Welcome to the first edition of the Bombellii Ventures Newsletter
We are a VC firm investing in early-stage AI-native startups that are accelerating scalable and sustainable AI, solving critical Climate challenges, and strengthening the resilience and Sovereignty of essential industries.
Through this newsletter, we’ll share what we’re watching, what we’re researching, and where we believe the next layers of opportunity are emerging at the intersection of AI, Climate and Sovereignty!
Market Insights
August-September 2026 | AI × Climate × Sovereignty
The next generation of venture-scale companies may not look like traditional SaaS businesses. They may sit directly inside strategic industrial value chains.
1. Data centers are becoming active participants in the power grid.
A particularly interesting new category is emerging at the intersection of AI infrastructure and climate tech. Emerald AI raised $150 million at a $1.05 billion valuation to turn AI data centres into flexible grid assets, dynamically adjusting computing loads according to grid conditions. The company argues that this could unlock up to 100 GW of additional capacity on the existing US grid.
2. Climate risk is becoming an AI-infrastructure constraint.
The energy/AI nexus is increasingly exposed to physical climate risk. Europe’s severe summer drought pushed rivers including the Danube, Rhine and Po to critically low levels, affecting agriculture, transport and power production, including nuclear generation. Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant was forced to reduce output dramatically during the August heatwave because of low Danube water levels. At the same time, new research highlights that data-center cooling must be assessed across the water-energy-carbon nexus, rather than optimizing any one resource in isolation.
3. AI infrastructure is becoming an energy procurement business.
Google announced €13 billion of investment in AI infrastructure in Finland, including three data centers and a 22-year agreement to purchase up to 50% of the output of a Finnish nuclear plant. The programme also includes grid improvements, batteries and additional renewable-energy development.
4. NVIDIA has effectively become one of the world’s largest venture investors.
NVIDIA participated in 53 VC rounds of $100 million or more during 2026, more than any traditional VC investor. This is an important structural development. Strategic investors are increasingly using venture capital not only for financial returns, but to secure ecosystem access, future demand, technology and supply-chain positioning.
5. Reindustrialization is becoming a major VC investment thesis.
Sequoia has committed roughly $10 billion to AI and “reindustrialization”, explicitly linking AI investment with manufacturing, defense, energy and critical minerals. The next generation of venture-scale companies may not look like traditional SaaS businesses. They may sit directly inside strategic industrial value chains.
Our Portfolio Update
Hammerhead AI
Unlocking the Power Layer for AI Factories
One of our early investments, Hammerhead AI, is building the orchestration layer for AI factories, using reinforcement learning and advanced control to dynamically coordinate power, cooling and compute, making every available megawatt work harder for AI. Founded by former AutoGrid leaders, Hammerhead’s ORCA platform has demonstrated the potential to unlock up to 30% additional capacity, reduce AI token costs and accelerate deployment without waiting for new grid capacity.
The team is also gaining strong visibility across the AI infrastructure ecosystem. Most recently, Hammerhead participated in Datacloud USA in Austin, bringing its perspective on the intersection of AI, data centers and power, with another speaking engagement at Yotta 2026 ahead.
Mobioos
Building the Context Layer for Enterprise AI
Our second investment, Mobioos, recently closed an oversubscribed $1.5M Pre-Seed round led by Bombellii Ventures, marking an important milestone for the company. Mobioos is building the context intelligence layer for AI execution at enterprise scale, connecting business intent, software systems and operational knowledge so AI agents can work from trusted, governed context.
The team is also gaining strong visibility across the European AI ecosystem. Most recently, Mobioos participated in WeAreDevelopers World Congress Europe in Berlin as a Silver Partner, showcasing its technology and engaging with developers, technology leaders and AI decision-makers around the future of context-aware enterprise AI.
Building the AI × Climate × Sovereignty Ecosystem
Beyond investing, we are building a global AI × Climate × Sovereignty ecosystem through a series of curated events across North America and Europe. In partnership with leading organizations, we bring together entrepreneurs, investors, academics and corporate leaders to foster meaningful dialogue, share insights and catalyze collaboration around the opportunities and challenges at the intersection of AI, Climate and Technological Sovereignty.
To date, we have partnered with Cathay Innovation, Prelude Ventures and Carbon2C in San Francisco; Troutman Pepper Locke and FACCNE for our first Boston chapter; Fidelity Private Shares and Wilson Sonsini for our second Boston chapter; and Norton Rose Fulbright in Paris, with a second collaboration for our upcoming London chapter.
AI x Climate x Sovereignty Chapters so far:
- San Francisco - March 2026
- Boston - April 2026
- Boston - May 2026
- Paris - June 2026
- London - September 2026
And we’re only getting started: New York and Austin are scheduled for Q4!
BV Proprietary Research
Bombellii Ventures Research Program
Through our 2026 Research Program, we explore the structural shifts taking place at the intersection of AI, Climate and Technological Sovereignty, with a focus on identifying the infrastructure layers and emerging markets that will shape the next generation of critical industries.
A few themes we’re particularly excited about:
The Coordination Layer. Every forecast of the next decade has the same two curves climbing: the number of autonomous machines, and the energy it takes to run them. Rose Kozak
Quantum computing: the opportunity may sit less in the hardware and more in the software layer, where applications can create value today while preparing for tomorrow’s quantum capabilities. Agnibha Bhattacharya
Enterprise AI: companies need more than intelligent agents—they need a learning layer that allows AI to continuously capture and build on their unique knowledge and context. Gaby Cornejo
AI orchestration: as models and compute proliferate, intelligently deciding which model, agent or compute resource to use—and when—could become a critical control layer, while reducing token and energy consumption. María Constanza Herrera
Physical AI: intelligence is moving from the screen to the factory floor. The next opportunity may be systems that don’t just detect and diagnose, but increasingly recommend and execute. Arrif Asava
Energy & critical infrastructure: as infrastructure becomes more autonomous, trust becomes infrastructure too. Identity, cryptography and data integrity will be essential as machines and AI agents increasingly make decisions and act independently. Odilo Schwade Junior
The orbital economy: as space moves toward persistent commercial operations, new coordination layers across networks, compute, traffic, identity and transactions could become strategic infrastructure in their own right. Kelly T. Cooper
Across all of these themes, we keep coming back to one question:
When the underlying technology becomes abundant, connected and increasingly autonomous, where does the value move?
We believe it moves to the layers that make everything work more efficiently, securely, sustainably and at scale.
That’s where we’re looking!
Our Team
At the heart of Bombellii Ventures is a team of three seasoned operators and investors, bringing complementary perspectives and a shared conviction that the next generation of critical infrastructure will be built at the intersection of AI, Climate and Sovereignty.
Samir Karoum, Founder & GP, brings 25+ years of leadership experience across critical infrastructure, strategy, sustainability and digital transformation, including senior roles at Areva, Alstom, Schneider Electric and Technip. He also brings six years of CVC experience investing in software companies transforming critical industries. Abha Dogra, Partner, brings 25+ years at the intersection of technology, product and business transformation, with deep expertise across AI, enterprise software, SaaS, PaaS and cybersecurity. A former CTO and CPO, she has led major technology transformations and transactions and has been recognized among the Top 65 Most Influential Women in AI. Marie Fedotov, Partner, brings 25+ years across investment banking, alternative investments and international business development, with experience spanning nine countries and three continents. She leads BV’s LP engagement, the firm’s cross-border development while supporting portfolio companies on their fundraising and growth strategies.
What makes the team particularly powerful is the combination. Having known and worked with one another for years, we bring together industrial and strategic expertise, deep technology, product know-how, investment and cross-border capabilities. Together, we give founders more than capital: hands-on expertise, meaningful connections, thoughtful challenge, plus the support to build and scale for the long term.
Welcome to Kelly Cooper
We’re thrilled to welcome Kelly Cooper to Bombellii Ventures as Senior Associate.
Kelly brings experience across venture capital, strategy, company building and operations, with a unique perspective at the intersection of emerging technology, capital markets, and commercial deployment. Previously at Battery Ventures, she built an enterprise strategy capability helping portfolio companies accelerate market entry and growth. Kelly holds a Master’s from Harvard University, where her research and publications explored the conditions enabling climate technologies to scale and achieve economic impact.
At Bombellii, Kelly focuses on investing, ecosystem development, and firm-building, helping deepen our investment theses and expand our founder and technology ecosystem.
Upcoming BV Events
September 30 — London - AI × Climate × Sovereignty
Our 5th chapter, co-hosted with Norton Rose Fulbright, bringing together investors, founders, researchers and operators around AI, Climate and technological sovereignty.
