New York

ROB Day wants to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in clean technology on behalf of a wealthy family without relying on Silicon Valley.

That's why his firm co-founded Cleantech Syndicate in 2010, a network of like-minded family offices, to find deals and share ideas. It's expanded to a dozen families who've invested about US$1.2 billion. That's not enough for Mr Day and the syndicate, who want to spend an additional US$1.4 billion in the next five years on alternative energy.