Michael Schroepfer
About Michael Schroepfer
Mike Schroepfer has spent 25 years building technology companies as a founder, CTO of Facebook/Meta, and head of engineering at Mozilla. He holds a bachelor's degree (1997) and a master's degree (1999) in computer science from Stanford University. He lists his location as Palo Alto, California.
After co-founding the software company CenterRun, which Sun Microsystems acquired, he became CTO of Sun's data center automation division. He joined Mozilla as VP of Engineering around 2005, then moved to Facebook in 2008 as VP of Engineering. He was Facebook's CTO from March 2013 to March 2022. He says he scaled teams from 0 to 30,000+ and built datacenters (powered by 8GW of renewable energy), consumer hardware, and long-term R&D in AI, AR and VR.
He announced in September 2021 that he would step down as CTO. In 2022 he became a part-time Senior Fellow at Meta, focused on AI and technical talent development. He said at the time that outside Meta he would put more time and money into the climate crisis as an early-stage climate tech investor and through philanthropy. He co-founded the philanthropic organization Additional Ventures with his wife, Erin Hoffman. He also started the Carbon to Sea Initiative, a nonprofit that has raised over $50 million for ocean alkalinity research, and serves as its board chair.
Before launching a fund, Schroepfer said he had made more than a dozen angel investments in climate tech on his own. In May 2023 he formalized this work by launching Gigascale Capital with Victoria Beasley and Evaline Tsai. Axios reported that the fund was initially self-funded, with Schroepfer as its only LP. He told Axios he wants to be the first call climate tech founders make when they need help.
Crunchbase lists 7 investments by him personally, across 6 portfolio companies, with 0 lead investments and 3 exits (1 by IPO). Crunchbase's latest listed personal investment is the GitStart seed round, which NFX Signal dates to May 2022. Gigascale announced a $250 million first institutional fund and reported more than 25 portfolio investments, 22 of them made earlier from the family office.
Schroepfer's investing is framed around climate and hard tech more than around AI software. He and his partners describe surging demand for AI, power and industrial capacity as an opening to rebuild the physical economy, from energy infrastructure to advanced manufacturing, materials and robotics. In his interviews, AI shows up mainly as a driver of energy demand.
His AI credentials come from his operating career. He led AI research and infrastructure work at Facebook and Meta, and his Meta Senior Fellow role focuses on AI. NFX Signal ranks him in AI for pre-seed, seed and Series A, and lists GitStart (seed, May 2022, co-investors including Adam D'Angelo and Amjad Masad) among his recorded investments. Publicly, no AI-specific thesis or list of AI-only deals from him was found.
Gigascale invests in early-stage companies, mostly hard tech, aimed at large decarbonization opportunities. CNBC reported that areas the team has researched include decarbonizing buildings and industrial processes. The firm now describes its scope as companies rebuilding the physical economy, including energy, advanced manufacturing, materials and robotics.
Schroepfer says he looks for venture-scale businesses that can be better and cheaper than high-carbon incumbents, not only better for the world. He has said "we need business" to solve climate change. The firm backs founders from pre-seed through Series B, based on NFX Signal's record of deals including Vor Systems (pre-seed), Terraton (seed) and Commonwealth Fusion Systems (Series B).
NFX Signal lists an investment range of $100K to $5.0M with a $1.5M sweet spot. That is a third-party estimate, not a figure Schroepfer has published. No personal angel check size is public.
- Commonwealth Fusion Systems: fusion energy developer; appears in his NFX Signal record for its Series B, August 2025.
- Dioxycle: electrochemical cell startup; backed by Gigascale, with a Series A in July 2023 per NFX Signal.
- Mill: composting startup; named by Axios in November 2023 as a Gigascale investment.
- Pasture Biosciences: cattle vaccine to cut methane emissions; named by Axios in November 2023 as a Gigascale investment.
- Thalo Labs: building emissions startup; named by Axios in November 2023 as a Gigascale investment.
- HomeBoost: listed by Axios as a stealth startup in 2023; NFX Signal shows a seed round in October 2024.
- GitStart: seed round, May 2022; his latest personal investment on Crunchbase.
- Cocoon, Terraton, Vor Systems, Red Metals: listed in his NFX Signal record between 2024 and 2026.
- crunchbase.com/person/michael-schroepfer
- signal.nfx.com/investors/mike-schroepfer
- news.crunchbase.com/venture/hard-tech-infrastructure-moat-schroepfer-g
- cnbc.com/2023/05/02/former-facebook-cto-mike-schroepfer-launches-clima
- axios.com/pro/climate-deals/2023/11/13/mike-schroepfer-climate-tech
- cnbc.com/2022/04/07/meta-former-cto-mike-schroepfer-to-focus-on-climat
- cnbc.com/2021/09/22/facebook-chief-technology-officer-to-step-down.htm
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Schroepfer
Investing activity
Michael Schroepfer has made 7 investments according to Crunchbase across 6 portfolio companies, and has seen 3 exits, 1 of them by IPO and founded 2 companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Michael Schroepfer
Does Michael Schroepfer invest as an angel?
Yes. He said he made more than a dozen angel investments in climate tech before launching Gigascale Capital in May 2023. Crunchbase lists 7 personal investments.
What does Michael Schroepfer invest in?
Early-stage climate and hard tech companies, including energy, advanced manufacturing, materials and robotics. He backs businesses he believes can beat high-carbon incumbents on cost as well as impact.
What check size does Michael Schroepfer write?
He has not published a personal check size. NFX Signal lists a range of $100K to $5.0M with a $1.5M sweet spot, but that is a third-party estimate.
Is Michael Schroepfer a good fit for an AI startup pitch?
Only if the company ties to climate, energy or physical infrastructure. His public focus is climate and hard tech, and he describes AI mainly as a source of demand for power and industrial capacity. He has a long AI background from Meta, and NFX Signal ranks him in AI at early stages.
What is Gigascale Capital?
Gigascale Capital is a climate-focused venture firm Schroepfer launched in May 2023 with Victoria Beasley and Evaline Tsai. It raised a $250 million first institutional fund and has made more than 25 portfolio investments.
Has Michael Schroepfer led rounds?
Crunchbase shows 0 lead investments for his personal profile. On NFX Signal, his deals appear alongside co-investors such as Khosla Ventures and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Is Michael Schroepfer an angel investor?
Yes. Michael Schroepfer invests personally as an angel and is Partner at Gigascale Capital. Crunchbase counts 7 investments and 3 exits.
Where is Michael Schroepfer based?
Michael Schroepfer is based in Palo Alto, California, United States.
How can founders reach Michael Schroepfer?
Founders on Lounge can see Michael Schroepfer's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Michael Schroepfer to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.