Matthew Nordan

I'm a venture capital investor at Venrock focused on energy and environmental technologies. Earlier, I co-founded and led Lux Research and forecasted technology futures at Forrester. I really do live and breathe this stuff.
I'm also chromosomally incapable of keeping quiet. This blog hosts opinions (mine alone) on energy, venture capital, human behavior, start-ups, societal collapse, hope for the future, and everything in between: hopefully useful, usually numerate, and occasionally long-winded.Archives
They See Me Tweetin’
- Things I am looking for: micro jet engines, tiny/cheap LIDAR sensors, and lightweight, low-cost micro fuel cells. A lot of micro presently 5 days ago
- Moniz confirmed 97-0 as DOE Sec. I applaud this. He's well-equipped for tough decisions on #natgas exports, advanced nuclear, and innovation 5 days ago
- Ran near big wetland this AM. The most interesting things in nature happen at interfaces between 2 worlds. True of innovation/investment too 1 week ago
- @asheen Tech is not longterm solution IMHO, but midterm one that buys time for intergenerational behavior change. Glad to discuss #VERGEcon 1 week ago
- @jasonjjay Totally agree. Radical innovation just buys us time -- but a lot of time, 100s of yrs, long enough for behavior change #VERGEcon 1 week ago
Sites I devour
“Cleantech”
I'm not a fan of the term -- IMHO it's a vague catch-all that doesn't accurately reflect anybody's interest -- but it's what the world has decided to use. If you'd like, when you see it, mentally find-and-replace with "energy, environmental, and resource technologies" instead.
Category Archives: Numbers
Q&A Roundup
I’ve gotten a ton of feedback on the “state of cleantech VC” series – thanks so much to everyone who reached out! I’ve found myself discussing some of the same points with different people more than once, so I figured … Continue reading
Posted in Numbers, Venture capital
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The State of Cleantech Venture Capital, Part 4: Parting Thoughts
(A version of this post also appeared at GigaOM.) tl;dr: We’re in the early innings of a long ball game. This week we’ve analyzed the state of cleantech venture capital and used data to discern myth from reality. In summary, … Continue reading
The State of Cleantech Venture Capital, Part 3: The Companies
(A version of this post also appeared at GigaOM.) tl;dr: Half of successful VC-backed cleantech start-ups stumble along the way. Entrepreneurs who raise big financing rounds at sky-high valuations can end up shooting themselves in the foot. Most cleantech start-ups … Continue reading
The State of Cleantech Venture Capital, Part 2: The Investors
(A version of this post also appeared at GigaOM.) tl;dr: There’s a widespread perception that cleantech venture capital must be tanking compared with VC overall. That perception is wrong. In yesterday’s post, we looked at the amount of capital that’s … Continue reading
The State of Cleantech Venture Capital, Part 1: The Money
(A version of this post also appeared at GigaOM.) tl;dr: Plenty of late-stage financing will be available for cleantech start-ups over the next few years, but seed/Series A money is another matter. There’s been a pile of negative news about … Continue reading