# The Illusion of Crowds: In conversation with S2G

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/energycents-231593/the-illusion-of-crowds-in-conversation-with-s2g
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/energycents-231593/the-illusion-of-crowds-in-conversation-with-s2g.md
Podcast: [EnergyCents](https://stenobird.com/podcast/energycents-231593)
Published: 2026-08-27T14:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://3671a946-93e7-4b5e-9970-a632dbe13461.libsyn.com/the-illusion-of-crowds-in-coversation-with-s2g
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/3671a946-93e7-4b5e-9970-a632dbe13461/EnergyCents_S2G.mp3?dest-id=4056072
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/energycents-231593/episodes/the-illusion-of-crowds-in-conversation-with-s2g
Duration seconds: 2131

## Resource

What happens when plenty of capital enters the energy transition, but not enough of it reaches the companies best positioned to scale? In this episode of EnergyCents, Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys speak with Francis O'Sullivan, Managing Director of Energy Investment at S2G, about "The Illusion of Crowds," a paper that challenges the idea that more investors automatically create a smarter, more effective market. They discuss how capital has become highly concentrated, why this matters for the "missing middle" — companies beyond venture stage but not yet ready for traditional infrastructure finance — and what LPs and GPs can do to better support practical, scalable energy innovation. Find out more about the paper and S2G here: https://www.s2ginvestments.com/insights/report-illusion-of-crowds Learn more about S&P Global Energy here: Learn more about S&P Global Energy coverage at: https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en

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## Transcript

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