ImpactAlpha, May 25 – Carbon + crypto is a hot combination. Look at the boldface names behind Flowcarbon, a startup that tokenizes certified carbon credits, mostly from nature-based project developers: WeWork chief Adam Neumann and his wife Rebekah are cofounders.
The New York-based startup raised a $70 million Series A funding round for its blockchain platform and cryptocurrency that aims to make it easier for offset buyers to acquire certified credits and for developers of carbon-offset projects to sell credits. Andreessen Horowitz led a clutch of big-name venture investors that put up $32 million. General Catalyst, Samsung Next and Invesco also participated.
The remaining funds were raised through a token sale.
Carbon credits are in demand from corporations with net-zero goals, but the voluntary market is fragmented and inefficient. CEO Dana Gibber told ImpactAlpha that Flowcarbon’s blockchain will “facilitate a liquid, transparent, accessible market for carbon credits.”
Buyers can hold onto Flowcarbon’s coins, called “Goddess Nature Tokens,” or redeem or retire them for offsets. The GNTs can also be sold or used for borrowing and lending.
“We’re continually looking for ways to get upfront capital into the hands of project developers,” Gibber said. “Blockchain is merely the tool that we’re using to solve the challenges of the existing carbon market.”
Flowcarbon is launching on Celo, the blockchain protocol developer that launched the Alliance for Prosperity to drive responsible and inclusive crypto applications. Celo Foundation is purchasing $10 million of the coins to offset its own emissions.
Carbon accounting
Separately, Nomura invested $6 million in Allinfra for its “asset tokenization platform” for financing climate infrastructure. Perennial secured $18 million from Bloomberg, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Temasek and SineWave Ventures to measure, verify and report soil carbon capture. And software startup Singularity Energy raised $4.5 million to account for carbon emissions of electricity grids.
