Sylvera Raises $32M in Series A Round to Become Source of Truth in Carbon Markets

LONDON, Jan. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Today, carbon offset ratings provider, Sylvera, announced it has raised $32.6M in Series A funding to accelerate its mission to become a source of truth for carbon markets. The round is co-led by Index Ventures - which also led the Seed round - and New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, LocalGlobe and angel investors. This brings Sylvera's total funding to $39.5 million since being founded in 2020.

The demand for carbon credits is growing exponentially and is expected to be worth $100 billion by 2030. While companies are working to reduce carbon emissions as fast as they can, today full decarbonization is technically impossible in most industries. As such, many companies rely on carbon credits to offset emissions that they are unable to eliminate in the short to medium term. The carbon credit market, however, has been rife with controversy, and many people do not trust the accuracy of the claims surrounding carbon offset projects. Sylvera has set out to solve this problem.

Sylvera provides a critical missing link: independent, in-depth and up-to-date assessments of carbon projects. Sylvera's team of experts leverages proprietary data and machine learning technology to produce the most comprehensive and accessible insights and market intelligence on carbon projects, which are delivered through an online platform. Sylvera is also partnering with leading researchers at UCLA, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, and University College London to expand its proprietary methods for evaluating carbon performance.

Dr. Allister Furey, co-founder and CEO of Sylvera said, "The market is one of the world's most powerful tools against climate change. But we need reliable data to determine the quality of carbon offsets, in order to incentivize people to invest in the projects that are actually doing good - and to reward the project developers doing good work.That's why we're building the most accurate ratings for the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM). We'll use the funding to expand our coverage so that, with our ratings, corporate sustainability leaders, carbon traders, and policymakers will have clarity, confidence and choice when evaluating and investing in carbon projects. This is how you move billions of dollars into carbon abatement, sequestration and removal."

Unlike recent market entrants in the carbon offset marketplace, Sylvera does not sell carbon offsets. This ensures that Sylvera's ratings are free from conflicts of interest that have hindered the development of the market to date. Sylvera's ratings are available to its customers through a web application and via API.

Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas, partner at Index Ventures and Sylvera board member said, "We won't stand a chance of reducing the world's carbon emissions without a well-functioning carbon offset market. Billions are spent on carbon offsets every year, yet there is a lack of transparency and accountability and, therefore, a lack of trust. Trust is absolutely essential to reach the scale required to address the climate emergency. As an independent data provider, Sylvera has seen exponential growth in demand from some of the world's largest companies, governments, and other entities. It highlights how critical their work is, and we're excited to expand our partnership with Sylvera."

"We've seen incredible growth in the carbon offset market, but until recently, it's been difficult for the companies that buy these offsets to measure their impact," said Deven Parekh, Managing Director at Insight Partners. "Sylvera's advanced technology allows corporations to monitor the performance of nature-based offsets in real time. Sylvera has quickly become a leader in the industry with a growing list of Fortune 500 clients. We're excited to partner with Sylvera as they continue to scale up."

"We believe transparency builds trust and leadership. As we work to a net zero future for aviation, it's important that we have access to the best data available to ensure we're making an impact," explained Stephanie Zhu, Delta Air Lines General Manager of Sustainability and one of Sylvera's customers.

For more information about Sylvera, visit the company's website.  

About Sylvera
Sylvera's mission is to be a source of truth for carbon markets by 2024. We help corporate sustainability leaders, carbon traders and policymakers confidently evaluate and invest in the best carbon credits by providing comprehensive and accessible insights on carbon projects. We partner with leading researchers at UCLA, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, and University College London. We are backed by renowned investors like Index Ventures, Insight Partners, LocalGlobe and Salesforce Ventures.

About Delta Air Lines
Delta committed to being the first carbon-neutral airline globally, starting March 2020. It has a longstanding commitment to sustainable air travel and through its inaugural ESG report highlights its intention to be a catalyst for global change and its role in growing empathy, respect and care for the planet and the people within it. Delta was the No. 1 airline named among America's Most Sustainable Companies by Barron's in 2020. It was the only U.S. airline included in the 2021 S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook. It has received the Vision for America Award by Keep America Beautiful and Captain Planet Foundation's Superhero Corporate Award. For more information, visit Delta.com/sustainability.

About Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a venture firm investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs from seed to IPO. We partner with founders with bold dreams that challenge the status quo to build enduring companies. With offices in San Francisco & London, Index backs entrepreneurs all over the world. Generational Index-backed companies include Adyen, Datadog, Discord, Figma, Revolut and Roblox.

About Insight Partners
Insight Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight Partners has invested in more than 400 companies worldwide and has raised through a series of funds more than $30 billion in capital commitments. Insight's mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on software expertise to foster long-term success. Across its people and its portfolio, Insight encourages a culture around a belief that ScaleUp companies and growth create opportunity for all. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners.

About LocalGlobe
LocalGlobe is a UK-based venture capital firm that focuses on seed investments. Seeding ambitious UK founders since 1999 including TransferWise, Zoopla, Improbable, Citymapper, Algolia and Robinhood.

About Salesforce Ventures
Salesforce is the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing companies closer to their customers in the digital age. Salesforce Ventures, the global investment arm of Salesforce, invests in the next generation of enterprise technology that extends the power of the Salesforce Platform. Salesforce Ventures is building the world's largest ecosystem of enterprise cloud companies and extending that technology to customers. Portfolio companies receive funding, strategic advisory, and operating support, and can easily join Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce Ventures has invested in more than 400 companies, including DocuSign, GoCardless, Guild Education, nCino, Twilio, Zoom, and others across 22 countries since 2009. For more information, please visit www.salesforce.com/ventures.

SOURCE Sylvera