True North Venture Partners

True North Venture Partners is an American venture capital firm with offices in Phoenix, Arizona and Chicago, Illinois, focused on early-stage cleantech and sustainability investing. Founded in 2011 with an initial $300 million fund, the firm has grown into a perpetual holding company capitalized in excess of $700 million as of 2025, a structure that allows it to make indefinite long-term holdings and provide ongoing support to portfolio companies rather than operating on a traditional fixed-life fund timeline. True North invests mostly in early-stage companies, with cheques ranging from roughly $100,000 to $25 million, and concentrates on the energy, water, agriculture and waste sectors, targeting technologies that address critical sustainability challenges such as low-carbon energy infrastructure, abundant and safe water solutions, waste harvesting, and advanced fuels and chemicals, willing to lead. The firm's roots trace back to the founding and scale-up of First Solar, Inc., one of the world's leading alternative-energy providers. Its founder, managing partner and chairman is Michael J. Ahearn, who co-founded First Solar in 1999 and served as its CEO from 2000 to 2009; partner Matthew S. Ahearn focuses on cleantech and impact deal sourcing, having previously worked at BDT Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs. Notable portfolio activity includes the wastewater-treatment company Emefcy, acquired by Fluence Corporation in 2017, and the 2025 merger of portfolio companies Nanostone Water and Solecta into Acuriant Technologies. By operating as a perpetual holding company, True North backs energy, water, agriculture and waste innovation with patient, long-horizon capital.