小羅伯特·唐尼扮演過(guò)鋼鐵俠,也扮演過(guò)大偵探福爾摩斯?,F(xiàn)在,,他又扮演了一個(gè)非常入時(shí)的角色——“綠色”風(fēng)投家。
上周三,,小羅伯特·唐尼宣布,,他將創(chuàng)辦兩只專注綠色環(huán)保和社會(huì)責(zé)任(ESG)的風(fēng)投基金,以吸引投資者跟他一道,,通過(guò)在生物塑料、昆蟲養(yǎng)殖,、人工智能等領(lǐng)域的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資,,來(lái)更好地應(yīng)對(duì)氣候變化。
唐尼的這個(gè)名為“足跡聯(lián)盟風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資基金”,是以他的非政府組織“足跡聯(lián)盟”(FootPrint Coalition)的名義發(fā)起的,。
起初它將包含兩只基金,,一只聚焦早期的初創(chuàng)公司,另一只則著眼進(jìn)入后期發(fā)展階段的公司,。這兩只基金將在股權(quán)眾籌平臺(tái)AngelList上上市,,它們將采用滾動(dòng)基金的結(jié)構(gòu),這是一種認(rèn)購(gòu)式基金,,需要投資者承諾按季度訂購(gòu),。
2019年6月,,在亞馬遜主辦的全球人工智能會(huì)議re:MARS大會(huì)上,唐尼宣布了“足跡聯(lián)盟”的成立,。他在會(huì)上宣稱:“通過(guò)機(jī)器人和納米技術(shù),,我們可以在10年內(nèi),大幅提高地球的清潔程度,?!?/p>
此后,“足跡聯(lián)盟”宣布投資了一家名為?nsect的法國(guó)昆蟲養(yǎng)殖初創(chuàng)公司,,和一家名叫Cloud Paper的竹子造紙公司,。它還投資了專注環(huán)保領(lǐng)域的虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)和藝術(shù)展覽公司Arcadia,和生物科技公司RWDC Industries,,后者正在開發(fā)一種旨在代替塑料的生物降解材料,。
“足跡聯(lián)盟”表示,目前暫時(shí)無(wú)法提供投資每家公司具體情況,,但據(jù)執(zhí)行合伙人喬納森?舒爾霍夫介紹,,他和唐尼總共出資了1000萬(wàn)美元,其中部分資金每年將直接流入這兩只新基金,。
“足跡聯(lián)盟”上周三宣布,,這只基金的第一筆投資,將投給具有ESG理念的金融科技初創(chuàng)公司Aspire,。該公司在本輪融資中一共籌集到5000萬(wàn)美元資金,,投資者可以說(shuō)是“眾星薈萃”,其中還包括辛迪·克勞馥和卡婭·格伯這對(duì)母女檔,。
在接受《財(cái)富》采訪時(shí),,唐尼表示,“足跡聯(lián)盟”的理念,,就來(lái)自他這么多年拍漫威電影的經(jīng)歷,。另外,,他也希望借此機(jī)會(huì)讓自己的事業(yè)達(dá)到一個(gè)新階段。
“當(dāng)時(shí),,我和漫威的合同還沒(méi)到期,,我們?cè)赮ouTube上拍了一部紀(jì)錄片《AI時(shí)代》。我開始意識(shí)到,,為了讓這一類型的電影更有可信度,,我已經(jīng)沉浸在人工智能、機(jī)器人和高科技里了,?!碧颇峄貞浀馈?/p>
“我今天看了一篇文章,,好像是《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》上的,,題目是:‘你如何知道自己什么時(shí)候該退休了?’雖然我還沒(méi)到退休的時(shí)候,,但現(xiàn)在,,已經(jīng)完成了一個(gè)階段的投入和成功,會(huì)思考人生的下一個(gè)階段會(huì)是什么樣子,,這兩段時(shí)期的銜接階段會(huì)有一點(diǎn)混亂,。”唐尼笑道,。
唐尼表示,,就在2019年宣布成立“足跡聯(lián)盟”后不久,他就意識(shí)到:“這將是我人生的下半場(chǎng),?!?/p>
明星在環(huán)保領(lǐng)域搞風(fēng)投并不是什么新現(xiàn)象,這個(gè)時(shí)機(jī)可能也很偶然,,因?yàn)镋SG投資早已成了一個(gè)大市場(chǎng),。上周二,黑石集團(tuán)CEO拉里·芬克就在一封致廣大CEO的信中,,拿統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)說(shuō)明了這方面的需求速度——2020年1月至11月,,全球的共同基金和ETF投資者向所謂的“可持續(xù)”產(chǎn)業(yè)投入了2880億美元,較2019年全年增加了96%,。
唐尼表示,,他的新基金還將扮演一些創(chuàng)造性的角色,比如為他投資的公司提供一些深度的“內(nèi)容”,,這些內(nèi)容的靈感,,來(lái)自他為YouTube拍《AI時(shí)代》的經(jīng)歷。
目前,,唐尼已經(jīng)制作了幾支與?nsect和Cloud Paper有關(guān)的動(dòng)畫宣傳片,,主角就是卡通版的唐尼本人,,他在片中介紹了昆蟲養(yǎng)殖和竹子造紙的技術(shù)和意義。
他說(shuō):“現(xiàn)在有一點(diǎn)養(yǎng)孩子的感覺(jué),,因?yàn)槲覀円恢痹诖蚰バ畔ⅲ艺J(rèn)為在媒體工具方面也要跟上,?!?/p>
對(duì)于唐尼來(lái)說(shuō),這次創(chuàng)業(yè)頗有幾分殺伐決斷的果敢,,與以前大不同,。
畢竟在2013年,唐尼在接受《財(cái)富》采訪時(shí),,曾被問(wèn)到是否投資了馬斯克的特斯拉公司——畢竟大家公認(rèn)馬斯克就是托尼·史塔克的現(xiàn)實(shí)原型,。當(dāng)時(shí)唐尼表示,自己在投資上是“極為保守”的,。
當(dāng)時(shí),,唐尼曾表示:“沒(méi)有人真的對(duì)我的投資觀念感興趣,因?yàn)槲覍?duì)投資真的一無(wú)所知,。而且我認(rèn)為,,如果你是在一個(gè)沒(méi)錢的環(huán)境里長(zhǎng)大的,等你有了一筆錢,,你就會(huì)把它放在某個(gè)地方,,而不是去折騰它。當(dāng)然,,這只是一種可能,。另一種可能,就是拿去揮霍,,那你就會(huì)變得又富又蠢,。”
而現(xiàn)在,,唐尼表示,,自己的“保守”,是指他“會(huì)傾聽身邊有說(shuō)服力的想法”,,而且他也會(huì)積極地參與其中,。
“我討厭讓別人來(lái)管理我的錢,我更喜歡親自去做我相信的事情,?!彼f(shuō)。
唐尼感興趣的領(lǐng)域很多,,不過(guò)他也認(rèn)為,,有一些值得關(guān)注的領(lǐng)域可能被人們忽略了,。
他表示:“我認(rèn)為,人們并未真正注意到生產(chǎn)電動(dòng)汽車的過(guò)程中產(chǎn)生的廢物量,?!碑?dāng)然,他并不是在貶低某些領(lǐng)域,,不過(guò)他認(rèn)為,,這個(gè)領(lǐng)域的一些公司“有一種光環(huán)效應(yīng),仿佛是在說(shuō):‘看吶,,我們正在做電動(dòng)汽車,!’”
“我認(rèn)為,下游渠道的電子垃圾去向問(wèn)題,,也是一項(xiàng)艱巨的任務(wù),。只是這個(gè)問(wèn)題不像我們?cè)谡務(wù)撾妱?dòng)汽車時(shí)那么酷?!彼f(shuō),。
不過(guò)唐尼也表示,他在風(fēng)投領(lǐng)域已經(jīng)有些經(jīng)驗(yàn)了,。
在2013年的采訪中,,他就將自己和妻子蘇珊·唐尼在《大偵探福爾摩斯》中的工作(蘇珊·唐尼也是這部片子的制片人),和經(jīng)營(yíng)一家風(fēng)投公司作了比較,。
“最終,,我們的工作就將給一家大公司當(dāng)風(fēng)投家。我們跟一家制片廠有合作關(guān)系(華納兄弟),,我們非但不想讓他們損失一分錢,,還想讓他們覺(jué)得,我們是最能讓他們賺錢的人,,而且他們從藝術(shù)上也很欣賞我們的能力,。”他說(shuō),。
在七年后的今天,,唐尼依然保持這個(gè)看法。
“那一次,,我們集合了我們的團(tuán)隊(duì),,匯總了我們的創(chuàng)意,我們知道如何以人們想聽的方式來(lái)講這個(gè)故事,,同時(shí)又忠實(shí)于柯南·道爾的原著,。”
“從這個(gè)角度看,拍電影和創(chuàng)業(yè)的確是相似的,,因?yàn)槟闼伎嫉亩际恰覀儎?chuàng)造性解決問(wèn)題的方法有效果嗎,?觀眾會(huì)通過(guò)買票來(lái)回應(yīng)嗎?’”(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:樸成奎
小羅伯特·唐尼扮演過(guò)鋼鐵俠,,也扮演過(guò)大偵探福爾摩斯?,F(xiàn)在,他又扮演了一個(gè)非常入時(shí)的角色——“綠色”風(fēng)投家,。
上周三,,小羅伯特·唐尼宣布,他將創(chuàng)辦兩只專注綠色環(huán)保和社會(huì)責(zé)任(ESG)的風(fēng)投基金,,以吸引投資者跟他一道,通過(guò)在生物塑料,、昆蟲養(yǎng)殖,、人工智能等領(lǐng)域的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資,來(lái)更好地應(yīng)對(duì)氣候變化,。
唐尼的這個(gè)名為“足跡聯(lián)盟風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資基金”,,是以他的非政府組織“足跡聯(lián)盟”(FootPrint Coalition)的名義發(fā)起的。
起初它將包含兩只基金,,一只聚焦早期的初創(chuàng)公司,,另一只則著眼進(jìn)入后期發(fā)展階段的公司。這兩只基金將在股權(quán)眾籌平臺(tái)AngelList上上市,,它們將采用滾動(dòng)基金的結(jié)構(gòu),,這是一種認(rèn)購(gòu)式基金,需要投資者承諾按季度訂購(gòu),。
2019年6月,,在亞馬遜主辦的全球人工智能會(huì)議re:MARS大會(huì)上,唐尼宣布了“足跡聯(lián)盟”的成立,。他在會(huì)上宣稱:“通過(guò)機(jī)器人和納米技術(shù),,我們可以在10年內(nèi),大幅提高地球的清潔程度,?!?/p>
此后,“足跡聯(lián)盟”宣布投資了一家名為?nsect的法國(guó)昆蟲養(yǎng)殖初創(chuàng)公司,,和一家名叫Cloud Paper的竹子造紙公司,。它還投資了專注環(huán)保領(lǐng)域的虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)和藝術(shù)展覽公司Arcadia,和生物科技公司RWDC Industries,,后者正在開發(fā)一種旨在代替塑料的生物降解材料,。
“足跡聯(lián)盟”表示,目前暫時(shí)無(wú)法提供投資每家公司具體情況,,但據(jù)執(zhí)行合伙人喬納森?舒爾霍夫介紹,,他和唐尼總共出資了1000萬(wàn)美元,,其中部分資金每年將直接流入這兩只新基金。
“足跡聯(lián)盟”上周三宣布,,這只基金的第一筆投資,,將投給具有ESG理念的金融科技初創(chuàng)公司Aspire。該公司在本輪融資中一共籌集到5000萬(wàn)美元資金,,投資者可以說(shuō)是“眾星薈萃”,,其中還包括辛迪·克勞馥和卡婭·格伯這對(duì)母女檔。
在接受《財(cái)富》采訪時(shí),,唐尼表示,,“足跡聯(lián)盟”的理念,就來(lái)自他這么多年拍漫威電影的經(jīng)歷,。另外,,他也希望借此機(jī)會(huì)讓自己的事業(yè)達(dá)到一個(gè)新階段。
“當(dāng)時(shí),,我和漫威的合同還沒(méi)到期,,我們?cè)赮ouTube上拍了一部紀(jì)錄片《AI時(shí)代》。我開始意識(shí)到,,為了讓這一類型的電影更有可信度,,我已經(jīng)沉浸在人工智能,、機(jī)器人和高科技里了,。”唐尼回憶道,。
“我今天看了一篇文章,,好像是《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》上的,題目是:‘你如何知道自己什么時(shí)候該退休了,?’雖然我還沒(méi)到退休的時(shí)候,,但現(xiàn)在,已經(jīng)完成了一個(gè)階段的投入和成功,,會(huì)思考人生的下一個(gè)階段會(huì)是什么樣子,,這兩段時(shí)期的銜接階段會(huì)有一點(diǎn)混亂,。”唐尼笑道,。
唐尼表示,就在2019年宣布成立“足跡聯(lián)盟”后不久,,他就意識(shí)到:“這將是我人生的下半場(chǎng)?!?/p>
明星在環(huán)保領(lǐng)域搞風(fēng)投并不是什么新現(xiàn)象,這個(gè)時(shí)機(jī)可能也很偶然,,因?yàn)镋SG投資早已成了一個(gè)大市場(chǎng)。上周二,,黑石集團(tuán)CEO拉里·芬克就在一封致廣大CEO的信中,,拿統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)說(shuō)明了這方面的需求速度——2020年1月至11月,,全球的共同基金和ETF投資者向所謂的“可持續(xù)”產(chǎn)業(yè)投入了2880億美元,,較2019年全年增加了96%。
唐尼表示,,他的新基金還將扮演一些創(chuàng)造性的角色,,比如為他投資的公司提供一些深度的“內(nèi)容”,,這些內(nèi)容的靈感,,來(lái)自他為YouTube拍《AI時(shí)代》的經(jīng)歷。
目前,,唐尼已經(jīng)制作了幾支與?nsect和Cloud Paper有關(guān)的動(dòng)畫宣傳片,,主角就是卡通版的唐尼本人,他在片中介紹了昆蟲養(yǎng)殖和竹子造紙的技術(shù)和意義,。
他說(shuō):“現(xiàn)在有一點(diǎn)養(yǎng)孩子的感覺(jué),,因?yàn)槲覀円恢痹诖蚰バ畔ⅲ艺J(rèn)為在媒體工具方面也要跟上,。”
對(duì)于唐尼來(lái)說(shuō),這次創(chuàng)業(yè)頗有幾分殺伐決斷的果敢,,與以前大不同。
畢竟在2013年,,唐尼在接受《財(cái)富》采訪時(shí),,曾被問(wèn)到是否投資了馬斯克的特斯拉公司——畢竟大家公認(rèn)馬斯克就是托尼·史塔克的現(xiàn)實(shí)原型。當(dāng)時(shí)唐尼表示,,自己在投資上是“極為保守”的,。
當(dāng)時(shí),唐尼曾表示:“沒(méi)有人真的對(duì)我的投資觀念感興趣,,因?yàn)槲覍?duì)投資真的一無(wú)所知,。而且我認(rèn)為,如果你是在一個(gè)沒(méi)錢的環(huán)境里長(zhǎng)大的,,等你有了一筆錢,,你就會(huì)把它放在某個(gè)地方,而不是去折騰它,。當(dāng)然,,這只是一種可能。另一種可能,,就是拿去揮霍,,那你就會(huì)變得又富又蠢?!?/p>
而現(xiàn)在,,唐尼表示,自己的“保守”,,是指他“會(huì)傾聽身邊有說(shuō)服力的想法”,,而且他也會(huì)積極地參與其中。
“我討厭讓別人來(lái)管理我的錢,,我更喜歡親自去做我相信的事情,。”他說(shuō),。
唐尼感興趣的領(lǐng)域很多,,不過(guò)他也認(rèn)為,有一些值得關(guān)注的領(lǐng)域可能被人們忽略了,。
他表示:“我認(rèn)為,,人們并未真正注意到生產(chǎn)電動(dòng)汽車的過(guò)程中產(chǎn)生的廢物量?!碑?dāng)然,,他并不是在貶低某些領(lǐng)域,,不過(guò)他認(rèn)為,這個(gè)領(lǐng)域的一些公司“有一種光環(huán)效應(yīng),,仿佛是在說(shuō):‘看吶,,我們正在做電動(dòng)汽車!’”
“我認(rèn)為,,下游渠道的電子垃圾去向問(wèn)題,,也是一項(xiàng)艱巨的任務(wù)。只是這個(gè)問(wèn)題不像我們?cè)谡務(wù)撾妱?dòng)汽車時(shí)那么酷,?!彼f(shuō)。
不過(guò)唐尼也表示,,他在風(fēng)投領(lǐng)域已經(jīng)有些經(jīng)驗(yàn)了,。
在2013年的采訪中,他就將自己和妻子蘇珊·唐尼在《大偵探福爾摩斯》中的工作(蘇珊·唐尼也是這部片子的制片人),,和經(jīng)營(yíng)一家風(fēng)投公司作了比較,。
“最終,我們的工作就將給一家大公司當(dāng)風(fēng)投家,。我們跟一家制片廠有合作關(guān)系(華納兄弟),,我們非但不想讓他們損失一分錢,還想讓他們覺(jué)得,,我們是最能讓他們賺錢的人,,而且他們從藝術(shù)上也很欣賞我們的能力?!彼f(shuō),。
在七年后的今天,,唐尼依然保持這個(gè)看法,。
“那一次,我們集合了我們的團(tuán)隊(duì),,匯總了我們的創(chuàng)意,,我們知道如何以人們想聽的方式來(lái)講這個(gè)故事,同時(shí)又忠實(shí)于柯南·道爾的原著,?!?/p>
“從這個(gè)角度看,拍電影和創(chuàng)業(yè)的確是相似的,,因?yàn)槟闼伎嫉亩际恰覀儎?chuàng)造性解決問(wèn)題的方法有效果嗎,?觀眾會(huì)通過(guò)買票來(lái)回應(yīng)嗎?’”(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:樸成奎
He’s played a billionaire industrialist and a roving English detective. Now, he’s playing himself in a very of-the-moment role: aspiring “green” venture capitalist.
The actor and producer Robert Downey Jr., best known of late for his roles as Tony “Iron Man” Stark and Sherlock Holmes, announced on Wednesday that he is launching two ESG-focused venture capital funds, to persuade investors to get behind his futuristic vision for fighting climate change through bioplastics, aquaculture, A.I., and more.
The FootPrint Coalition Ventures’ rolling venture capital funds, launched through Downey’s FootPrint Coalition NGO, will initially consist of two funds, one for early stage startups and another for late-stage businesses, the actor said Wednesday. The funds are listed through AngelList, and will be structured as rolling funds, a subscription-style format, which requires investors to commit to quarterly contributions.
Downey announced the launch of the FootPrint Coalition in June 2019 at Amazon’s Re:MARS conference, where he declared that “between robotics and nanotechnology, we could clean up the planet significantly, if not totally, in 10 years.”
Since then, it has announced investments in ?nsect, a French insect-farming startup, and Cloud Paper, a bamboo paper company. It has also invested in Arcadia, a virtual reality and art exhibition company focusing on the environment; and the biotech company RWDC Industries, which is developing biodegradable alternatives to plastics.
The coalition said it could not provide specific details on its investments per company, but managing partner Jonathan Schulhof said he and Downey had contributed a total of $10 million, part of which would now be directed yearly into the new funds.
On Wednesday, FootPrint announced that the funds’ first investment would be in Aspiration, an ESG-minded fintech startup, as part of a $50 million funding round for that company that drew from a celebrity-heavy list of investors, including the parent-child duo of Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber.
In an interview with Fortune, Downey said the idea for the coalition had grown out of his years working on the Disney Marvel movies and his attempt to reach a new stage in his career.
“I was finishing my Marvel contract; we had an Age of A.I. series coming out on YouTube; I had started realizing that I’ve been steeped in A.I. and robotics and technology, just for the sake of making genre films more believable,” he says.
“I was reading this article today about, I think it was in the Wall Street Journal: How do you know when you should retire?” he said with a laugh. “And while I’m not quite at that point yet, there’s this messy bit between when you’ve created a kind of wake of success or engagement behind you, and you’re wondering what the next phase of your life is going to be.”
Fairly quickly after announcing the coalition in 2019, Downey said, he realized, “This is going to be the back nine of my life.”
While star-backed environmental investing is hardly a new phenomenon, the timing may also be fortuitous, because ESG investing has become big business. In a letter to CEOs on Tuesday, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink quoted statistics showing the sheer pace of demand: From January through November 2020, investors in mutual funds and ETFs poured $288 billion worldwide into “sustainable” assets, he said—an increase of 96% over all of 2019.
The Marvel star said that part of his new funds’ role would also be creative—providing informative “content” for the companies they invest in, inspired by Downey’s own experience making the A.I. series for YouTube. Several animated, explanatory videos linked to ?nsect and Cloud Paper—featuring a cartoon version of the actor—explaining the numbers behind aquaculture and bamboo, have already been made.
“I think that while it’s felt a little mom-and-pop right now, because we’ve been kind of honing the messaging, I think that the media vehicle is something that’s also going to scale up,” he said.
It’s perhaps a forthright approach for a man who once told Fortune in a 2013 interview, when asked if he had invested in Tesla—Elon Musk, the founder, famously inspired his portrayal of Tony Stark—that he was “extremely conservative” with his investments.
Back then, “no one was really interested in my opinions about investing, because I didn’t really know anything about it,” he said. “And also, I think when you’ve been raised without money, and then you get a fair amount, you tend to just want to put it somewhere, and not deal with it. I mean, that’s one version. The other is that you spend it exorbitantly, and then you’re rich and stupid.”
Now, he said he’s conservative in the sense that he “l(fā)istens to cogent minds around me” but that he prefers to be actively involved.
“I hate the idea of somebody else pressing a space bar and managing my money. I would so much rather have my skin in things I believe in.”
Still, while there are plenty of areas he’s interested in, there are some—notable—areas he thinks are being overlooked.
“I don’t think people really look at the amount of waste you create making electric vehicles,” he said. He doesn’t want to “pooh-pooh a movement,” but noted that companies in the field “have the halo effect of ‘Hey, we’re doing electric vehicles.’
“I believe that electronic waste in the downstream channels, from where that goes, is a massive undertaking. It’s just not as cool as talking about EVs,” he said.
But he also made the point that he already had some experience in the field of venture capital. In his 2013 interview, the actor compared his work with that of his wife, producer Susan Downey, on the Sherlock franchise to the job of running a venture capital firm, saying:
“Ultimately really it comes down to—it’s kind of like being a venture capitalist for a bigger organization in that, you know, we are in a relationship with a studio [Warner Bros.], and not only do we not want to lose them a penny, we want them to feel that we’re one of their great earners, and also that they really appreciate our sensibilities artistically.”
It’s a parallel Downey still sees, seven years later.
“The venture is we’re bringing together our team, our coalition of creatives, and we feel that we know how to tell this story in a way that people want to see it now, while staying true to the origins of the Doyle material.
“And in that way, it really is [similar], because you’re going all in on: Does our creative problem-solving work? And does an audience respond to it by buying a ticket?”