🌳 Issue #55: AI-powered biodiversity data, carbon reduction employee benefits, forest mapping and restoration
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ClimateRaise showcases early-stage climate startups led by all women and non-binary founders, and connects them with investors and climate ecosystem partners through warm introductions.
how it works:
🔎 We find vetted, actively raising women-led climate startups.
📝 Our biweekly newsletter then highlights a diverse selection of those startups.
🔗 We introduce investors, ecosystem partners and fellow founders to the featured founders.
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Featured companies
*Featured companies are actively raising.
NatureBound
#️⃣ biodiversity, AI
NatureBound is on a mission to help farmers leverage biodiversity data. Their observability platform integrates agricultural and biodiversity data from an open ecosystem of scalable monitoring providers with the latest remote sensing and AI technology. Their ML models optimize yield, use of agrochemical inputs and biodiversity uplift, enabling a swifter, more profitable transition to sustainable agriculture.
NatureBound has recently completed the Carbon13 venture builder and has been selected to participate in the Geovation accelerator. They are about to start work on a pilot with Tesco and a major dairy supplier.
Co-Founder & CEO: Marianna Herold
Co-Founder & CTO: Gidi Meir Morris
HQ: London, UK
Current funding stage: Pre-seed
Scope Zero
#️⃣ employee benefit, carbon footprint
Scope Zero has created a new green employee benefit called the Carbon Savings Account™ (CSA). Similar to a health savings account (HSA), employees and employers both contribute to the CSA. Instead of using the funds for eligible healthcare expenses, employees use the funds for eligible home technology and transportation upgrades that reduce their utility bills and fuel expenses, and therefore their carbon footprint.
They launched their Carbon Savings Account™ (CSA) with their first Fortune 100 last month, and hit their max enrollment after just 2 weeks. Already close to 20% of enrollees have made significant home efficiency upgrades with their CSA. They’re supported by key investors like Collaborative Fund and Triple Impact Capital, and have secured non-dilutive grants from Stanford University and Caltech’s Rocket Fund.
Co-Founder & CEO: Lizzy Kolar
Co-Founder & COO: Kaitlin Highstreet
HQ: San Francisco, CA
Current funding stage: Pre-seed
Vibrant Planet
#️⃣ trees, restoration, ecosystem resilience
Vibrant Planet brings together AI-powered prioritization and decision support, monitoring, and reporting to keep Earth’s critical ecosystems intact. Their adaptive planning platform accelerates forest restoration planning, informs budget prioritization, and improves cross-jurisdictional planning and reporting processes tied to desired outcomes.
Over the past year, Vibrant Planet has been mapping every dominant tree in California, in 3D, by pulling in publicly available Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) data, National Aerial Imagery Program (NAIP) images and satellite data to run through their algorithms and machine learning models to rapidly map current forest structure and condition – a crucial input for scaling up and standardizing planning and monitoring efforts. Last year, they announced a $17M seed round with participation from Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Cisco, Valia Ventures, and Earthshot Ventures to expand their forest treatment platform to restore forest resilience across the Western U.S., Europe, and other at-risk forests worldwide.
Co-Founder & CEO: Allison Wolff
HQ: Incline Village, NV
Current funding stage: Series A
ICYMI - They are still raising
Sustainable proteins startup, Jellatech, led by Stephanie Michelsen
Olive waste to biochar solution, Amata Green, led by Sandi Martín
Request an introduction to the companies by filling this form.
Resources for founders
📅 ClimateRaise Events
Pitch Feedback for Founders - get feedback on your pitch and fundraising strategy with Zoe Perret, Principal at Initialized Capital. Zoe invests in seed-stage climate companies and leads the follow-on fundraising efforts for Initialized’s portfolio companies. She has deep experience in fundraising, complex operations, growth and strategic planning – previously at BlackRock and in the non-profit space. She is excited to work with ClimateRaise founders in support of their fundraising efforts and pitch practice.
If you are exploring an upcoming raise and would like to set up a time with Zoe to get feedback on your pitch and fundraising strategy - please fill in this quick form. Spots are limited, and we will be in touch if we’re able to pencil you in.
🫶 Networks
The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator is now actively recruiting for two programs. Since founding, 375 LACI startups have raised a billion dollars in funding and created over 2,600 jobs. LACI is committed to creating a cleantech community that uplifts women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented founders and strongly encourages applications from startups who share our mission to build an inclusive, green economy in Southern California. Incubation is a two-year cleantech program to drive impact, market & investment readiness, and pilots. Applications due June 23, 2023. Cleantech companies are invited to apply here.
Applications are open for #GoBuild2023, a #GreentownGo startup-corporate partnerships accelerator from Greentown Labs and Saint Gobain focused on solutions for circularity and sustainability in the built environment! Applications due August 1, 2023. Apply here.
📚 What we’re reading this week
“A California bill could reveal corporate America’s climate secrets” in Grist.
Thanks!
~Marcella and the ClimateRaise Team
ClimateRaise resources
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📚 Read our past issues.
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