In a big win for climate tech in India, Alt Carbon, a deep-tech science and data company, has raised USD 12 million (~INR 103 crore) in seed funding to build the next gen of carbon removal infrastructure in the Global South. The round was led by Lachy Groom, investor and co-founder of Physical Intelligence, with ACT Capital Foundation, Shastra VC and a bunch of angels.
Founded in 2023 by brothers Shrey and Sparsh Agarwal, Alt Carbon is pioneering a new approach to Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) through a technique called Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW). This involves applying basalt rock dust — a mining byproduct — to agricultural fields where it enhances soil health and accelerates the natural carbon cycle, turning farmland into long term carbon sinks.
The USD 12 million is the largest seed round ever raised by a climate tech company in India, a sign of strong investor conviction in ERW and Alt Carbon’s potential to make India and the Global South a climate innovation hub.
Science Meets Agrarian Revival
Alt Carbon’s approach is based on rigorous scientific R&D and field level partnerships with farmers and local communities. Their proprietary models developed in just 18 months in a lab, which are designed to optimise the chemical reaction where CO₂ dissolved in rainwater reacts with finely crushed basalt to form stable bicarbonates. These bicarbonates are then transported to oceans via rivers where they get sequestered for millennia as calcium carbonate.
“Our obsession with scientific depth has led us to build one of the most advanced labs for carbon removal science in South Asia,” said Shrey Agarwal, co-founder and CEO. “This round gives us the firepower to engineer climate infrastructure, collect precision data and deploy machine learning models that supercharge our operations.”
At the heart of Alt Carbon’s mission is The Darjeeling Revival Project (DRP), a flagship initiative that combines climate action with ecological and cultural restoration. By targeting degraded soils in Darjeeling’s famous tea growing region, the project aims to restore biodiversity, enhance local livelihoods and preserve India’s most iconic agricultural export — all while removing CO₂ at scale.
Means of Global Partnerships
“We’ve made big strides in global climate diplomacy. In the last few months, Alt Carbon signed two big deals with Japanese companies, proving ERW is a credible carbon removal solution. A framework agreement with Mitsubishi Corporation will accelerate ERW deployment in Asia and an offtake agreement with MOL Group (a major shipping company) bought 10,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits. This is the world’s first direct CDR offtake deal for ERW by a shipping company and the first climate partnership between Japan and India”.
“These partnerships validate both our science and our scale,” said Sparsh Agarwal, co-founder and president of Alt Carbon. “We are building more than a company — we are laying the scientific and operational foundation for a carbon negative future rooted in the Global South.”
India’s climate finance gap is estimated to be over USD 1 trillion by 2030. Globally, scientists say we need to remove 10 billion tonnes of CO₂ by 2050 to meet net-zero goals. Alt Carbon aims to remove 5 million metric tons of CO₂ by 2030, focusing on South Asia’s vast underutilized farmlands.
“Extraordinary crises require extraordinary ambition,” said Shrey Agarwal. “We believe revivals — of ecosystems, communities and climate — require big bets. That’s the journey we’re on.”
Leaders and Backers
We’re growing with strategic hires across science, brand and operations:
- Yashovardhan Bhagat, co-founder of ed-tech platform Seekho, joins as Chief Operating Officer.
- Adithya Venkatesan, former brand head at Gojek and Meesho, will lead Alt Carbon’s Climate Studio.
- Dr. Sourav Ganguly, Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science, will head the science and modeling team.
Along with Lachy Groom and ACT, angel investors include Jason Zhao (PIP Labs), Awais Ahmed (Pixxel), Amarendra Singh (DeHaat), and public figures like comedian Tanmay Bhat and actor Nakuul Mehta.
Backing from Global Climate Leaders
Alt Carbon is the first India headquartered company to be selected by Frontier, a USD 1 billion Advance Market Commitment backed by Stripe, Alphabet, Meta, Shopify and McKinsey to scale permanent carbon removal. The company also has the first ERW offtake globally from the NextGen buyer coalition led by South Pole and Mitsubishi.
About Alt Carbon
Alt Carbon is a Bangalore and San Francisco based deeptech startup that’s turning South Asia into a frontier for carbon removal. We work at the intersection of science, agriculture and community to create climate infrastructure that removes CO₂, revives degraded land and builds resilient economies.
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