Investors Circle Cleantech Circle at the Cleantech Open Global Forum
Investors Circle has partnered with IC Community Partner, Cleantech Open (CTO), the non-profit org that runs the largest clean technology accelerator program in the world, to bring the Investors Circle Cleantech Circle community together with CTO at their 2025 Global Forum in San Jose, California Oct. 27-29 at the San Jose Convention Center, co-located with the VERGE 25 event. The CTO Global Forum showcases the 94 graduating CTO startups plus the CTO US National Finals pitch competition. The Best of the Best early-stage cleantech innovators! IC will have some of our ICCC previous or potential presenting companies with us with tables at this event as well.
This ICCC event is brought to you by our co-sponsors: Investors Circle Cleantech Circle, VectorPoint Ventures, the Angel Capital Association Cleantech Syndication Group, Beatrice Advisors, and the Cleantech Open.
If you can be in the San Francisco Bay Area at the end of October this year, this is a MUST-BE-AT event for early stage cleantech investors OR if you just want to learn about this exciting sector.
There are two FREE ways to attend this event:
1. Investor Access Option 1: Complementary Pass, Oct. 28 11:30 am to 6:30 pm only: We have gained complimentary passes for all our investor, member, guest and student attendees. You can just show up and we will get you in, but we prefer that you register HERE ON THIS LUMA REGISTRATION: See the CTO general schedule in the San Jose Convention Center (SJCC) Hall 3 from 11:30 am on below:
a. 11:30 am – 6:30 pm: CTO Startup Showcase Expo
b. 11:30 am – 1:15 pm: CTO 1-Minute Pitches, CTO Showcase
c. 2:50 – 5:00 pm: CTO US National Finals Pitching
d. 5:00 – 6:30 pm: “Leading Cleantech Startups – Networking, Startup Pitches & Ice Cream Sundaes” Presentations from our group of ICCC/ACA companies that are with us at the CTO Startup Showcase. Also, we have Special Speaker, Peter Lupoff: Columnist for Trellis: https://trellis.net/article/author/peter-lupoff/, Partner at Beatrice Advisors, a multi-family office, and founder, principal of his family’s single-family office, Lupoff/Stevens Family Office, a Board of Directors member at Investors Circle, and Author of “Building Climate Portfolios that Reflect Your Family’s Values” released by Beatrice Advisors during NYC 2025 Climate Week; SJCC Hall 3 Networking and Ice Cream Sundaes for investor attendees.
2. SPECIAL INVESTOR PASS now free (as of CTO’s instructions to us today) but only for active investors that WILL participate as investors in the CTO Investor and Partner Connect 1-1 meetings on Oct. 29 from 8:00 – 10:30am. This gets you Full Boat CTO Pass for all three days and adds access and participation in the CTO Investor and Partner Connect (again, you MUST show up for this), with VERGE Network Pass: Special Discounted exclusive price to Investors in the Investors Circle Cleantech Circle and the Angel Capital Association network - Price Free. For this SPECIAL INVESTOR PASS, use the same registration link in option 1 above and get all the registration details for option 2 from that registration link. But do so BY NOON PT Oct. 24 for this before the CTO ends needs to set up all the 1-1 Partner Connect Meetings for next week. Register HERE (note instructions below to get into the investors free pass section)
Here is a special discount code gives a 100% discount on the CTO registration site: IPC25VIP (this is the super-secret code, not for giving to parties that are not related to the ICCC or ACA without permission from Don Megrath, Executive Director at Investors Circle and Moderator of the ACA CT Syndication Group). Note that once you fill in the discount code (and apply it), an investor registration will appear that is the one you need to reg. for ONE of and fill in the information they request once that ticket is in (there is a survey they ask some CTO sector questions about your cleantech sector company sector interest and the like).
You need to register for the CTO and VERGE Networking Passes: These two passes have full CTO/VERGE access (VERGE is limited to only Networking Pass access – check out this VERGE site link here details on that). For the VERGE Networking pass (you need to put in separately for that pass) the cost will also be zero. Here is how you can sign up for your VERGE Expo Networking Pass - PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THIS - Cleantech Open partnered with Verge for these special limited tickets.
1. CTO Global Forum Ticket Holders: To register for a free Expo Pass on the VERGE Registration page, click this link
2. Click on the Register Button and select “Networking Pass”
3. Fill out the Registrant Details, then at the very bottom click "Select" next to the " Networking Pass "
4. Confirm the information you've entered on the "Registration Review" page.
5. Enter the CTO Discount Code TI25CTOEXPO
for a 100% discount to be applied. Click "Apply."
6. Agree to the VERGE Terms & Conditions
7. Click "Submit Registration" at the bottom.
8. Save your "Registration Confirmation Number" in case you have questions or issues with your order.
9. You should immediately receive a confirmation email from VERGE, please ensure this comes through and save the email for future reference.
If you accidentally pay for something you didn't want on the VERGE registration, the CTO or I cannot help in a refund. You would need to reach out to them directly.
Here is what you will see with this pass:
a. Oct. 27, 6-8 pm: CTO Welcome Reception
b. Oct. 28:
i. 8:00 am – 4:30 pm: VERGE Expo, Breakouts, Workshops, Networking, Tutorials & Keynotes (see Network Pass limits)
ii. 9:00 am – 6:30 pm: CTO Startup Showcase Expo in Hall 3, Convention Center
iii. 11:30 am – 1:15 pm: CTO 1-Minute Pitches, CTO Showcase, Hall 3
iv. 2:50 – 5:00 pm: CTO US National Finals Pitching to Judging Panel in Hall 3
v. 5:00 – 6:30 pm: Special Speaker, Peter Lupoff: “Building Climate Portfolios that Reflect Your Family’s Values – A discussion of the Peter Lupoff’s guide released by Beatrice Advisors during NYC 2025 Climate Week” and Hall 3 Networking.
c. Oct. 29:
i. 9:00 am – 5:30 pm: VERGE Expo, Breakouts, Workshops, Networking, Tutorials & Keynotes (see Network Pass limits)
ii. 8:00 - 10:30 am: CTO Investor and Partner Connect (private, invite-only; special code needed) - 1:1 curated speed-meetings in SJCC Hall 3 - ONLY FOR SPECIAL INVESTOR PASS HOLDERS
iii. 10:30 am – 3:00 pm: CTO Startup Showcase Expo in Hall 3, Convention Center
iv. 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm: CTO Awards Ceremony and Networking in SJCC Hall 3 with heavy hors d'oeuvres- See Finalists and Winners and Keynote speakers
v. 5:30 – 7:00 pm: Trellis Impact / VERGE Reception (requires any VERGE Pass)
In addition, here is some information about the VERGE 2025 “Where Climate Meets Technology” event, which takes place on 28–30 October 2025 at the San Jose Convention Center, California, VERGE is one of the world’s leading climate technology events, convening more than 3,500 professionals from business, government, startups, and the investment community. Organized as part of Trellis Impact 25 alongside Bloom and GreenFin, VERGE serves as a platform for advancing scalable solutions in clean energy, transportation, industry, and carbon management.