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GS Futures: Corporate venture capital investing in early-stage startups in physical AI, robotics, construction, energy, and digital platforms.
Key people at GS Futures.
GS Futures is the global corporate venture capital arm of GS Group, investing in early-stage startups building transformative technologies from its base in California, United States. The firm provides capital and strategic support, leveraging GS Group's operational expertise and global network to accelerate scaling in its focus areas of physical AI & robotics, built environment & construction, energy & industrial transition, and digital platforms & infrastructure. It operates two early-stage funds, including a $70 million construction fund led by Managing Partner Aaron Toppston. The small team, typically 1-10 employees, also features key personnel such as Will Chung, focusing on real estate and blockchain, and Zachary Keats, specializing in climate and blockchain. Heo Tae-hong, a GS Group 4th generation owner, leads North American biotech investments for the broader group. GS Futures was established in 2020 as a corporate venture capital initiative of GS Group.
Key people at GS Futures.
GS Futures is an early-stage venture fund backed by the GS Group, focused on backing ambitious founders solving hard, systemic problems at the intersection of climate & energy transition, construction & real estate technology, and consumer tech. Its mission is to shape the future of foundational industries by investing in deep tech and platform innovations that drive sustainability, efficiency, and long-term value creation. The fund operates with a corporate venture capital lens, combining strategic capital with access to the GS Group’s industrial and operational expertise to help startups scale.
GS Futures targets startups at the seed and early stages, often in capital-intensive, infrastructure-adjacent domains where technical depth and real-world deployment matter. Its portfolio spans climate tech (carbon removal, clean energy, advanced materials), construction tech (project controls, intelligent site tracking, materials marketplaces), and consumer-facing platforms with strong network effects. By concentrating on sectors undergoing structural transformation, GS Futures plays a catalytic role in accelerating the next generation of industrial and consumer technology, helping founders turn complex technical challenges into scalable, defensible businesses.
GS Futures was established in 2020 as an early-stage venture arm integrated within the GS Group, a global industrial and technology conglomerate with deep roots in construction, energy, and real estate. Rather than being a standalone VC, it was built as a strategic, founder-friendly fund designed to leverage the GS Group’s global footprint, operational scale, and domain expertise. This structure allows GS Futures to offer more than just capital—its founders gain access to real-world pilot opportunities, supply chain relationships, and industrial validation that are rare in traditional venture.
From the outset, GS Futures positioned itself around three core verticals: Climate & Energy Transition Tech, Construction & Real Estate Tech, and Consumer Tech. These were chosen not just for their growth potential, but because they align with the GS Group’s own long-term transformation agenda. Over time, the fund has sharpened its focus on deep tech and infrastructure-adjacent startups, backing companies that sit at the convergence of hardware, software, and sustainability. The team, composed of operators and investors with experience in venture, engineering, and industrial tech, reflects this hybrid, execution-oriented ethos.
Strategic Corporate Backing with Founder-First ApproachUnlike many corporate VCs, GS Futures operates with a high degree of independence while retaining deep ties to the GS Group. This allows it to move quickly on early-stage opportunities while offering portfolio companies access to real-world use cases, industrial partners, and global scaling infrastructure—without the typical constraints of strategic mandates.
Focus on Hard Tech in Foundational SectorsGS Futures deliberately targets capital- and expertise-intensive sectors like climate tech, construction tech, and advanced materials. Its bets on companies like Heirloom (direct air capture), Lithios (lithium extraction), and Machina Labs (AI + robotics for manufacturing) reflect a willingness to back deep tech with long-term horizons, where technical moats and real-world deployment are critical.
Operator-Led, Sector-Specialized TeamThe investment team combines venture experience with hands-on operational and technical backgrounds. This enables them to engage deeply with founders on product-market fit, go-to-market in complex B2B environments, and scaling in regulated or asset-heavy industries. Their “operator-first” mindset is evident in how they support portfolio companies beyond check-writing.
Access to Industrial Scale and PilotsOne of GS Futures’ most powerful advantages is its ability to connect startups with the GS Group’s global operations. Whether it’s piloting construction software on active sites, testing new energy materials in real projects, or validating supply chain innovations, this access dramatically de-risks early commercialization and accelerates product iteration.
GS Futures is positioned at the convergence of several powerful macro trends: the energy transition, the digitization of heavy industries, and the rise of climate-aligned deep tech. As governments and corporations face mounting pressure to decarbonize, GS Futures is backing the underlying infrastructure—carbon removal, clean energy materials, smart buildings, and sustainable manufacturing—that will power the next economy.
In construction and real estate, where productivity has lagged for decades, GS Futures is helping to catalyze a tech-driven transformation. Its investments in intelligent project tracking (Structionsite), project controls (SmartPM), and materials marketplaces (Soil Connect) are part of a broader shift toward data-driven, software-enabled construction. These tools are no longer nice-to-have; they’re becoming essential for cost control, ESG compliance, and schedule reliability.
More broadly, GS Futures exemplifies a new model of corporate venture: not just a passive LP or acquirer, but an active builder and validator of next-generation industrial tech. By bridging the gap between startups and large-scale industrial operations, it helps de-risk innovation in sectors that are critical to global economic and environmental outcomes.
Looking ahead, GS Futures is well-positioned to deepen its role as a bridge between deep tech innovation and real-world industrial deployment. As climate tech matures and construction tech becomes mission-critical for ESG and efficiency, the fund’s focus on hard problems in foundational sectors will likely become even more valuable. Expect continued emphasis on carbon removal, clean energy materials, and AI/robotics in physical industries, with increasing interest in how blockchain and Web3 infrastructure (as seen in LayerZero, Mysten Labs, Sphinx) can enable new models in energy, commodities, and digital ownership.
The next phase for GS Futures may involve expanding its playbook beyond early-stage equity—potentially into project finance, revenue-based financing, or co-investment vehicles that align with the capital intensity of its sectors. As the line between venture capital and industrial innovation blurs, GS Futures’ unique position within the GS Group could make it a model for how large industrial groups can systematically back and scale transformative technology, not just consume it. In a world where the future of energy, cities, and consumption is being rewritten, GS Futures is quietly helping to build the underlying stack.
