The biggest industrial transformation of our lifetime is happening right now — and it’s not AI. It’s climate industrialism.
Shawn Xu, Partner at Lowercarbon Capital (the climate tech fund founded by Chris Sacca), breaks down why climate is not a moral movement but a trillion-dollar generational wealth creation event.
We dive into how Lowercarbon identifies outlier founders, why “cheaper, better, faster” beats every green-premium argument, and the real opportunities emerging across energy, carbon removal, fusion, materials, resilience, and the AI-power bottleneck.
If you’re an investor, founder, operator, or simply curious where the smart money is moving, this episode is your absolute must-watch!
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Timestamps/Key Takeaways
03:36 – The climate industrial revolution & “unfuck the planet”
12:30 – AI, energy demand & the $500 billion program
17:00 – From Silicon Valley kid to VC
23:23 – Becoming a climate investor in a trillion dollar market
37:32 – “Greedy capitalist” & a Series A $900M fusion round
44:54 – 40-Page memo, the biggest lessons on conviction
57:41 – Q&A: The one “billion dollar move” takeaway
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About Shawn Xu
Shawn is a Partner at Lowercarbon Capital, and aims to be the first believer in audacious founders who are building bold solutions to the climate crisis.
Shawn has built an accomplished track record as an investor at the early stage. Immediately prior to Lowercarbon, Shawn was a Partner at On Deck’s venture fund and accelerator, where he backed companies in 20+ countries and earned a founder NPS of 100. Before this, he was on the investing teams at Floodgate and First Round Capital’s Dorm Room Fund, and was ranked in the Forbes 30 Under 30 for Venture Capital. Shawn has personally partnered with ~50 companies to date and brings with him a wealth of knowledge on helping founders go zero to one, from ideation to product-market fit.
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Shawn Xu
Resources:
Chris Sacca — How to Succeed by Living on Your Own Terms | Tim Ferriss
Chris Sacca Interview (Full Episode) | The Tim Ferriss Show (Podcast)
Chris Sacca: Drifting Back to Real | Dialectic with Jackson Dahl
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