LA Blazes Bolster Case for Wildfire-Tech Investment, VC Clerico Says
The founder of Convective Capital says there are “deep-pocketed” customers such as utilities and insurers that are eager to reduce their exposure to the next climate disaster.
Firefighters battle the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California on Jan. 8.
Photographer: Jill Connelly/BloombergThe Los Angeles wildfires are an unmissable signal for investors to back startups aimed at mitigating and preventing similar disasters in the future, according to venture capitalist Bill Clerico.
Clerico, the founder and managing partner of Convective Capital, says there are “huge incentives” to invest in so-called adaptation technologies that can help avoid some of the financial damages now being experienced by homeowners and businesses across the Los Angeles area. The latest estimates for insured losses from the wildfires are now as high as $40 billion.