In the first half of this year, investors poured $15 billion into seed- through growth-stage rounds for companies in Crunchbase cleantech, EV and sustainability-focused categories. That puts funding on track to slightly exceed the 2025 tally, which was the lowest in several years. Even taking into account recent gains, however, cleantech funding remains far below its former peak in 2021 and 2022. Given that overall venture funding has risen with the AI boom, cleantech also accounts for a smaller share of total investment. Stockholm-based green steel producer Stegra scored the largest financing of 2026, securing $1.6 billion in a round led by Swedish asset manager Wallenberg Investments. Stegra plans to use the money to complete the construction of its large-scale steel plant. The next-biggest round went to Slate Auto, a Jeff Bezos-backed startup that has been generating buzz and reservations for a flagship electric pickup starting at around $25,000 that can be converted to an SUV....
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