The Allocators’ Table
Climate capital across Europe, the US, Japan and Korea
An invitation-only lunch for allocators: family offices, foundations, fund-of-funds and corporate LPs. Roundtables under the Chatham House Rule, a fireside chat over lunch, then open time to talk. Built to bridge Korea, Japan, the US and Europe. The follow-on to Tech for Climate at Oktoberfest.
· Presented by 
Consulate-General of Japan in Munich The allocator table from Oktoberfest, with a lunch to itself
At Tech for Climate at Oktoberfest on 24 September, one table was kept for allocators only. Its question was simple: how do you go from caring about climate to putting money behind it?
This lunch gives that conversation the room it needs. Where can capital be deployed today? Which structures suit a family office, a foundation or a corporate? Who finances the first commercial plant? Which impact claims hold up?
We want this lunch to bridge Korea, Japan, the US and Europe. Seira Yun, the host, works between Europe and Asia, so cross-border capital comes up at the tables and over lunch: corporate LPs from Japan and Korea, allocation across US, European and Asian funds, and who buys the output of a European plant.
“I know what makes such a gathering work, and Tech for Impact has it.”
For almost 25 years I have brought researchers, founders and investors together in Munich. It is by invitation only, its guest list curated by hand: founders, corporate leaders, family offices, investors and policymakers, from Japan, Europe and other regions, all senior decision makers. It cuts across industries, so energy, mobility, finance and manufacturing sit at the same table. It puts technology and impact on one agenda, with the people who can act on both in the room. Its Tokyo roots bring a Japanese corporate network into that room. It is built for collaboration: little time listening to a stage, much more working out what to do together, so people leave with a partner and a next step. The record shows it works: past gatherings have led to partnerships, corporate-startup collaborations and investment deals. In format and spirit it is truly creative and unique. I am glad to support Seira Yun in building it.
Roundtables, then lunch with a fireside chat, then open networking
Allocators at the tables, joined by selected founders.
Doors and coffee
Roundtables
Small groups, one question per table. A table lead opens in two minutes, then the table talks. The Chatham House Rule applies.
Lunch and fireside chat
A conversation while we eat. One question, no slides. We name the speakers once they confirm.
Open networking
No programme. Time to find the peers you want to keep talking to.
Close
The Chatham House Rule applies at the roundtables. Participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speakers, nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. Nothing is recorded, and the fireside chat is not streamed or published.
There are no sponsors, no pitches and nothing for sale. Attendance and lunch are free of charge.
The questions
Five roundtables at 11:30, one question each, then one conversation over lunch. Table leads and speakers are announced here once they have confirmed. Please name the table you would most like to join when you register.
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Revenue models for physical climate risk
Floods, heat, water and crop risk. What turns adaptation into revenue an investor can underwrite, and where does catalytic capital belong in the stack?
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Investing the foundation corpus
For foundation investors who have decided to move the endowment, not only the grants: mandate, trustees, German foundation law, the first fund and the reporting that follows. A peer exchange, not a primer.
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Decarbonising the data centre: where does Europe put it?
AI needs data centres, and data centres need power, cooling, land and a grid connection. Europe also wants its sensitive data to stay in Europe. Where does the next generation get built, who finances it, and what does net zero mean for a site that runs around the clock? For investors in AI infrastructure, with the operators and the companies whose data sits inside.
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Pitching climate in 2026: should we move beyond the climate label?
Climate-specialist funds are raising less, and many founders now pitch as energy, infrastructure, industrials or defence. Does dropping the label win the allocation or lose the mandate? What does an allocator want to hear in 2026, and what do they no longer want to hear?
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Japanese and Korean capital for European plants
Japan’s emissions trading is starting to bite, and Japanese and Korean corporates are LPs, offtakers and buyers of European climate companies. What do they need to see before committing, and what does a European fund or plant have to change?
- Dr. Karen Wendt Table lead · SwissFinTechLadies
- Hikaru Ikarashi At the table · Embassy of Japan in Germany
- Jens Kahrweg At the table · Samsung Semiconductor Europe
- Johannes Pulsfort At the table · WU Wien
- Montserrat Corominas At the table · Intergroup Partners AG
- Rudolf Auer At the table · Marvelous Ventures
- Yu Tatematsu At the table · Japan Bank for International Cooperation
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Where did the climate money go?
Climate-specialist funds raised a fraction of what they did in 2021. Defence, AI and power raised the rest. Is “climate” still a line in the allocation, or a lens over infrastructure, energy and industrials?
Allocators, and a few selected founders
- Family offices
- Private investors
- Foundations
- Fund-of-funds
- Institutional investors
- Corporate LPs
A small number of selected founders also join the room as guests. Some of them speak.
Participation is by invitation. If a colleague belongs in the room, please tell us, subject to the seats available.
Tech for Impact and TUM Venture Labs, with Munich Climate Week
The Tech for Impact Summit (T4IS)
An invitation-only summit held every year in Tokyo, with smaller gatherings like this one in between.
Your host: Seira Yun
Founder and CEO of Socious, convener of the Tech for Impact Summit, and host of Tech for Climate at Oktoberfest. Works between Europe, Asia and North America.
Co-hosted by TUM Venture Labs
TUM Venture Labs builds science-based ventures out of the Technical University of Munich.
Presented by Munich Climate Week
The lunch is part of the Munich Climate Week 2026 programme, 19 to 25 October.
Consulate-General of Japan in Munich在ミュンヘン日本国総領事館
Lucia Lara Vargas of TUM Venture Labs is the MC, as she was at Tech for Climate at Oktoberfest.
Friday, 23 October 2026, 11:00 to 14:00
Registration is on Luma and is subject to host approval. It takes two minutes: your organisation, the question you would like to join, and who invited you.
Request to join on LumaQuestions? Write to [email protected].
Munich photographs: Nicolas Görmer and Dovlet Hojayev on Unsplash.