Convective raises $85 million to back disaster resilience startups
Convective Capital raised $85 million to fund startups that harden homes, forests and infrastructure as investors shift from cleanup to resilience.
Convective Capital is betting that disaster preparedness has become a venture market of its own. The early-stage firm, led by founder and managing partner Bill Clerico, raised an $85 million fund to back startups building hardware, software and financial services that help communities prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters.
The new fund marks a broader mandate for Convective, which first made its name in wildfire technology, or “firetech.” Its earlier bets included Pano, which uses AI-powered cameras to detect fires early, Raine, which develops autonomous aircraft that drop water on fires, Burnbot, which builds robots to clear brush and grasses, and Stand, an insurer that helps homeowners harden properties against flames. Convective said the latest fund expands beyond wildfire into a wider resilience thesis aimed at “risk management in the physical world.”
Clerico, who co-founded WePay before JPMorgan bought the company in a deal valued at up to $400 million, said the economics now justify private capital moving deeper into a space long dominated by public agencies and emergency spending. He said the United States has “$60 trillion of real estate at high risk from disasters” and spends “a trillion dollars a year mitigating and recovering from disasters.” That argument lands as insurers pull back from some markets, utilities struggle financially, and climate-driven hazards intensify across the country.
The timing also reflects the market reality on the ground. California’s fire season has already started early again, with flames approaching a former nuclear test site outside Los Angeles, another reminder that wildfire risk remains immediate rather than theoretical. Broader exposure is rising too: USDA Forest Service researchers found that the U.S. wildland-urban interface grew 31% in area from 1990 to 2020, while the number of houses in that zone climbed 46%, from 30 million to 44 million.
Convective’s case for resilience is not just about risk; it is about return. FEMA says mitigation investments can save about $4 to $6 for every $1 spent. Convective says its first fund has already backed companies that generated $100 million in revenue and are worth a combined $2 billion, with 79% of portfolio companies moving from seed to Series A. The firm says its Updraft network now includes more than 10,000 people and has helped generate more than $100 million in revenue by connecting startups with utilities, state and federal agencies, insurance carriers, forestry services, emergency managers, fire departments and land managers.
The new fund’s first investments are in The Lumber Manufactory, Drafted, Voltaire and Edge Technologies. Together, they show how the next wave of disaster capital is shifting from cleanup after catastrophe to the harder, earlier work of reducing losses before the smoke, flood or fire arrives.
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