Why Meta’s Former CTO Is Investing in Climate Tech

It has been a hard few years for climate tech. But we recently got a bright spot: Earlier this month, Gigascale Capital announced it had raised $250 million to build the physical infrastructure driving decarbonization. That was notable in part because Gigscale’s founder is Mike Schroepfer, Meta’s former chief technology officer, who has gone deep on climate tech since leaving the company in 2022. On this episode of Shift Key, Mike joins Rob to discuss why Gigascale chose this moment to raise $250 million, what’s greenwashing (and what’s not) in AI, what the American manufacturing industry does better than China’s, and why Gigascale has not engaged in “climate hushing.” Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News. You can find a full transcript of the episode here. **Mentioned:** Previously on Shift Key: What J.P. Morgan’s Chief Climate Advisor Is Telling Energy Startups -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by ... **Heatmap Pro** brings all of our research, reporting, and insights down to the local level. The software platform tracks all local opposition to clean energy and data centers, forecasts community sentiment, and guides data-driven engagement campaigns. Book a demo today to see the premier intelligence platform for project permitting and community engagement. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. * * * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.