S2G Investments closes $1B growth-stage fund to back food, agriculture, and energy companies

S2G Investments closed its Solutions Fund I at $1 billion on May 12, the Chicago-based multi-asset firm announced, marking its first dedicated growth-stage vehicle and one of the largest food and agriculture fund closes of the year.

The fund attracted commitments from pension funds, family offices, and institutional investors across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. With $300 million already deployed across ten portfolio companies, Solutions Fund I focuses on what S2G calls the “missing middle” — the financing gap between early-stage venture capital and large-scale infrastructure funding that leaves many proven commercial businesses unable to raise expansion capital.

S2G’s investment thesis centers on companies where food, energy, and ocean systems intersect — sectors the firm estimates represent $7 trillion in annual global trade and roughly 90% of global emissions-reduction potential. Portfolio companies include Exacto, which develops adjuvant technologies that improve herbicide performance by up to 90% across 130 million U.S. acres annually; Echandia, a maritime battery supplier; and ANA, a hybrid power generation and energy storage systems developer.

“This fund expands our ability to provide the growth capital required to commercialize transformative technologies at a pivotal moment in the global economy,” said Aaron Rudberg, managing partner. An S2G spokesperson cited the Iran conflict’s disruption of Strait of Hormuz shipping as an illustration of the supply chain fragility that makes resilient food and energy systems essential to institutional investors.

S2G manages $2.8 billion in total assets and has invested in more than 120 companies since its founding in 2014. A first exit from the fund came via Itron’s acquisition of AI utility software company Urbint.