Podcast Episode Details
Back to Podcast Episodes
Larry Susanto: From Berkeley to Jakarta, Climate Tech’s Next Frontier & Indonesia’s Green Opportunity – E642
Season 1 Episode 642
AVP of Investments at ACV Larry Susanto and Jeremy Au discuss Larry’s journey from a Berkeley-trained engineer to a climate-tech investor shaping Indonesia’s sustainability future. They trace how his career evolved across research, product management, and consulting, and how Southeast Asia’s climate ecosystem compares to Silicon Valley’s innovation-driven model. Their conversation explores Indonesia’s renewable potential, capital gaps, and the role of government policy in turning natural resources into long-term value creation. Larry also shares how courage, learning agility, and purpose guided each of his career leaps across industries and continents.
00:00 From lab to venture capital: Larry shares how curiosity for chemistry and sustainability led him from UC Berkeley to the Bay Area’s solar startup scene.
05:32 Choosing home over the U.S.: Larry reflects on returning to Indonesia to give back despite visa hurdles and more advanced R&D ecosystems abroad.
10:42 Strategy at Bain: Larry deepened his business acumen, joining sustainability projects such as EV strategy, plastic recycling, and Bain’s Green Economy Report.
15:12 Climate tech in context: He contrasts the West’s deep-tech innovation with Southeast Asia’s business-model adaptation and localization approach.
19:36 ACV’s five climate pillars: Renewable energy, electric mobility, energy efficiency, climate-smart agriculture, and waste circularity form their investment focus.
25:22 Indonesia’s EV and mineral opportunity: Despite abundant nickel and raw materials, the nation must improve downstream capacity to capture more value.
30:22 Untapped green potential: With 500 gigawatts of solar capacity and 120 million motorbikes ripe for electrification, Indonesia holds a massive opportunity.
Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/larry-susanto-indonesia-green-leap
Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com
WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyau
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremyau
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea
English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts
Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago