S2G Investments closes $1bn fund for food, energy and oceans companies

Investment firm S2G Investments has closed a $1bn (€859m) growth-stage fund aimed at companies working in food and agriculture, energy and oceans.

The Chicago-based investment firm said its Solutions Fund is intended to help address what it calls the “Missing Middle”, a financing gap between early-stage venture funding and infrastructure-scale capital for companies that have moved beyond the start-up stage but still need funding to expand.

The firm, which was founded in 2014 and registered as an investment adviser in 2024, said it now has $2.8bn in assets under management and has invested in more than 120 companies since its launch.

The firm said the newly closed fund has already deployed $300m across 10 investments, including Echandia, a maritime battery supplier with more than 100 vessels delivered or on order, and Exacto, an agricultural inputs company.

“This Fund expands our ability to provide the growth capital required to commercialize transformative technologies at a pivotal moment in the global economy,” said Managing Partner, Aaron Rudberg.

“By investing at the seams where food, energy, and ocean systems intersect, we see opportunities to accelerate solutions that are both economically superior and more resilient than legacy models. We are grateful to our investors for their support, which allows us to back operators scaling the companies that this moment demands,” Rudberg added.

S2G said the fund has received commitments from institutional investors including pension funds, funds of funds and family offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

S2G's existing portfolio includes a range of companies within the ocean, aquaculture and feed sectors, including firms working on land-based farm automation, shrimp health, oxygenation systems, alternative aquafeed ingredients and algae-derived feed.

These include Mara Renewables, which produces algae-based omega-3 oils, ReelData, which develops AI-supported feeding systems for land-based aquaculture, and ViAqua, which is developing RNA-based feed products for shrimp farming. Last year, S2G also announced its investment in Colombian insect protein producer Enthos, together with Ocean 14 Capital.

While the latest fund announcement did not name any new aquaculture investments, S2G has recently highlighted aquafeed innovation as part of its food and oceans work.

In its report Aquaculture Feed Innovation and a Reimagined Future, published in January this year, the firm noted aquaculture supplies more than half of the seafood consumed globally, but depends on contuing supply of feed ingredients including fishmeal, fish oil and soy.

Outlining the report findings, Larsen Mettler, Managing Director of S2G Oceans Investment team, argued that the industry will need alternative proteins and oils, circular feed systems, precision nutrition and functional feeds if it is to continue growing without increasing pressure on marine and agricultural resources.