Climate tech
Q1 202425.01.2024

Biodiversity & Conservation

Picture of Éanna Kelly

Éanna Kelly

at Sifted

By UN estimates, around 1m species are currently threatened with extinction, as biodiversity suffers a steep decline due to pollution, overfishing, deforestation and climate change. This dire situation directly impacts global GDP, with over half of the world’s economic output dependent on nature.

As pressure grows for companies to disclose biodiversity risk and take actions to mitigate such losses, investors are starting to get interested in protecting the 8.7m different forms of life in the world. A spate of biodiversity-focused funds have sprung up in Europe over the past two years to unearth market-driven ideas to protect wildlife, including Katapult Ocean (€50m), Indico Capital Partners (€50m), Ocean 14 Capital (€200m) and Greensphere (£150m).

In 2022, startups working to improve planetary health in Europe secured $265m from investors; funding was relatively flat in 2023, reaching $261m. To help understand how early the market is, there have been just two $40m+ rounds in Europe (for London’s Slyvera and Denmark’s Agreena) in the last decade, according to Dealroom data. Just nine out of 99 biodiversity deals in the past two years got to Series B and beyond.

There’s a dearth of late-stage deals and the availability of reliable biodiversity data is limited for now. But a growing policy push from the EU and the UN, and the appearance of new funds, should spur the market in the coming years.

20 most promising early-stage startups

  • Pivotal logo

    Sifted score

    7.72
    -

    Pivotal

    Custom software development for businesses.

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2021

    • HQ

      Cambridge, United Kingdom

    • Latest round

      Seed
      €5.4m / Apr 2023

    • Total funding

      €6.2m

    View company profile
  • OroraTech logo

    Sifted score

    7.68
    -

    OroraTech

    Real-time wildfire prediction using satellites.

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2018

    • HQ

      Munich, Germany

    • Latest round

      Series A
      €15m / Nov 2022

    • Total funding

      €21.0m

    View company profile
  • MORFO logo

    Sifted score

    7.4
    -

    MORFO

    Reforestation and restoration using drones.

    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2021

    • HQ

      Paris, France

    • Latest round

      Seed
      €3.6m / Dec 2022

    • Total funding

      €3.6m

    View company profile
  • goodcarbon logo

    Sifted score

    7.35
    -

    goodcarbon

    Investing in nature-based climate solutions.

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2021

    • HQ

      Berlin, Germany

    • Latest round

      Seed
      €5.5m / Jan 2021

    • Total funding

      €6.5m

    View company profile
  • Ecosystem Restoration Standard logo

    Sifted score

    6.55
    -

    Ecosystem Restoration Standard

    Ecosystem restoration for climate and biodiversity.

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2020

    • HQ

      Paris, France

    • Latest round

      Seed
      €5m / Mar 2023

    • Total funding

      €7.5m

    View company profile

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