Unity co-founder David Helgason’s next act: Gaming the climate crisis

Some retired CEOs go to space. Others move to Hawaii. But Unity co-founder David Helgason chose a different path after 12 years at the helm of the game engine company, which went public in 2020 at a $13.7 billion valuation. 

Having stepped out as CEO in 2014, Helgason still sits on the board of the now-listed company he co-founded in Copenhagen in 2004; but most of his time is dedicated to Transition Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm he launched in 2021 to focus on the climate.

It’s a tell that the fund is called “transition” and not, say, “apocalypse.” That’s partly because Helgason is convinced that legacy industries — typically harmful to the environment — will eventually be outcompeted by more sustainable solutions and partly because of his personality. “Friends of mine describe me as a ‘glass one-tenth full’ optimist,” he told TechCrunch.

In an interview at his home near Reykjavík, the entrepreneur-turned-VC shared thoughts on his ventures and the journey that led him from Unity to climate tech, a homecoming of sorts. “It’s kind of embarrassing how fun the climate crisis is to work on,” he said.

A long way home

Unity’s public debut turned Helgason into a billionaire, at least on paper. Market cap has declined since then, but the gist remains: He made lots of money from the company, and this capital became increasingly liquid over the years. 

This made it possible for him to become a prolific angel investor, fulfilling his natural penchant for spending time with entrepreneurs. But his climate worries had to wait: As a self-described software guy, he had no clear way in. 

That changed when one of his siblings, Ingvar, started a lab-grown leather company, VitroLabs Inc. This led Helgason to get involved with the startup and with synthetic biology more broadly. Eventually, that led him to climate-minded deep tech startups.

Besides his angel investments, Helgason also became a limited partner in many climate-focused funds. “For a while, I was claiming I was probably the most broadly invested LP in climate,” he said.

Both activities brought him the kind of learning he craved. “I always had wanted to be a scientist,” he recalled. In his current state, though, he realized he had more value to add as an early-stage investor. Thus, Transition Ventures was born as a venture firm. Helgason already had (and has) a family office called Foobar. Transition Ventures is a different beast, and not just because of its climate mandate. 

A proper fund

It would be a mistake to think of Transition Ventures as a family affair. Sure, Helgason and Ingvar’s brother Ari is one of its four partners, but Ari’s résumé speaks for itself. His startup, Fabricly, took part in Y Combinator’s Winter 2010 batch before he became an investor at Dawn Capital and Index Ventures. 

The third partner, Kristian Branaes, a London-based Atomico alum, was on board from day one, with the trio shortly hiring New York-based Mona Alsubaei, who learned the ropes of VC at Union Square Ventures and its climate fund. The investment team also includes principal Clara Ricard, who recently made the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2024 list.

While Helgason’s wealth made it possible for Transition to start investing immediately, the partners also made a point of looking for limited partners. “We never really considered not doing it as a proper commercial venture fund,” he said. This meant joining the ranks of other climate funds such as Climate Capital and Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital. Although it has LPs, Transition does not disclose set fund sizes nor how much it has invested to date and plans to invest.