Breakthrough Energy just announced its most globally diverse cohort yet, selecting 22 climate tech startups from over 1,500 applicants. Half the teams are based outside the US, marking a strategic pivot as Bill Gates' organization adapts its approach amid economic uncertainty and shifting climate priorities worldwide.
Breakthrough Energy, Bill Gates' climate tech organization, is making its biggest international bet yet. The group just announced its fifth cohort of Breakthrough Energy Fellows, marking a dramatic shift toward global diversification as economic headwinds reshape the climate tech landscape.
The numbers tell the story of this pivot: 45 fellows across 22 startups, with 50% of teams based outside the United States. It's the program's most selective round to date, winnowing down roughly 1,500 applications and referrals - making it tougher to get into than Harvard or Stanford.
"It's the most global [cohort] that we've had to date," Ashley Grosh, vice president at Breakthrough Energy, told TechCrunch in an exclusive interview. The geographic spread reflects a calculated response to both opportunity and uncertainty: eleven teams in the US, six in Asia, with others scattered across Canada, Germany, the UK, and South Africa.
This international expansion isn't just about casting a wider net - it's strategic repositioning as global trade tensions mount and policy priorities shift. Breakthrough Energy has been recalibrating its approach all year, scrapping its policy team in March and discontinuing funding for climate tech media coverage. But the fellowship program represents its longest bet, and now it's doubling down on global reach.
The pivot gained momentum with a new Singapore hub launched in August 2024, partnered with Temasek, the country's sovereign wealth fund, and Enterprise Singapore, a government agency. This Asian foothold is already paying dividends, with regional startups tackling problems that resonate locally but have global implications.
"What are local needs, right? What are the local challenges?" Grosh explained, pointing to hydrogen economy startups as a prime example. In Asia, "there's a lot of interest in the hydrogen economy," she noted, while circularity - recycling materials back to their original form or better - addresses the region's role as the world's factory and the massive waste streams that creates.
