CNaught, a platform making carbon credits more secure and scalable, announced $4.5 million in seed funding led by Bow Capital, with participation from FJ Labs, Silence VC, Karman Ventures, and Marketplace Capital.
What the funding will be used for: The funding will drive growth and provide greater integrity in the voluntary carbon market, equipping businesses with limited sustainability resources with the strategies and tools utilized by the most sophisticated buyers of carbon credits. This funding also advances CNaught’s goal to give businesses the confidence to reduce their carbon footprint and meet their sustainability goals.
Plus, CNaught launched its CNaught Guarantee, a first-of-its-kind backstop that builds upon CNaught’s due diligence process to programmatically reduce risk for every buyer of carbon credits through the CNaught platform.
What CNaught does: CNaught’s approach to portfolio design and project due diligence delivers credits that optimize impact while minimizing risk. If credits purchased through CNaught are canceled by their registry or suspended for more than a year within three years of purchase, then Cnaught will replace all affected credits with a portfolio of high-integrity credits at no additional cost subject to the program’s terms and conditions. This protection also addresses the long-tail risk that often holds buyers back. CNaught is the only carbon credit provider to offer such comprehensive protection.
Customers also benefit from portfolio diversification, rigorous due diligence, indepent verification, ongoing monitoring, and end-to-end automation.
Differentiation from the competition: CNaught has differentiated itself by applying the latest in technology and science to simplify the use of quality carbon credits for busy customers. Utilizing the recommendations of the World Economic Forum and the Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting, CNaught has integrated the latest innovations in remote sensing, AI, and third-party ratings to implement a transparent science-backed strategy that delivers on the needs of its customers.
Customers: CNaught’s approach has gained significant traction with forward-thinking companies across sectors. CNaught counts Palantir Technologies, Asana, Harvard Business School, Kickstarter, and Populous among its customers. And since launching its product in 2023, the company has helped these organizations use tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon credits to deliver on sustainability goals.
KEY QUOTES:
“CNaught is making it easier for businesses to take real, credible climate action. What impressed us was their ability to simplify a complex space and build trust with companies that want to do the right thing. We’re proud to support a team that’s helping busy buyers drive measurable impact.”
Rafi Syed, General Partner at Bow Capital
“Businesses want to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon credits are a critical tool for reaching their goals. By providing a guaranteed portfolio of high-quality credits, delivered through an easy-to-use experience, we create a pathway for meaningful climate action at scale.”
Mark Chen, CEO and Co-founder of CNaught
“Our commitment to sustainability is core to who we are — how we design and endeavor to create climate-positive venues and experiences. Carbon credits are an important component of our global business’ objective to get our operations closer to carbon neutrality, despite the market being complicated and difficult to navigate. CNaught’s diligence, transparency, and approach made it easy for us to purchase high-integrity carbon credits and be confident that we are genuinely contributing to climate action.”
Mohit Mehta, Principal, Global Head of Sustainability at Populous
“We’re endlessly inspired to evolve, to be better to each other and the planet. CNaught has made the entire process so easy and provided a lot of security with their project due diligence. We’ve been able to offset our operational footprint while focusing on our core business, knowing our climate investments are protected.”
Ruby Shrestha, Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Seattle Chocolate Company
