FinTech News
Climate Metrics FinTech Watershed Announces $100 Million Round
A climate-focused FinTech has just closed the latest “megaround.”
About the round:
Watershed has announced a $100 million round that values the company at $1.8 billion. The Series C was led by Greenoak while Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil, Emerson Collective, Galvanize Climate Solutions, and Neo also participated. To date, the company has now raised a total of $239 million in funding including a Series B in 2022. With the injection of funds, Watershed says it plans to redouble its investment in the European market and continue to power its climate programs.
About Watershed:
Described as an enterprise sustainability platform, Watershed offers tools to help businesses calculate and track their climate impact. It also enables them to find ways to lower their emissions. Currently, the platform partners with the likes of General Mills, Spotify, Paramount, Airbnb and many others. What’s more, the company notes that four of the top six U.S. banks as well six of the top 10 private equity firms are also among their clients.
According to Watershed, at the time of their Series B in 2022, their customers managed an estimated 20 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions. Today, that number has increased to 479 million tonnes. Thus, by helping their partners reduce those emissions, the company hopes to make a global difference.
What they’re saying:
Speaking to what Watershed does, co-founder Taylor Francis stated, “Corporate climate action is accelerating. Companies of all sizes and sectors are making sustainability a board-level priority, and we are supporting them as they work to measure, report, and reduce their emissions.” Francis added, “This new investment will bolster our mission to accelerate the climate economy.”
As for why Greenoaks decided to invest in Watershed, the firm’s managing partner Neil Mehta said, “Carbon measurement and climate disclosures are shifting quickly from optional to mandatory. We believe Watershed has emerged as the clear market leader, with a sophisticated data engine that is already best-in-class and gets even better with scale. That is why they have become the first choice for the world’s largest and most complex enterprises, who trust Watershed to measure rigorously, report accurately, and act decisively.”
My thoughts:
Although Watershed is considered a FinTech, it’s certainly found a unique space in the sector. In contrast to climate-friendly neobanks and other consumer-facing solutions, Watershed has clearly found success working directly with major brands. Obviously, their impressive investment also shows that’s an attractive proposal. Luckily, in this case, good news for Watershed likely means good news for all of us as the company continues to try to reduce emissions and help save our environment.