Advancing Untapped Climate Solutions with The Autodesk Foundation
For more than a decade, the Autodesk Foundation has been a steadfast partner to Prime Coalition in advancing untapped climate solutions that might otherwise never reach the market. Their 10th anniversary report, A Decade of Impact, highlights the breadth of their global work. We’re proud that our journey together is part of that story.
As Sarah Kearney, Prime’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, reflected in the report:
“What I needed a funder to do was engage with me and see me for who I was. The Autodesk Foundation saw me as a leader early on, and that gave me confidence.”
That early vote of confidence has grown into one of Prime’s most enduring and multifaceted philanthropic partnerships. Since 2017, Autodesk Foundation has been instrumental in helping Prime empower philanthropists to advance untapped climate solutions with speed and scale.
A Partnership Rooted in Catalytic Capital
The Autodesk Foundation’s support has taken many forms over the years, reflecting the shared belief that philanthropy can play a unique role in moving climate innovation forward. Their contributions have included:
Core support grants that allowed Prime to build organizational capacity
Deal-by-deal grants that helped syndicate catalytic capital for high-risk, high-reward investments.
PRI lender in the Prime Impact Fund.
Co-investments alongside Prime in groundbreaking Prime Impact Fund companies such as Avalanche, Gradient, and Vesta.
Through these efforts, Autodesk Foundation and Prime have advanced bold climate solutions that may not have had a chance to succeed otherwise.
Beyond Capital: Partnership in Action
Autodesk Foundation’s engagement goes far deeper than financial support. Their team has also leaned in with time, expertise, and tools that strengthen Prime’s work:
Leadership in governance: Jean Shia, Managing Director of the Autodesk Foundation, currently chairs Prime’s Mission Alignment Committee, which ensures that Prime-Built catalytic investment programs remain faithful to Prime’s charitable mission.
Steering impact innovation: Autodesk Foundation staff have volunteered on Project Frame’s Steering Committee and working groups, advancing best practices for assessing the future impact potential of climate technologies.
In-kind expertise: Jean Shia joined our panel during the 2024 CRANE tool launch at SF Climate Week to discuss the future impact of climate tech.
In-kind donations: Through its Technology Impact Program Autodesk donated software to Prime-supported companies to support them in scaling their solutions.
Hands-on support: Autodesk Foundation placed an Engineering for Change Fellow with our team to support in-house impact assessments, and provided visualization support to Twelve.
One of the most powerful dimensions of this partnership is the way Autodesk Foundation has taken the lessons learned with Prime about catalytic capital, impact measurement, and forward-looking assessment, and applied them in other parts of their portfolio. This cross-pollination magnifies impact far beyond our collaboration and accelerates systemic change.
Jean Shia, Managing Director at Autodesk, explains it best this way:
“The hallmark of a strong partnership is the ability for both partners to make the other a better organization. We have valued being able to play a part in helping Prime succeed and grow, and they have helped us learn and evolve as a climate funder and investor. From day one, we shared the view that charitable capital should be strategically deployed to unlock solutions that are not possible with other forms of capital. Prime sets a high bar for a true impact-first approach that continues to influence how we and many others define and implement impact priorities.”
Image of Jean Shia speaking at the CRANE Tool launch panel at San Francisco Climate Week 2024.
Looking Ahead
Since its founding in 2014, Prime has been laser-focused on its climate mission. We have mobilized more than $312 million in catatytic capital, which has helped bring in $2.5 billion into climate innovation.
Autodesk Foundation has been a fully committed partner in this work, demonstrating the persistence, creativity, and vision needed to advance untapped climate solutions. Prime is proud to stand alongside Autodesk Foundation and other philanthropic leaders in achieving our mission so that we can realize a world in which humanity thrives without the threat of climate change.
Get Involved
If interested in joining us, we invite you to learn more about our Catalytic Investing programs or get in touch with us at partnerships@primecoalition.org.
