Climate X, a UK-headquartered climate risk intelligence company, has raised $18 million in a Series A funding round to accelerate its global expansion and support leading financial organizations in pricing the impact of climate change on physical asset portfolios. The funding round was led by GV (Google Ventures), with participation from Pale blue dot, CommerzVentures, A/O, Blue Wire Capital, PT1, Unconventional Ventures, and Western Technology Investment (WTI).
Company Overview
Climate X offers a proprietary data analytics platform that provides financial insights into the impact of climate risks on physical asset valuations. This includes assets such as residential and commercial properties, as well as infrastructure like roads, railways, and power systems. Their platform is trusted by leading financial institutions and asset managers, including Legal & General, CBRE, Virgin Money, and Federated Hermes, enabling them to make smarter investment and portfolio management decisions in light of increasing regulations on climate risk exposure.
Founders and Vision
Climate X was co-founded by CEO Lukky Ahmed and COO Kamil Kluza, who together bring over 30 years of corporate risk management experience. Lukky Ahmed has previously led stress testing and risk transformation programs for organizations like HSBC Bank and Lloyds Banking Group. Kamil Kluza has extensive experience in risk modeling for organizations such as Barclays, MUFG, and Accenture, and played a role in designing the first tranche of coco bonds. The founders recognized a critical need for more defensible and scalable climate risk modeling in financial services, leading to the creation of Climate X.
Use of Funds
The $18 million raised will be used to expand Climate X’s technology and market reach. The company’s goal is to provide more comprehensive and accurate climate risk data and analytics to its clients, thereby helping them to better assess the impact of physical climate risks on asset valuations and business operations.
CEO’s Statement
Lukky Ahmed commented: “In just over one year since going to market, Climate X has become one of the world’s fastest-growing providers of physical climate risk data and analytics, driving value for global financial services clients with over $6.5 trillion in combined AUM. Assessing the impact of physical climate risk on asset valuations and business operations is now a necessity, not a nice-to-have.”
Future Prospects
With the backing of prominent investors and a rapidly growing client base, Climate X is poised to significantly impact the financial services industry by providing essential tools for managing climate risk. The company’s continued innovation and expansion will likely play a crucial role in helping financial organizations navigate the complexities of climate change and its effects on asset valuations.
Climate X’s successful funding round underscores the increasing importance of climate risk analytics in the financial sector, highlighting the necessity for advanced tools and insights to manage the challenges posed by climate change effectively.
