Imagine Next Silicon Valley Climate Tech Capital Summit 2026

Theme of the yearTowards a Symbiotic Civilization

Three days during SF Climate Week that brought founders, investors, corporates, and policymakers together around one question: how planet-first innovation moves from early development to real-world deployment, and what capital it takes to get there.

Format

3 days, 3 venues

Registrations

400+ across three days

On stage

17 Challenge finalists

Status

Official SF Climate Week event

Good inventions stall between the lab and the world.

Planet-first innovations face a familiar gap: there is support for early ideas and capital for proven companies, but much less for the stretch in between, where technologies need pilots, first projects, and investors willing to understand what they change.

The Summit was designed around that gap. Organized by the Sustainable Innovation Council as part of the Imagine Next initiative, it was SICouncil's second annual large-scale gathering, held under the theme "Towards a Symbiotic Civilization," and the culmination of the 2026 Imagine Next Global Innovation Challenge.

The program

Three days, three questions.

Day 1 · April 21

Innovation Day

UC Berkeley Alumni House, Berkeley

Opening speech by the Summit host, Julia Daviy, Founder & President of the Sustainable Innovation Council.
The 17 finalists of the 2026 Imagine Next Global Innovation Challenge pitched live to the jury and investors, in two pitch blocks.
Keynote “From Friction to Flow” by Mariam Amin JantzSell, Founder of Start It Law, on the legal bottlenecks that slow early-stage founders.
“Master the Model” workshop on translating milestones into project costs.
Jury feedback session, “What stood out and what scales,” and Planet-First Startup Final Selection certificates for the finalists.

View the Innovation Day gallery →

Day 2 · April 22

Capital Day

UC Law San Francisco, Auditorium

Keynote “Four Assumptions that Shape Climate Investing” by Nelson Switzer, Co-Founder of Climate Innovation Capital.
Five panels and two firesides across the full climate capital stack, from venture to first-of-a-kind projects, venture debt, and downstream capital.
Curated Capital Matchmaking Sessions at themed tables, including “Corporate: Pilots & Market Access” and “Blended Finance: Emerging Markets & Risk Mitigation.”

View the Capital Day gallery →

Day 3 · April 23

Frontiers Day

SOSV, San Francisco

A private visit of founders and investors to SOSV's San Francisco office.
Direct exposure to deep tech investment models, early-stage scaling pathways, and the realities of building breakthrough technologies.
The closing principle of the Summit: deployment happens through ecosystems.

View the Frontiers Day gallery →

A room built for real conversations.

400+

registrations across three days, mostly founders, funders, and corporates

Challenge finalists who pitched live

planet-first startups in the 2026 Challenge cohort

speakers and moderators across eight Capital Day sessions

Julia Daviy and Mariam Amin JantzSell at the Towards a Symbiotic Civilization backdrop

The Summit opened with a speech by its host, Julia Daviy, Founder & President of the Sustainable Innovation Council, introducing the theme of the year: Towards a Symbiotic Civilization.

The full capital stack, on one stage.

Sessions and speakers as presented at UC Law San Francisco, from early venture through first-of-a-kind projects to downstream and structured capital.

Opening

Opening speech

Julia DaviyHost; Founder & President, Sustainable Innovation Council

Keynote

Four Assumptions that Shape Climate Investing

Nelson SwitzerCo-Founder, Climate Innovation Capital

Investor panel

Climate investing today

Mariam Amin JantzSell, Esq.Founder, Start It Law (moderator)
Tess KrasnePrincipal, Alante Capital
Joshua PosamentierCo-Founder & Managing Partner, Congruent Ventures
Suhani MohanDirector of Impact Investing, Silicon Valley Social Ventures (SV2)
Ramkumar KrishnanHead of Cleantech Incubation, LG NOVA

Panel

FOAK as the Bridge from Early-Growth to Growth

Adriana Penuela-UsechecDots Institute (moderator)
Troy HelmingFounder & CEO, Earthgrid
Amit ModiFounder, Focus Green Solutions
Willie HalstedSVP & Relationship Manager, Silicon Valley Bank
Esther Pan SloaneManaging Director, Eyre Street Capital

Fireside

Innovation → Deployment: How Climate Tech Gets Built

Julia DaviyFounder & President, Sustainable Innovation Council
Troy HelmingFounder & CEO, Earthgrid

Venture panel

What venture investors look for

Shayna HarrisCo-Founder & Managing Partner, Supply Change Capital (moderator)
Bryce GillelandGeneral Partner, California Innovation Fund
Vicky LayPartner & Head of Impact Investments, Artesian
Cedric CharPrincipal, BMW i Ventures
Victor YangSr. Investment Manager, Honeywell Ventures

Panel

Beyond Priced Rounds: Venture Debt & Structured Capital for Growth

Adam E. BergmanManaging Director, EcoTech Capital (moderator)
Julia GrinshpunManaging Director, Climate Tech, J.P. Morgan
Lafe VittitoeManaging Director, Climate Tech & Sustainability, SVB
Diana SankovicManaging Partner, Diosan Capital
Lin ChenManaging Director, Fortress Investment Group

Panel

From Growth to Bankability: What Downstream Capital Requires

Christina CairnsBlended Finance & Capital Mobilization Leader (moderator)
Bryce GillelandGeneral Partner, California Innovation Fund
Dr. Tobi Ann PetrocelliHead of Sustainable Investment Advisory, Arup
Daniel BaruchExecutive Director, ClimateTech Investments & Innovation, J.P. Morgan

Fireside

Crossing the Deployment Valley: Founder Perspective

Dr. Ryan GilliamCEO & Co-Founder, Fortera; TIME 2024 100 Climate Leaders
Natalie VolpeDirector, Investments, Wollemi (moderator)

Innovation Day judges included Bryce Gilleland (California Innovation Fund), Dee Zheng (Hustle Fund / Orca Climate Fund), and Vivian Qu (SOSV Venture Fellow and SICouncil's Director of DeepTech & Venture Development), among others. Other contributors to the program included Álvaro Tukano, Indigenous leader of the Yepá Mahsã (Tukano) people of Brazil's Upper Rio Negro.

From the stage to what comes next.

The Summit closed the 2026 Imagine Next Global Innovation Challenge. Three awardees were selected from the 17 finalists: Sunchem (critical metals recovered from waste streams), Airbuild Inc (self-powered microalgae systems for wastewater and carbon capture), and Rapid Analytix Division Inc. (analytics for sustainable industrial systems).

Before and during the Summit, finalists took part in workshops and mastermind sessions on fundability and intellectual property. Together with a stage before investors and visibility, this preparation forms the SICouncil Deployment Pathway. After the Summit, SICouncil continued connecting the top finalists with investors.

Imagine Next Silicon Valley Climate Tech Capital Summit 2026

Good inventions stall between the lab and the world.

Three days, three questions.

Innovation Day

Capital Day

Frontiers Day

A room built for real conversations.

The full capital stack, on one stage.

Opening speech

Four Assumptions that Shape Climate Investing

Climate investing today

FOAK as the Bridge from Early-Growth to Growth

Innovation → Deployment: How Climate Tech Gets Built

What venture investors look for

Beyond Priced Rounds: Venture Debt & Structured Capital for Growth

From Growth to Bankability: What Downstream Capital Requires

Crossing the Deployment Valley: Founder Perspective

Startups that pitched.

Moments from the room.

From the stage to what comes next.

Made possible together.

The next Summit returns during SF Climate Week.