# Nurturing Companies that Have a Net Positive Impact on Nature: Insights from Tom Chi of At One Ventures

- Show: [Hardware to Save a Planet](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet)
- Published: 2024-05-23
- Length: 1h 03m
- Episode: 53
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-05-23-nurturing-companies-that-have-a-net-positive-impact-on-nature-insights-from-tom
- Listen: https://podcasts.fame.so/e/r87yr6y8-nurturing-companies-that-have-a-net-positive-impact-tom-chi

## Summary

Tom Chi, Founding Partner of At One Ventures, explains his transition from Google X to climate investing after witnessing coral reef collapse in Hawaii. He argues that climate progress is stalled by a mismatch in rates between regulatory cycles and industrial innovation, and that investors must focus on hardware companies with radically better unit economics to overcome industry inertia. Chi details At One Ventures' strategy of avoiding scientific risk by investing only at late lab bench or early commercialization stages, and emphasizes that manufacturing expertise is the key differentiator for successful climate hardware scaling.

## Chapters

- [0:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-05-23-nurturing-companies-that-have-a-net-positive-impact-on-nature-insights-from-tom#t=3) Introduction: Tom Chi and At One Ventures
- [3:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-05-23-nurturing-companies-that-have-a-net-positive-impact-on-nature-insights-from-tom#t=182) The Catalyst: Coral Reef Collapse and Climate Urgency
- [3:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-05-23-nurturing-companies-that-have-a-net-positive-impact-on-nature-insights-from-tom#t=182) The Rate Problem: Regulation vs. Innovation Speed
- [37:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-05-23-nurturing-companies-that-have-a-net-positive-impact-on-nature-insights-from-tom#t=2231) Investment Thesis: Avoiding Science Risk and Focusing on Manufacturing
- [41:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-05-23-nurturing-companies-that-have-a-net-positive-impact-on-nature-insights-from-tom#t=2508) Unit Economics and 'Training Wheels' Contracts
- [52:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-05-23-nurturing-companies-that-have-a-net-positive-impact-on-nature-insights-from-tom#t=3163) Critique of Direct Air Capture and Closed-Loop Plastics

## Topics

- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- At One Ventures (company)
- Google X (company)
- Kleiner Perkins (company)
- Clean Tech One (company)
- For the Wild (product)

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- [An Interview with Eric Klein](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-06-08-an-interview-with-eric-klein) (The Amp Hour)
- [S3 E4: An Impact Hardware VC's Playbook with Carlota Ochoa from Extentia](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2025-11-11-s3-e4-an-impact-hardware-vcs-playbook-with-carlota-ochoa-from-extentia) (The Builder Circle)
- [The VC case for 'full stack deeptech'](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2026-01-08-the-vc-case-for-full-stack-deeptech) (Catalyst)
- [#049 - RERUN - Elements of building a successful tech business, with (proven) serial entrepreneur Milton Chang of Incubic Venture Fund, USA](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2018-02-28-049-rerun-elements-of-building-a-successful-tech-business-with-proven-serial-ent) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)

## Citing this page

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