Andes, the climate tech startup utilizing beneficial microorganisms for combating climate change, has today declared an additional $15M raise for its Series A, bringing it up to a total of $30M. This brings funding from investors like Voyager VC, Yamaha Motor Ventures, Leaps by Bayer, Cavallo Ventures, KdT Ventures, Venturance, Germin8 and Accelr8 up to the amount of $38 million. The new capital will give Andes a chance to make its carbon removal credits available to organizations large and small alike; furthermore this will provide them with the opportunity to expand their collaborations with farmers while they continue advancing their cutting-edge microbial species technology.
Andes is an innovative climate tech startup addressing the planet's greatest challenge by drawing on millions of acres of existing farmland to eradicate greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Their microbial organisms catch carbon dioxide and transform it into minerals, which reside in the earth for thousands of years, furnishing a secure, sustainable and extensive carbon reduction solution. To date, Andes has managed to remove more than 50,000 tonnes of CO2 from the air. Furthermore, these advantageous microbes that grow along with plant roots have multiple valuable benefits for both plants and soil like enhancing water diffusion, aeration and access to nutrients in the soil thus creating stronger harvests and improved soils.
Companies race to offset greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming to 1.5° Celsius, which will lead to rapid growth in the carbon dioxide removal market. In order to limit global warming to 1.5° Celsius, the National Academy of Sciences estimates that 10 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide removal are needed annually, which highlights the urgency of Andes' scalable carbon dioxide removal solutions.
Without substantial carbon sequestration, catastrophic climate disasters will endanger humans and the environment. Gonzalo Fuenzalida, CEO and co-founder of Andes, proudly remarked that their firm is transforming the carbon dioxide removal industry by providing organizations with scalable and lasting solutions at an economical cost. This financing round is yet another momentous development in the accelerated growth of the company.
In 2022, Andes partnered with farmers throughout the Midwest, deploying their technology across 25,000 acres. With this program, plants benefit from naturally occurring microorganisms provided by the company without impacting existing practices. Plus, by enrolling in the Carbon Removal Program, farmers are able to expand their net income operations up to 25%. There has been notable growth regarding interest from farmers for Andes’ services; experts anticipate this figure will only continue to increase as more farmers use their land for carbon capture.
Additionally, Andes was selected as one of 15 startups to take part in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Accelerator 3.0 program, which fosters innovation among mature startups developing breakthrough technologies to combat climate change.