The environmentally conscious startup Supercritical has recently raised $13 million in a Series A funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. This marks a significant milestone for the company, and by extension, for the broader technology sector that is striving to achieve net-zero emissions. Other contributors to the round included RTP Global, Greencode Ventures, and MMC Ventures, among others.
When Supercritical launched in August 2021, it exposed the hard-hitting truth that the carbon footprint of the technology sector was significantly larger than that of the entire aviation industry. This revelation underscored the urgency for tech firms to reduce their carbon emissions, a problem that Supercritical is specifically designed to solve.
At its core, Supercritical serves as a marketplace for advanced carbon removal technologies. The company’s strategy is similar to that of Tesla, which initially targeted a niche market with its electric sports car before expanding its offering to include more mainstream models. Supercritical, in a similar vein, provides companies with access to innovative carbon removal solutions, helping catalyze their growth and increase their potential for large-scale implementation.
Using Supercritical’s platform, companies can buy “fully-vetted and qualified” carbon removal credits, meeting the industry standard of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The recent funding will allow Supercritical to extend its services to a larger range of tech companies.
Supercritical’s CEO, Michelle You, shared the company’s vision: “Every company in the world will have to get to net zero emissions if we’re going to stay below 1.5C of warming. There is no way of getting to net zero without buying permanent carbon removal to net out the remaining emissions.” This ethos has already garnered attention and support from companies such as Tide, XTX Markets, Veriff, Multiverse, and IMC.
Also Read: Steering the Climate Debate: How India Is Shaping Its Environmental Future
The need for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is paramount and recognized globally. Traditional carbon offsets have been widely criticized as ineffective, and in some cases, fraudulent. CDR offsets, however, contribute to net-zero goals by actively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Despite the necessity of CDR, its capacity is currently lagging. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that only around 600,000 tonnes of CDR were purchased in 2022, a mere fraction of the 10 gigatonnes required annually by 2050. Supercritical is determined to address this shortfall by focusing on “high-quality, vetted, durable CDR projects,” such as biochar, direct air capture, and enhanced weathering, among others.
In May, Supercritical inked a long-term agreement with Carbo Culture, a company that transforms carbon-containing biomass into biochar at a commercial scale. Such strategic alliances contribute to the company’s mission of sequestering CO2 in innovative ways.
In the increasingly important domain of carbon removal, the launch and subsequent funding of Supercritical offer a beacon of hope for tech companies and other industries aiming for net-zero emissions. Backed by prominent venture partners and angel investors, the startup is shaping a future where businesses can thrive while also ensuring the health of our planet.
The content of this article is sourced from TechCrunch.
