Mission Report: Earth Systems
“The Operating System of Earth”
-Natalie Aldrich
Introduction
We’ve invested billions in reshoring manufacturing, hardening supply chains, and pursuing energy independence. But without resilient natural systems, those efforts rest on shaky ground. Energy and industry both rely on air, water, land, and minerals that are increasingly stressed, concentrated, or poorly managed.
Earth Systems is the base layer of resilience that enables energy abundance and industrial strength. It is about resource security as a national and industrial strategy.
Water: Global demand is expected to exceed supply by 40% as early as 2030, threatening water-intensive industries like semiconductors, EVs, and data centers. Advanced water management and recycling technologies will be essential to keep industrial growth viable.
Land Management: Nearly half of Earth’s habitable land is already dedicated to food production, putting pressure on biofuels, industrial feedstocks, and supply chains. New approaches in soil health, crop efficiency, and land-use optimization will be critical.
Forests & Biomaterials: Forests supply essential raw materials and protective infrastructure while supporting a $600+ billion global industry. Engineered wood, biomass energy, and advanced biomaterials will play a growing role in both industrial supply chains and resilience.
As adaptation technologies reach price and performance parity, they won’t just mitigate risk - they will dominate markets, becoming core enablers of the next industrial era.
Investing at the Resource Layer
To secure the base layer of resilience, we are focusing investment on the following categories:
Forest Management & Wildfire Prevention: Wildfires are now a year-round crisis, with damages from the January 2025 LA fires estimated at $250 billion - one of the costliest disasters in history. Prevention is the only scalable solution. Startups are deploying AI-driven detection (PanoAi, Gridware), satellite-based risk monitoring (Vibrant Planet, LGND - an M1C portfolio company, Felt), and autonomous suppression systems (Firedome, BurnBot) to predict, prevent, and contain fires before they escalate. Forest management going forward will collide with autonomy and robotics to enable prudent land management in the future (Kodama - a M1C portfolio company).
Waste Repurposing: Moving from a linear “take, make, dispose” model to a circular economy unlocks both resilience and efficiency. Robotics and advanced sorting technologies (Greyparrot, AMP, Glacier) improve recovery rates, while chemical processes transform industrial byproducts and plastic waste into usable inputs (Ourobio, Anthrogen, Differential Bio). These systems close the loop on manufacturing and reduce dependence on virgin resources.
Ocean intelligence & value creation: Oceans underpin global trade, food, and energy, yet remain underinvested. Innovation is accelerating in ocean intelligence (Orpheus Ocean, Bedrock Ocean), hydro energy systems (Panthalassa), sustainable fishing management (Shinkei Systems), and deep-sea resource extraction (Impossible Metals, Moby Robotics). We see this as a renaissance period for ocean industries, with opportunities to unlock new economic value while strengthening supply chain resilience.
Adaptation: As extreme heat, floods, and storms intensify, infrastructure must evolve to withstand new realities. Opportunities include cooling and efficiency technologies for buildings and cities (Transaera, Harvest Thermal), atmospheric water generation systems that provide off-grid, decentralized water supply (Rainmaker), and modular shelters with predictive analytics to support rapid disaster response (Reframe Systems, AUAR).
Conclusion
Industrial strength without resilient natural systems only accelerates scarcity. Abundance depends on securing the foundations - water, land, and forests - that sustain both life and industry. These are not secondary concerns; they are the operating system on which energy and industrial resilience run. As pressures mount, technologies that reinforce Earth’s systems will become some of the most valuable assets in the global economy, commanding both premium markets and long-term demand.
At M1C, we believe the ventures that protect and unlock Earth’s critical systems will enable energy abundance, industrial strength, and long-term prosperity—and we intend to back them.
Onward!
