Michael Kowatschew

Sequoia helps daring founders build legendary companies from idea to IPO and beyond. We aim to be the first true believers in tomorrow’s most valuable and enduring businesses. We partner with a few outliers each year and go all-in, providing them with the hands-on help required at every stage of the company building journey. Our expertise comes from 50 years of working with legendary founders like Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Jan Koum, Adi Tatarko, Brian Chesky, Jensen Huang, Anne Wojcicki, Eric Yuan, Patrick Collison, Julia Hartz, and Sebastian Siemiatkowski. In aggregate, Sequoia-backed companies account for more than 25% of NASDAQs total value. Since our inception, the vast majority of the money we invest has been on behalf of nonprofits and schools like the Ford Foundation, Mayo Clinic and MIT, which means most of the returns we generate benefit these great causes.

Optima is the platform for intelligent energy management – built to control, optimize, and scale decentralized energy systems across homes, businesses, and energy communities. Our solution combines cutting-edge hardware, AI-driven software, and a seamless user experience to deliver real-time insights, predictive optimization, and measurable cost savings. From single-family homes to large-scale real estate portfolios and energy service companies, Optima integrates electric vehicles, heat pumps, solar systems, and storage into one unified system – ready for the demands of tomorrow’s energy landscape. ✅ 1,000+ gateways in daily operation ✅ Developed in Austria with over 10 years of field experience ✅ Full support for ESG compliance, billing, and remote maintenance ✅ Out-of-the-box and fully customizable EMS platform Optima gives you the tools to shape the energy future – today.

We’re building Austria’s fastest-growing clean energy company, combining technology, process excellence, and hands-on execution to make renewable heating and solar power radically more accessible. Heizma installs over 1.500 heat pumps and solar systems per year, helping homeowners cut their energy costs and carbon emissions - without the complexity. Our mission: bring the cleanest and cheapest energy to every home. Founded by Alexander Valtingojer, Michael Kowatschew, and Valentin Perkonigg, Heizma merges startup spirit with a real-world problem. Our team unites technology with operations - building one of the cleanest and most data-driven energy companies in Europe. We believe the energy transition isn’t just a vision - it’s a process problem. And we’re solving it. 📍 Headquarters: Austria ⚡ Products: Heat Pumps · PV & Battery · AC · Energy Management 📈 Scale: >1.500 installations/year · 3 regional hubs · 75+ experts 🌍 Mission: Make clean energy the smartest & cheapest option

Sequoia helps daring founders build legendary companies from idea to IPO and beyond. We aim to be the first true believers in tomorrow’s most valuable and enduring businesses. We partner with a few outliers each year and go all-in, providing them with the hands-on help required at every stage of the company building journey. Our expertise comes from 50 years of working with legendary founders like Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Jan Koum, Adi Tatarko, Brian Chesky, Jensen Huang, Anne Wojcicki, Eric Yuan, Patrick Collison, Julia Hartz, and Sebastian Siemiatkowski. In aggregate, Sequoia-backed companies account for more than 25% of NASDAQs total value. Since our inception, the vast majority of the money we invest has been on behalf of nonprofits and schools like the Ford Foundation, Mayo Clinic and MIT, which means most of the returns we generate benefit these great causes.

Morgen Ventures invests in exceptional founders building products for a better tomorrow. Morgen Ventures is the private investment vehicle of Alexander Valtingojer and Michael Kowatschew.

Forming Impact is a member’s community of successful entrepreneurs, investors, creatives, business leaders and executives bringing together knowledge, capital and ideas for sustained positive impact. Hosting annual events online and across the globe with the network, including Sir Richard Branson on Necker Island; the community convenes to navigate the challenges and opportunities arising in the business and investment world. Forming Impact focuses on multi-stakeholder solutions to advance sustainable impact and partners with the Global Partnerships Forum and fully supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Established in 2014, the organisation set out to engage changemakers globally. Today, Forming Impact creates solutions that have sustainability, innovation, and profits-with-purpose as their core DNA.