ClimateTech Firm Climes Raises $1.2 Mn Seed Capital From Sequoia, Others

ClimateTech company Climes announced its first funding of $1.2 million in a round that saw participation from Sequoia Capital India, Kalaari Capital, Nithin Kamath (Zerodha, Rainmatter) and Avaana Capital.

Other participants included Satyen Kothari (Cube Wealth) and Anshuman Bapna (Terra.do) from Stanford Angels, Keshav Reddy (Reddy Futures), and climate-tech founders Arjun Gupta (Smart Joules) & Akshay Singhal (Log9 Materials) among others.

The company intends to use the capital on two fronts. One, deploy more integrations with brands in fashion, food, travel, beauty & personal care, and enable a pathway for brands to become climate leaders within their categories. And two, expand the tech-stack to swiftly onboard high-quality climate solutions within India, as well as to measure and report impact transparently.

Founded by Anirudh Gupta (ex-Airbus) and Siddhanth Jayaram (ex-Kalaari Capital), Climes aims to reverse the effects of climate change by letting individuals take “climate action in a single click”. The climate startup's technology allows consumer-facing brands to turn climate-positive in a matter of hours. The tech-stack integrates seamlessly with the checkout pages of everyday consumer brands.

Co-founders Gupta and Jayaram said, “With this capital raise, Climes is i) building the necessary digital infrastructure to enable a big chunk of this money to flow transparently and ii) designing the right incentives for all market players to benefit. The delta of each rupee/dollar/euro that flows through Climes will have an outsized multiplier impact on global carbon mitigation.”

At a macro level, Climes’ engine permits a transparent flow of finance from where it is to where it needs to go. At a micro-level, it acts as the gateway for individuals and brands to take their first climate action steps.

Some of the brands associated with Climes include TEDx, MakeMyTrip, Wedding Brigade and Zingbus. There are at least a dozen more in the pipeline.

Vani Kola, Managing Director, Kalaari Capital said “The rising awareness of the need for carbon neutral lifestyle and climate costs require urgent new solutions. Entrepreneurs offering solutions with climate-sensitiveness can create key differentiating propositions. Sid and Ani have lofty goals to bring climate awareness and action. Climes’ solution makes it possible for brands to embark on that transition by allowing customers to carbon-neutralise every transaction”

Adding to this, Nithin Kamath, Founder & CEO, Zerodha & Rainmatter said “The ideal solution towards climate change problems is to reduce consumption which may not be possible at all times. Making people aware of their carbon footprint and then making it available to offset maybe a good mid-way path. We are excited to be a part of their journey and learn ourselves along the way.”

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