This podcast originally aired on April 1st, 2024 on Ma Earth.

Tom Chi, Founder and Managing Partner of At One Ventures, introduces many innovative - and subjectively brilliant - ideas during this Ma Earth podcast with Host Matthew Monahan in 2023, now reposted with permission on Better Worlds. Chi’s arguments will strike a chord with the anti-capitalists out there who may be surprised to find out more about his position to leverage capitalistic dynamics as a better approach than opposing capitalist structures.

At One Ventures' innovative approach to venture capital focuses on "disruptive deep tech for climate and environment."  In addition to leveraging capitalism, consider:

• Targeted Disruption:
  • Target industries that are causing the most environmental damage
  • Aligns profit motives with positive environmental impact
• Triad Investment Criteria
  • Ensure investments are not only technologically advanced and profitable but also environmentally beneficial
  • Disruptive deep tech
  • Radically better unit economics
  • Radically better environmental economics
• Early-Stage Focus:
  • Enter at seed and Series A rounds, shape companies from the ground up, instilling environmental considerations from the start
• Long-term Perspective:
  • Focus on becoming "net positive to nature" for the long term, a more holistic view of success than traditional quarterly or annual financial metrics

It’s all about creating systemic change by proving that environmentally beneficial technologies can also be highly profitable.

At One Ventures is creating a new paradigm for business success that  could potentially shift the entire venture capital ecosystem towards more sustainable investments, as other firms seek to replicate their success.

It's an entirely different way of thinking. Instead of seeing nature as a resource to be extracted, they're fostering technologies that work in with nature’s metabolic flows, to minimize harm and actively seek to regenerate and improve natural systems while still operating within a capitalist framework. It's a practical strategy for transitioning to what Chi describes as the next "Epochs" of our economic relationship with nature.

Another listener stated: “The theory of metabolic rift is super interesting for anyone who wants to read a little deeper into part of what Tom is describing as Epoch Two, particularly as it relates to the impact of colonization on indigenous communities.”

The Three Epochs of Ecological Technologies

The "Epochs" or stages in the development of ecological technologies: 

• Epoch Zero:
  • Where we are now
  • Current incompatibility with life on earth
  • Every piece of the economy is either mined or grown - it completely comes from nature
  • The shift from Zero to One is happening right now. There are a lot of  investment opportunities in Epoch One

“There are no intermediaries. You can pretend you live in a virtualized world but it is all an appreciable part of the Greenhouse Gas mix. Virtual is just as physical as anything else," Chi said.

• Epoch One: Material Productivity
  • Focus on doing more with less, improving efficiency and reducing waste in our current economic model
• Two and Three move toward an economy fully compatible with nature
• Epoch Two: Optimizing Metabolic Flows
  • Begin to work with nature's processes, understanding and leveraging ecological systems for economic benefit
• Epoch Three: Maximization of Diverse Nutrient Flows
  • A synonym for the algorithm for all of life in the universe
  • The ultimate goal - where our economic activities fully align with and support natural systems

Composting Late-Stage Capitalism and beyond. 

"Composting late stage capitalism" is a metaphor Chi uses to describe his approach to transforming our current economic system. It is an alternative to more radical calls for tearing down the capitalist system. Rather than advocating for the complete dismantling of our current economic system, Chi proposes a more nuanced approach to "compost" late-stage capitalism, preserving its useful elements while transforming the overall structure. This metaphor emphasizes gradual, organic change rather than abrupt upheaval. The stages are: 

• Gradual Transformation
• Preserving Nutrients
• Localized Change
• Creating New Growth
• Systemic Approach

Moving Forward

Chi's insights offer a compelling roadmap for reimagining our economic relationship with nature. His ideas provide a thought-provoking framework for developing solutions that benefit both business and the planet.

Explore these concepts further to contemplate the innovative thinking that may be crucial in shaping a more sustainable and regenerative future.

What is At One Ventures?

The purpose of At One is to help humanity become a net positive to nature. It’s called At One Ventures, Chi said, because the purpose is to be at one with ourselves, nature and the universe through early stage deep tech for climate and environment.

For more on Tom Chi.

This blog was generated mostly through human effort with assistance from Claude.AI