Ajax Strategies
Ajax Strategies is a San Francisco climate-tech venture capital (VC) firm founded in 2014 to back technologies that fight climate change. Across energy, transport, agriculture and manufacturing it has funded 35-plus companies; in water its footprint is small but pointed, with two water-data companies, Arable and KETOS, backed across three deals.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Ajax Strategies is a climate fund first and a water investor second, and that order explains the whole portfolio. Founded in 2014 by climate-policy veteran Hal Harvey, the firm backs technology that cuts emissions across energy, transport, agriculture and manufacturing, and water turns up where those worlds touch data.
That is why Ajax Strategies' two water bets are both about measurement, not pipes. Arable puts sensors in fields to tell growers exactly how much water a crop needs, and KETOS reads water quality in real time so utilities and industry can act before a problem spreads. Ajax backed both in 2022, three deals in all, alongside investors such as S2G Ventures and Prelude Ventures.
Ajax Strategies' water thread also runs through its team. Veery Maxwell, who co-founded Ajax and now helps lead Galvanize Climate, sits on Arable's board, and founder Hal Harvey built his name writing the policy playbooks much of the sector leans on. For a newcomer the takeaway is simple: Ajax Strategies is the climate generalist's route into water, a way to back the data layer beneath farms and water systems rather than a fund that backs water and nothing else.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 2 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Ajax Strategies invest in?
- Ajax Strategies invests in technology that fights climate change, spanning energy, transport, agriculture and manufacturing. Founded in 2014, the San Francisco firm has backed more than 35 companies. Its water exposure is narrow: two water-data companies, the farm-sensor maker Arable and the water-quality platform KETOS.
- Is Ajax Strategies a water fund?
- Ajax Strategies is a climate-tech fund, not a dedicated water fund. Of its 35-plus investments, two are water companies, Arable and KETOS, backed across three deals through 2022. Water shows up where Ajax's climate thesis overlaps with data, sensing and resource efficiency rather than heavy infrastructure.
- Who runs Ajax Strategies?
- Ajax Strategies was founded in 2014 by Hal Harvey, a prominent US climate-policy figure who also founded Energy Innovation and now serves as Partner Emeritus. Operating partners include Veery Maxwell, a co-founder who sits on Arable's board, and John Suzukida, a manufacturing and strategy veteran.
- Where is Ajax Strategies based?
- Ajax Strategies is based in San Francisco, California. The firm has operated from the Bay Area since launching in 2014, investing in climate-technology companies across the United States in sectors from energy and transport to agriculture, manufacturing and water data.
- Is Ajax Strategies connected to other 'Ajax' companies?
- Ajax Strategies is an independent climate-technology venture firm in San Francisco, founded in 2014 by Hal Harvey. It shares only a name with unrelated entities such as the Ajax football club, the AJAX web-programming technique, and other finance firms using Ajax. Ajax Strategies invests exclusively in climate solutions.