S2G Ventures
S2G Investments is a Chicago multi-stage impact investment firm that backs food and agriculture, oceans, and energy companies. Formerly S2G Ventures, it is the direct-investment arm of Lukas Walton's Builders Vision. As of 2026 it has backed 3 water companies across 3 deals, from microplastic capture to nanobubble water treatment.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
S2G Investments, the firm that spent a decade as S2G Ventures before rebranding in January 2025, is not a water fund, and that is the first thing to understand about it. S2G is the direct-investment arm of Lukas Walton's Builders Vision, a single-family platform that lets it chase systems change in food and agriculture, oceans, and energy without answering to the outside limited partners (the pension funds and endowments that bankroll a typical fund). The name is short for Seed 2 Growth, and water reaches it sideways, through the three sectors it actually invests in.
S2G's water bets cluster where water meets those core themes. Matter builds an inline filter, the 'Gulp', that traps the microplastics a washing machine sheds before they reach the ocean; Moleaer makes industrial nanobubble generators that pump oxygen into water for treatment and farming; Arable Labs wires fields with sensors that tell a grower exactly how much water a crop needs. Across the three, (don't) Waste Water counts 3 water companies and rates S2G's commitment Committed, and S2G led the majority of those rounds rather than riding along.
S2G's clearest water identity sits in its oceans practice, which it launched in 2020 under managing director Kate Danaher to back ocean health, blue foods, and the maritime economy. That is where the line between 'ocean' and 'water' blurs in a useful way, since a microplastic filter is really a water-quality bet wearing an ocean label. The food-and-agriculture side carries the rest, where managing director Cristina Rohr's team funds the irrigation-efficiency and water-treatment tools a warming farm belt increasingly needs.
As of May 2026, S2G closed a $1 billion Solutions Fund I for growth-stage companies in food, energy, and oceans, its first move into the 'missing middle' between early venture and hard infrastructure. That, to me, is the tell for anyone trying to read S2G: it touches water deliberately but never exclusively, and the water names worth watching are the ones sitting at the seams of its three sectors.
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 · 3 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does S2G Investments invest in?
- S2G Investments backs food and agriculture, oceans, and energy companies across venture and growth stages. Its water exposure is cross-cutting rather than a dedicated fund, spanning ocean health, water treatment, and farm irrigation technologies. S2G manages roughly $2.8 billion and has backed more than 120 companies since 2014.
- Is S2G Ventures the same as S2G Investments?
- S2G Investments is the new name for S2G Ventures, which rebranded in January 2025 with the tagline 'Invested at the Seams of Sector Transition.' Same firm, same Chicago base, same Builders Vision ownership. The change signals its move beyond pure venture into growth equity across food, oceans, and energy.
- How many water companies has S2G backed?
- S2G Investments has backed 3 water companies across 3 deals, according to (don't) Waste Water's tracking: Matter, which captures microplastics from laundry water; Moleaer, a nanobubble water-treatment company; and Arable Labs, which optimizes farm irrigation with sensors. (don't) Waste Water rates S2G's water commitment Committed.
- Who runs S2G Investments?
- S2G Investments was founded in 2014 by Aaron Rudberg, Chuck Templeton, and Sanjeev Krishnan, who serve as managing partners. Its water-relevant work is led by managing directors Kate Danaher, who heads the oceans strategy, and Cristina Rohr in food and agriculture. Former Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb is an operating partner.
- Where is S2G Investments based?
- S2G Investments is based in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, and was founded in 2014. The firm is the direct-investment arm of Lukas Walton's Builders Vision and operates as a standalone registered investment adviser. S2G manages roughly $2.8 billion across food and agriculture, oceans, and energy.