Alt Carbon raises $12M in seed round led by Lachy Groom to accelerate CO2 removal

Alt Carbon will use the investment to accelerate carbon dioxide removal in the Global South, expand earth sciences R&D, advance hardware innovations, and scale up operations for durable climate action in India.

May 22, 2025 - 12:10

Alt Carbon raises $12M in seed round led by Lachy Groom to accelerate CO2 removal

Alt Carbon, a deeptech science and data startup, has raised $12 million in a seed round led by Lachy Groom, with participation from existing investors.

The startup will use the investment to accelerate carbon dioxide removal in the Global South, expand earth sciences R&D, advance hardware innovations, and scale up operations for durable climate action in India.

“Alt Carbon is tackling a once-in-a-generation challenge. The personal journey of the founders, their technical approach, and ambitious vision will help us remove CO2 from the atmosphere at gigaton scale—all while adapting agricultural land for climate impact," said Lachy Groom, Investor and Co-founder of Physical Intelligence.

In just 18 months, the team has built a world-class lab, created proprietary models, and laid the foundation for a new class of carbon removal and agricultural infrastructure,” he added.

Lachy Groom has invested in over 200 companies including Anduril, OpenAI, Ramp, Notion, Figma, and Zepto.

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Alt Carbon uses Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW)—a process that spreads waste basalt rock dust on farmland, where it reacts with rainwater to capture CO2 and convert it into stable bicarbonates stored in soil and oceans for millennia. The basalt also enriches soil and boosts crop yields.

Darjeeling Revival Project, its flagship initiative, blends large-scale carbon removal with restoring degraded soils, reviving tea-based livelihoods, and preserving the region’s ecology. It’s a bold, community-led model for climate action that links science with sustainability.

“Enhanced Rock Weathering is one of the most promising, permanent carbon removal pathways we have, and yet it’s vastly underbuilt. What sets us apart is our obsession with scientific depth: we’re building advanced labs and engineering the scientific backbone of a new era of climate action grounded in the Global South.,” added Alt Carbon Co-founder and CEO Shrey Agarwal.

Edited by Kanishk Singh