Hard tech’s reputation for being too risky and capital-intensive does not match the data. The Green Angel Ventures portfolio shows many climate hardware companies reach meaningful revenues without massive upfront plants by using asset-light playbooks - modular designs, contract manufacturers, corporate co-funded pilots, offtakes and non-dilutive grants. Capital needs up to the first inflection point look comparable to software, while hard tech’s defensibility (physical IP, supply chain moats) and diversified exit routes can make post-traction growth more resilient than pure software.

For pension funds with long-duration capital and climate mandates, this is a fit, not a mismatch. Software alone will not decarbonise building materials, packaging or agriculture; hard tech is essential to the real-economy transition. Specialist funds and expert syndicates reduce diligence risk, and failure rates are similar across hardware and software, challenging the idea that hardware 'fails more'. The analysis of the company's portfolio shows that the 'capital intensity' of hardware companies is only about 30% higher than software ones, not an order of magnitude. The bottom line: hard tech isn’t 'too hard' for institutional LPs. It can reach revenue on software-like capital, then compound with stronger moats and real-economy impact - exactly the profile pension funds seek.

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