Mick Liubinskas - Bio

Super Short Bio

Mick Liubinskas focuses on climate technology and A.I. as an advisor, investor and industry leader. He runs Climate Salad with over 700 climate tech companies. He played key roles at the founding of Pollenizer, Startmate and muru-D.

Short Bio

Mick Liubinskas is a pioneering climate tech advisor, investor, and ecosystem builder with a deep focus on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can accelerate and scale climate solutions. As the co-founder of Climate Salad, Australia's largest climate tech community with over 700 companies, he is instrumental in fostering ventures that use deep tech, including AI, for everything from grid optimisation to carbon-aware computing. A seasoned startup founder (Pollenizer, muru-D) and investor, Mick is dedicated to ensuring Australia plays an outsized role in solving the climate crisis, championing the next wave of technology that will build a sustainable future.

Long Bio

Climate Tech Leader & AI Advocate

Mick Liubinskas is a leading climate tech advisor, investor, and industry builder who helps founders tackle the world's biggest challenge. He has a keen focus on the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence and its interaction with climate technology to create scalable, world-changing solutions. 🤖

As the Co-Founder of Climate Salad, Mick has cultivated a vibrant ecosystem of over 700 climate tech companies and 10,000 supporters. He actively nurtures and connects companies that are on the front lines of innovation, many of which leverage AI and machine learning for breakthroughs in precision agriculture, energy efficiency, advanced materials discovery, and climate risk modelling.

Mick’s work extends to providing the entire industry with critical insights. The annual Australian Climate Tech Industry Report and the Australian Climate Tech Insights (ACTI) data platform, developed under his leadership, are essential resources for global investors. These tools leverage data and analytics—the foundational elements of AI—to spotlight Australia's highest-potential companies and guide strategic investment.

A Career Built on Innovation

Mick's journey began with programming a Commodore 64 at age 8 and has spanned the entire startup lifecycle. He co-founded influential incubators and accelerators like Pollenizer, Startmate, and muru-D (Telstra's accelerator), collectively investing in and building over 400 companies. His pivot to climate action in 2017 was a deliberate move to apply his two decades of tech experience to a mission-critical purpose, working with leading institutions like UC Berkeley, Stanford, and BCG Digital Ventures before launching Climate Salad.

A passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Mick also authored a novel, She’s Building A Robot, to inspire teenage girls to pursue careers in STEM, robotics, and AI. When he's not helping build the future, he loves being a dad, surfing, playing football, and cooking. 🏄‍♂️

Full Bio

Mick Liubinskas: Climate Tech Investor & Ecosystem Architect

Mick Liubinskas is a climate tech advisor, investor, and industry leader dedicated to accelerating solutions to the climate crisis. He is a passionate advocate for and expert on the intersection of climate technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), believing that AI is a critical enabler for scaling impact—from optimising energy grids and industrial processes to revolutionising climate modelling and materials science.

Building Australia's Climate Tech Ecosystem

In 2021, Mick co-founded Climate Salad with his wife Karen, driven by the vision for Australia to play an outsized role in global climate solutions. Now Australia’s largest climate tech community, Climate Salad supports over 700 companies, 125 investors, and 10,000 supporters. A significant portion of this community consists of deep tech ventures using AI and machine learning as core components of their technology. Through global trade missions and growth programs, Climate Salad has helped over 100 Australian companies expand internationally.

To further boost the industry, Mick spearheaded the creation of the annual Australian Climate Tech Industry Report and the Australian Climate Tech Insights (ACTI) data platform. ACTI is a vital tool used by global investors to track, analyse, and engage with Australia's most promising climate tech companies, providing the data-driven intelligence necessary to make informed decisions in a rapidly evolving, tech-forward sector.

A Foundation in Technology and Startups

Mick's expertise is built on an 18-year career as a four-time technology startup co-founder. His journey started with programming at age 8, leading to roles running global marketing for Kazaa, co-founding influential accelerators, and living in the tech hub of San Francisco for three years.

While in San Francisco, Mick decided to dedicate his career to climate action, working with cleantech companies at UC Berkeley, Stanford, Singularity University, and Y-Combinator. He returned to Australia in 2019 to work with BCG Digital Ventures on corporate climate and impact businesses before co-founding Climate Salad and undertaking a Masters of Sustainable Development at Macquarie University.

Notable Contributions & Advocacy

• Pollenizer (Co-founder): Started 25 companies.
• Startmate (Co-founding investor & mentor): Invested in over 200 companies.
• muru-D (Co-founder): Telstra’s accelerator, which invested in 200 businesses across Australia and Southeast Asia.
• Spreets (Advisor & investor): Sold to Yahoo for ~$40m in 13 months.
• She’s Building A Robot (Author): A novel and interview series written to inspire teenage girls to pursue careers in STEM, technology, and robotics.
• Startup Focus (Co-author): A workbook on entrepreneurial discipline that has sold over 5,000 copies.

Known as "Mr. Focus," Mick is respected for his drive and methodology in fast testing and avoiding entrepreneurial distractions. He is also a proud dad who loves surfing, football, and cooking.

Climate Tech Projects for Mick

• Climate Salad — community, tools and stories from climate tech companies
• Climate Tech Industry Report - 2022 - the first ever in-depth analysis of the Australian and New Zealand climate tech industry.
• Climate Landscape Report — global data, taxonomy and top 1,000 climate tech companies

Climate Tech Investments

• ‍Cecil Earth — unlocking the carbon value of millions of hectares of nature‍
• Kapture - Carbon Capture and Use technology
• Rainstick - higher yield agriculture through use of indigenous practices
• Conry Tech - new technology for more energy efficient air conditioning
• Sicona Batteries - new battery chemistry and technology
• Sundrive - highly efficient photovoltaics
• MGA Thermal - thermal energy storage in low emissions, multi use energy bricks
• EnergyLab — climate and clean technology-focused accelerator‍
• Startmate — technology accelerator with a big climate tech focus
• Via Angelist syndicates - Terra.do, Phoenix Hydrogen, Akua, Spira, Elio, Tynt, Alga Biosciences

Surname Pronunciation‍

Liubinskas = La-bin-skus

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