Never mistake being quiet for not being busy! While we haven’t been as active on social media of late, it’s because for the last several months our team has been working hard to develop our road map for the Institute’s second social impact venture capital fund. In a world that is constantly changing and shifting, it is important to spend time looking for the gaps in the world where we believe our investments can have impact. We are excited to announce our three priority areas for startup investment that we believe will help strengthen our communities and address some of society’s greatest challenges.
Home Resilience
As we all experience increasing climate changes, it is important to enhance the durability, efficiency, and adaptability of homes so that they can withstand the environmental challenges that too often threaten to derail our lives. As we look to support innovations in Home Resilience, we are particularly interested in technologies that champion home electrification and increase energy efficiency. While reducing our collective carbon footprint is important for all of us, as an impact fund it’s also crucial that we find ways to bring these innovations to underserved communities that typically lack access to them but often bear the brunt of changing climates. We also look to invest in weatherization efforts that safeguard families, reduce disaster recovery costs, and strengthen entire communities through retrofits and financial incentives. Being proactive about protection defines how we think about securing homes and communities.
Access to Housing
At the Institute we also believe a home is a foundation for building greater lives—but we know that not everyone has the same Access to Housing. That is why our second priority area is focused on investing in solutions that make housing more affordable, accessible, and sustainable. We seek solutions that support mortgage readiness and the ability to save for that first down payment on a home, with the goal of increasing opportunities for everyone to build generational wealth. We also know that the future of affordable homeownership depends on increasing supply, which includes revolutionizing the ways homes are built, rethinking traditional housing models and making high-quality, low-cost homes to increase housing stock in the United States. In addition to the supply, we also need to find ways to allow older adults to safely and comfortably age in place in their own homes. From smart home modifications to caregiver support technologies, we plan to invest in companies that enhance mobility, security and well-being—so that families can navigate aging with dignity and confidence.
AI for Social Good
Finally, while AI is the buzz word everyone is talking about, we believe it is important to harness the ethical component of AI to help drive impact, ensuring that benefits are accessible to everyone while mitigating the risks. With our commitment to AI for Social Good as our third priority area, we look to maximize AI’s benefits for the whole of society, whether an AI platform that can predict and mitigate environmental changes or innovate access to community services. We see great opportunity in using AI as an enhancement to human interaction—not as a replacement for it. We also know that while AI’s potential is vast, so are the challenges. We are dedicated to minimizing AI’s negative impacts by supporting innovations that eliminate biases in AI systems, as well as ideas that reduce AI’s ecological footprint.
As we forge ahead making investments from this new fund, we are more committed than ever to not only seeking out promising early-stage startups but also nurturing them in the ways that magnify their potential to drive meaningful change. We have a strong track record of supporting early-stage companies in our first fund, from our commitment to founder health and wellness to coaching and support that helps scale businesses. And we have a strong commitment to impact measurement, ensuring the startup businesses we invest in have a measurable benefit to society. If you are a late stage Pre-Seed, early or late Seed, or early Series A for-profit startup based in the U.S. that is building a solution that fits one or more of our priority areas, please reach out to us at institute@amfam.com! And stay tuned and follow our page as we announce some of our newest investments in the coming weeks!