |
| Debt Financing | 2 | 18% |
| Grant | 1 | 9% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 6 | 55% |
| Kenya | 1 | 9% |
| Tanzania | 1 | 9% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 9% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Eric Schmidt | Founder and CEO | 1 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/eric-schmidt-c6b3 |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| East Africa Fruits | EA Fruits Farm is a business that engages in the large production and distribution of fruits and vegetables. As fruits are an essential part of a human's diet for maintenance of good health and wellbeing, the business will take part in providing the opportunity for Tanzanian citizens and other people overseas to get such fruits and motivatemore people to increase their intake of fruits whereby the company will strive to increase the supply to match the increased demand for fresh fruits and vegetables. The business envisions to be among the leading producers, distributors, and exporters of the fruits within the Country and overseas. The company is a highly profitable and viable business that expects to rise to about 5,000 USD from its current small-scaled operations, while more than 450,000 USD will be raised as a result of further expansion within a period of 2-4 years. | $14M | Debt Financing | Oct 07, 2026 | https://www.eafruits.com/ |
| Cream Co. | Cream Co. connects chefs with sustainably-empower ranches via a curated line of humanely raised animals. | $8M | Series A | Jan 08, 2026 | https://creamcomeats.com/ |
| Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator | Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), a City of Los Angeles-established nonprofit organization, is creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation through working with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies, transforming markets through partnerships with policymakers, innovators and market leaders intransportation, energy, and sustainable cities; and enhancing communities through workforce development, pilots and other programs. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI is recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. In the past seven years, LACI has helped 78 portfolio companies raise $221M in funding, $220M in revenue, create 1,750 jobs, and deliver more than $393M in long term economic value. | $2M | Grant | Aug 07, 2025 | http://laincubator.org |
| Mati Carbon | Mati Carbon uses technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for improved crop productivity and soil replenishment. |  | Debt Financing | May 16, 2025 | https://www.mati.earth/ |
| Notpla | Notpla is a sustainable packaging start-up that develops a material derived from seaweed and plants. The company's products include a coating for takeaway boxes, film, paper made from seaweed pulp, and a rigid plastic alternative, also made from seaweed. Notpla was founded in 2014 and is based in London, England. | $26.9M | Series A | Sep 24, 2024 | https://www.notpla.com/ |
| SunCulture | SunCulture is a company based in Nairobi, Kenya which sells the AgroSolar Irrigation Kit, an entirely solar-powered drip irrigation system. The kit combines solar water pumping technology with high-efficiency drip irrigation and includes everything a farmer needs to grow more while spending less, in a sustainable and energy-efficient way.SunCulture has developed a novel and unique product that simplifies farming and increases crop yields. They are also the only "one-stop shop" for Kenyan farmers, as they provide a solar water pumping solution, an entire drip irrigation kit, agronomic services, educational training, access to capital and access to markets in rural Kenya — their approach focuses on quality of both product and services. | $27.5M | Series B | Apr 02, 2024 | http://sunculture.com/ |
| Enfuego Technologies | Enfuego is a job seeker’s platform that helps you, the applicant, conquer the screening bots that block you from successfully transitioning to their next career. Founded in 2016 by a team of technologists and frustrated job seekers, we partnered with a top university to create cutting-edge technology that ensures employers see everything thatmakes you exceptional.We lived through the traditional application process firsthand, so we know what it’s like to feel invisible and helpless during a job search. After researching the issues behind this widespread problem, we realized that third-party screening systems were to blame – although they were designed to make hiring more efficient, they’ve backfired by dumbing applications down to one-dimensional collections of buzzwords, which often mischaracterize or dismiss the best applicants.That’s why we developed technology that fights for job seekers | $500K | Seed | Sep 10, 2020 | http://www.enfuego.tech |
| Saildrone | Saildrone is a maritime defense and oceanographic survey company that enables navies, governments, and commercial organizations to obtain the real-time, accurate data required to monitor the maritime domain. Powered primarily by renewable wind and solar energy, the company operates a fleet of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) capable of conductinglong-duration missions that span several months. These autonomous vessels are equipped with advanced sensors and proprietary AI algorithms, allowing them to deliver a comprehensive view of the maritime environment both above and below the surface. Their technology supports various applications, including border protection, critical infrastructure monitoring, and hydrographic surveying. By harnessing sustainable energy sources, the USVs offer a persistent maritime presence without requiring human crews or fossil fuels. The integration of AI enhances real-time data analysis, making these systems both efficient and cost-effective. This innovative approach positions the company at the forefront of autonomous maritime surveillance and environmental monitoring. | $60M | Series B | May 15, 2018 | https://www.saildrone.com |
| Saildrone | Saildrone is a maritime defense and oceanographic survey company that enables navies, governments, and commercial organizations to obtain the real-time, accurate data required to monitor the maritime domain. Powered primarily by renewable wind and solar energy, the company operates a fleet of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) capable of conductinglong-duration missions that span several months. These autonomous vessels are equipped with advanced sensors and proprietary AI algorithms, allowing them to deliver a comprehensive view of the maritime environment both above and below the surface. Their technology supports various applications, including border protection, critical infrastructure monitoring, and hydrographic surveying. By harnessing sustainable energy sources, the USVs offer a persistent maritime presence without requiring human crews or fossil fuels. The integration of AI enhances real-time data analysis, making these systems both efficient and cost-effective. This innovative approach positions the company at the forefront of autonomous maritime surveillance and environmental monitoring. | $2.5M | Seed | Dec 31, 2015 | https://www.saildrone.com |
| Nebia | Nebia was started on the premise of creating great products that fundamentally change the way people think about their relationship to water in their home. Their team is driven by an obsessive passion for creating better experiences, as well as a core belief that they can be more responsible consumers of earth’s most precious resource. | $120K | Seed | Sep 01, 2015 | http://nebia.com |

10 of 11 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Horizons Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/horizons-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Acumen](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/acumen-fund) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/acumen-resilient-agriculture-fund) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Astanor Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/astanor-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Builders Vision](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/builders-vision) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Capricorn Investment Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/capricorn-investment-group) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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## FAQ

### What does The Schmidt Family Foundation invest in?

The Schmidt Family Foundation invests primarily in Sustainability, Water and CleanTech startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 11 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What round sizes does The Schmidt Family Foundation invest in?

The Schmidt Family Foundation typically joins rounds of $120k–$2.5M at Seed, $8M–$27M at Series A and $28M–$60M at Series B. These are whole funding-round sizes, not The Schmidt Family Foundation's own check, which is rarely disclosed: the 10th–90th percentile of the confirmed public funding rounds The Schmidt Family Foundation took part in.

### How do I contact The Schmidt Family Foundation?

Public channels for The Schmidt Family Foundation include LinkedIn and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at The Schmidt Family Foundation?

The team at The Schmidt Family Foundation includes Eric Schmidt (Founder and CEO). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### 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 Oct 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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