VC Spotlight: Nate Loewentheil, Commonweal Ventures
We’ve seen first-hand the phenomenal impact public-private partnerships between tech companies and the government can have. Look no further than Empire AI, a $400 million public-private investment to make New York the national leader in AI research and development.
Another big believer in public-private partnerships is Nate Loewentheil, Founder and Managing Partner of Commonweal Ventures.
Commonweal Ventures invests in early-stage tech founders in sectors positioned to capitalize on government commitments. They invest in sectors like clean energy, financial services, and real estate.
Commonweal has invested in companies like Advocate, a platform that uses AI to help simplify access to federal benefits, and Multitude Insights, an AI-driven communications and intelligence platform for law enforcement agencies (more on Multitude in our interview below).
According to Commonweal Ventures, “government support has underpinned the success of 25% of all recent VC-backed unicorns.”
Nate is on the VC Council for the recently launched Startup:NYC. As a member of the Council, he advises on the direction of the program, including helping to select participating founders and deciding on the themes of each cohort. (Our inaugural season focuses on health and wellness tech companies!)
We caught up with Nate to discuss his career, why he founded Commonweal Ventures, and why partnering with the government can be, in his words, powerful.
Tech:NYC: Where did your career start?
Nate: I joined my first startup as a freshman at Yale in the fall of 2003. A year later, I co-founded the Roosevelt Network, which I grew into the largest student political organization in the country. When I graduated college at age 22, I moved to Washington, DC to run Roosevelt as Executive Director.
You launched Commonweal Ventures in 2021. What was the catalyst for doing so?
I have been investing in early-stage technology companies since my early 20s. I spent three and a half years in the Obama White House advising the President on emerging technology at the National Economic Council. While there, I saw that for founders building companies that matter for America, government is eager to lend a helping hand.
Partnerships with government can be powerful. Governments have unique attributes: they control proprietary data; they have special institutions like the military, intelligence agencies, and national laboratories; they have the unique power to police, tax, and regulate; and they have a differentiated time horizon and risk profile.
I launched Commonweal Ventures because I saw a gap in the market among VCs who are typically skeptical of government. I believe partnership with government can be a critical unlock for early-stage technology companies and our job at Commonweal is to help companies build those partnerships.
What stage do you invest at and what's your average check size?
We invest in pre-seed and seed stage companies. We invest between $250,000 and $2 million.
What's a trend you are watching closely in the tech industry?
We are interested in markets and business models where partnership with government can be a critical unlock. Governments are the largest consumers of data, and we see tremendous opportunity for AI to help governments make better decisions and better deliver services to citizens. We have made a few investments in line with this thesis already, and we believe we are in the early innings here. We are also closely tracking the nuclear market, where we believe the politics have shifted dramatically in the past six months. We are investors in Atomic Canyon, for example, which is building AI to help nuclear power plants operate.
What's an investment from the last 12 months that you're especially excited by? Why?
We are investors in a company called Multitude Insights. They are building an AI-driven communications and intelligence platform for law enforcement agencies. The two founders are deeply mission driven. In the past 10 months, they’ve gone from zero customers to deployments across 10 states. Earlier this month, Y Combinator put out its request for start-ups, and public safety technology was their #2 category, so we think Multitude is in the right place at the right time.
What are some of the top resources you recommend for founders who are beginning their startup journeys?
Find patient investors and a mentor that has done it before. Build a community of other founders that you trust and that can go to on the tough days with questions, with headaches, when you need some encouragement.
Why do you think climate tech and sustainability companies are finding success in growing in NYC? Or what's an advantage to building in New York?
Talent. New York has the largest and most diverse workforce in the country. Plus both the city and the state support creative approaches to addressing climate change, so there are a lot of opportunities for pilots and partnerships.
You have a founder or LP in from out of town… where are you taking them?
Hudson River Park.
Choose one: power breakfast, power lunch, or work dinner. Where?
Just a plain old walk and talk. When I meet a founder, my goal is not to impress but to build a relationship. I find strolling helps people relax and be more open and thoughtful, plus you get some steps in.
And, because we always ask our founders… what's the best slice of pizza in NYC?
That’s easy. Plain cheese, Joe’s Pizza (the one on Bleecker Street).
