Microsoft's $1B Climate Innovation Fund opens for growth-stage applicants

Two signals this fortnight point to the same opening: Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund, a $1 billion equity and debt vehicle, is in active deployment mode and explicitly inviting applications from emerging climate tech companies [Opportunities — funder-discovery — 2026-05-18]. The scope is broader than many founders assume — direct carbon removal, advanced energy, industrial materials, circular economy, water, and nature-based solutions are all named priorities, with both equity tickets and project financing on the table [Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund (philanthropy arm) — 2026-05-15].

The through-line: this is corporate balance-sheet capital behaving like a growth-stage climate investor, not a grant programme. The gating criterion in both signals is the same — *early commercial traction* and a solution that needs capital to scale, rather than seed-stage R&D. NGOs without a revenue-generating arm are unlikely to fit; SMEs with pilots, offtake interest, or first revenue are squarely in scope.

Practical next steps: sharpen a one-pager that leads with deployed units, contracted revenue, or measurable tonnes of CO2e impact, and map which of the six verticals your work sits in. Project-finance applicants should have a bankable project structure ready, not just a company deck.

Over the next 1–6 months, watch for announced portfolio additions — they will signal which sub-sectors and geographies Microsoft is actually writing cheques into, and where the next wave of co-investors is likely to follow.