UP.Partners Launches UP.Abundance, a New Investment Strategy Backed by New Mexico’s $66B Sovereign Wealth Fund
The new venture fund attracts and invests in innovative energy and mobility companies committed to building from New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM, Oct. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UP.Partners, a global investment firm advancing the future of mobility and human progress, announced the launch of UP.Abundance, a venture fund dedicated to driving innovation at the intersection of energy and mobility in New Mexico. The announcement was made at the annual UP.Summit, a gathering of hundreds of company founders and CEOs, corporate leaders, investors, policymakers, and defense officials.
Led by Brian Adams, a multi-time startup leader who helped scale Amazon’s first corporate venture capital fund, and David Ellmann, a three-time founder and startup operator, UP.Abundance invests in energy and mobility companies that have, or commit to establishing, a presence in New Mexico.
UP.Abundance also goes a step further. Through its partnership with the New Mexico State Investment Council (NMSIC), the state’s $66 billion sovereign wealth fund that has committed over $1.7 billion to dozens of leading venture firms throughout the U.S. over the last three years, UP.Abundance acts as a bridge between high-growth companies and those premier firms actively looking to deploy capital in New Mexico.
“New Mexico has quickly become one of the most compelling places on the planet to build or scale an energy, mobility, or climate company,” said Brian Adams, UP.Abundance Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “With commitments from industry-leading venture firms, deep support from multiple state agencies, and abundant resources, our state stands out to some of the world’s most innovative founders deciding where to expand, relocate, or launch.”
Six Investments in Six Months
In the few months since its first fund closed, UP.Abundance has backed six companies, which are either already building from New Mexico or are deeply evaluating expansion into the state.
- Space Kinetic (Seed): Building a new paradigm for space operations. Joined by Balerion Space Ventures, Industrious Ventures, and others.
- Eli (Seed): Streamlining rebates, tax credits, and financing for home energy and electrification projects. Joined by LowerCarbon Capital and Spero.
- Stealth Startup (Seed): Domesticating the supply base for Physical AI. Joined by Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Lux, and others.
- Pacific Fusion (Series A): Commercializing a novel fusion reactor with technology from Sandia National Laboratories. Joined by General Catalyst, Lightspeed, LowerCarbon Capital, Trousdale Ventures, Eric Schmidt, Reid Hoffman, and others.
- Ashbrook Technologies (Series A): Full-stack USDA Livestock Insurance provider with a climate resilience angle. Joined by Nationwide Ventures and Builders VC.
- Reliable Robotics (Growth): The leader in autonomous aircraft systems.
“Our strategic expansion to New Mexico with our Research and Manufacturing Campus is a defining step for Pacific Fusion,” said Carrie von Muench, Co-Founder and COO of Pacific Fusion. “From the first day we met the UP.Abundance team, they rolled up their sleeves and helped us see the full potential of building in Albuquerque, where the resources, talent, and capital are uniquely aligned to make this the birthplace of the fusion economy. With their partnership — and with the continued support of the state, the national labs, and leaders across New Mexico — we’re building here with a commitment to long-term success.”
More Than Capital: A Strategic Partner
UP.Abundance’s support goes far beyond funding. The team personally connects founders with other NMSIC-backed venture funds, joins meetings with state officials, and facilitates introductions to local customers and infrastructure partners.
“By partnering with UP.Abundance and other top-tier venture firms, New Mexico is getting on the radar of the world’s most innovative startups,” said Chris Cassidy, Director of the New Mexico Strategic Venture Capital Program at the NMSIC. “UP.Abundance has forged partnerships across industries and geographies to bring cutting-edge companies into New Mexico, helping ensure that when founders decide where to scale, our state — and the $1.7B+ Strategic Venture Capital Program we’ve built — are at the center of the conversation.”
UP.Abundance directly supports the NMSIC’s mission of turning New Mexico’s sovereign wealth into long-term economic opportunity. Beyond providing capital, the team builds bridges between founders, world-class venture firms, non-dilutive sources of funding, and state leaders to ensure companies have the resources they need to succeed. This approach not only accelerates growth for energy, climate, and mobility startups but also channels innovation, job creation, and investment into New Mexico — strengthening the state’s economy for decades to come.
Part of a Bigger Movement
As a regionally focused investment strategy of UP.Partners, UP.Abundance represents the latest arm of the investment firm’s comprehensive approach to investing in the systems that move people, goods, energy, and information across our planet.
In addition to UP.Abundance, UP.Partners’ strategies include UP.Ventures, an early-stage fund with over 40 portfolio companies, UP.Labs, a venture lab in partnership with Porsche, Alaska Airlines, and JB Hunt, and UP.Summit, an annual gathering of leading innovators in physical world technologies that showcases the revitalization of American manufacturing, innovations of transportation and breakthroughs reshaping how people and goods move — cleaner, faster, safer, and at lower cost.
“The future of energy and mobility will be driven not just by breakthrough ideas, but by the ecosystems that help those ideas scale,” said Ben Marcus, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of UP.Partners. “That’s why we launched UP.Abundance — because New Mexico has all the ingredients: Billions in available capital, state-level alignment, and deep technical talent. We’re here to help founders unlock that potential and build the future from the ground up.”
Founders in climate, energy, or mobility interested in New Mexico’s value proposition can learn more at www.upabundance.com.
About UP.Partners
UP.Partners is Transforming the Moving World by building and investing in companies that help move people and goods cleaner, faster, safer, and at lower cost — on the ground, in the air, on the sea, and in space. The multi-strategy firm achieves this goal through a multi-strategy, cross-sector approach. UP.Ventures and UP.Abundance invest in companies and technologies to enable the future of mobility and energy, working with some of the world's most innovative investors and entrepreneurs. With flagship launch partner Porsche, UP.Labs is a first-of-its-kind venture lab, partnering with the world's largest corporations to identify the most pressing challenges that they, and broader society, face. The UP.Summit is an invitation-only experience co-hosted with Tom and Steuart Walton and Ross Perot Jr., in Bentonville, AR, bringing together the world's most innovative minds to rethink the future of transportation. For more information, visit www.UP.partners or follow on Twitter @UpPartnersVC or LinkedIn.
About UP.Abundance
UP.Abundance is an investment strategy of UP.Partners, a leading global investment firm focused on mobility and human progress. UP.Abundance looks to invest in and support mobility, energy, and climate companies that have or commit to establishing a presence in New Mexico.
About New Mexico State Investment Council
The New Mexico State Investment Council oversees $66 billion of assets, including the Land Grant and Severance Tax Permanent Funds as well as 12 other state endowment, reserve and governmental funds. These investment funds deliver more than $2 billion in funding to the state every year, primarily for public schools and early childhood education as well as other critical government services. The 11-member Council includes Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, and State Treasurer Laura Montoya. The Council convenes on the fourth Tuesday of the month at least 10 times per year. Meetings are open to the public and are streamed online. For additional details, please refer to the SIC website: https://www.sic.state.nm.us
Jacob Maranda UP.Partners 309-428-1436 jmaranda@sunny505.com
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