Sucking up CO2Funneling cash into carbon removal.
Big Picture
Carbon removal has a chicken and egg problem. Demand for CO2 removal from corporate and government customers is accelerating, yet prices are high and purchases still require complex RFPs or brokers to navigate an opaque market. Meanwhile, removal technologies are proliferating but bringing supply to market requires capital to start and scale. The market needs new financial tools to bring clarity.
How it Works
Pledge is building a marketplace for carbon removal. Their first product is an API for transport and logistics companies that automatically offsets last-mile emissions with a basket of verified offsets and CO2 removal. These transactions can be bundled across several suppliers, helping to smooth out supply and provide greater liquidity of offsets. The result is greater transparency and predictability for all.
Unfair Advantage
The founders of Pledge are bringing the product and data insights honed building some of Europe’s top financial technology startups to carbon markets. Their first product makes buying and selling carbon removal as simple as an API. As the number of buyers on the platform grows and demand becomes more predictable, they can grow demand and lower the cost of capital for carbon removal.
10
Gigatons per year
estimated carbon removal needed by 2050 for 2ºC
DAVID de PICCIOTTO CEO & CO-FOUNDER
David previously led growth equity investments at private equity firm Partners Group and is a scout for Sequoia Capital. Prior to that, he led expansion at UK fintech company Revolut.
ANDRÉ MOHAMED CPO & CO-FOUNDER
André was previously Head of Wealth and Trading at Revolut. He has 20 years of experience working in fintech startups, scale-ups, SMEs, and tier 1 investment banks.
Banking sucks, so we made it great. Now let’s fix carbon.
Medium
Pledge raises $4.5M Seed round to build a carbon measurement and removal API
TechCrunch