Counteract
Counteract is a London-based venture capital firm (founded 2021) that invests pre-seed and seed capital exclusively in early-stage carbon dioxide removal startups globally, operating its debut fund Counteract One to catalyse 5 gigatonnes of CO2e removal by 2050.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Counteract does
Counteract Partners Limited is a London-headquartered venture capital firm founded in 2021 that invests exclusively in early-stage carbon dioxide removal (CDR) companies. The firm operates its debut fund, Counteract One, with the stated objective of catalysing 5 gigatonnes of CO2e removal by 2050 through pre-seed and seed investments. Counteract sources deals bilaterally on a global basis, deploying typical first tickets of $250k to $1m across all six CDR pathways — direct air capture, mineral carbonation, biomass, soil, ocean, and forests — and has assembled a portfolio of more than twenty companies including Norma (DAC), Alithic and Cella (mineralisation), Vesta and Aquatic Labs (ocean), Seqana and Agricarbon (soil MRV), InterEarth (biomass), and Chloris Geospatial (forest measurement).
The firm's product surface is the Counteract One fund vehicle itself; it does not sell software, licences, or services externally, and instead earns revenue through fund management fees on committed capital plus a variable carried interest (16%–24% range, with a 20% central case) tied to CO2e-removal outcomes. Distribution is direct, via founder relationships, content marketing (Perspectives blog, LinkedIn, ecosystem events), and co-investment with specialist European partners such as Pymwymic, High-Tech Gründerfonds, and Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank. The team of eight is structured across investment (partners and an investment manager), operations/legal (a chartered-accountant fund operations manager and a general counsel with 25 years of PE/VC experience) and research (a research manager with a plant-science background), and the firm is FCA-regulated as an Appointed Representative of Suntera Advisers (UK) Limited (FRN 986220).
Commercially, Counteract is a specialist general partner in an institutional wrapper: its customers are the limited partners committing capital to the fund, while portfolio companies are investees rather than revenue customers. The investment thesis is differentiated by singular focus on durable CDR rather than broader decarbonisation or avoidance credits, by global pathway coverage, and by an incentive structure that explicitly aligns carried interest with gigatonne-scale removal rather than purely financial IRR.
Counteract firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Counteract
- Legal name
- Counteract Partners Limited
- Website
- https://counteract.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Counteract is a London-based venture capital firm (founded 2021) that invests pre-seed and seed capital exclusively in early-stage carbon dioxide removal startups globally, operating its debut fund Counteract One to catalyse 5 gigatonnes of CO2e removal by 2050.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Counteract industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital / Climate Finance
- akta.pro primary industry
- Captive CVC Fund (Dedicated corporate fund structure) (FSANAHAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Corporate Deep Tech / R&D Commercialization CVC (FSANAHAL)
Keywords
Where Counteract is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Counteract business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Fund Management — Management Fees: Counteract earns management fees from the Counteract One fund as a registered VC firm (FRN 986220), an Appointed Representative of Suntera Advisers (UK) Limited.
- Carried Interest: GP carried interest varies between 16% and 24% of the fund's returns, with a central case of 20% for achieving the target of catalyzing 5 gigatons of CO2e removal by 2050. Performance is assessed against the fund's primary CO2e removal objective.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Counteract product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Counteract is a London-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage (pre-seed and seed) carbon dioxide removal (CDR) companies across all CDR pathways — Direct Air Capture, Minerals, Soil, Biomass, Forests, and Water. Through its debut fund Counteract One, the firm writes first tickets of $250k–$1m and targets catalysing 5 gigatons of CO2e removal by 2050. Revenue is generated via fund management fees and GP carried interest of 16–24%.
Product overview
Counteract is a venture capital firm that backs early-stage founders fostering innovation in carbon removal. Their investment approach deploys across six carbon removal pathways: Water (ocean-based CDR), Forests, Soil, Biomass, Direct Air Capture (DAC), and Minerals. Counteract One is their first fund, targeting pre-seed and seed investments to catalyze 5Gt of CO2e removal by 2050. The portfolio comprises 25+ companies spanning multiple CDR approaches including: DAC technologies (Norma, Fugu, Phlair, Parallel Carbon, RepAir); mineral carbonation (CREW Carbon, Alithic, Magrathea, Cquestr8, Vateris, Cella, CarbonRun, Atlas Materials); soil-based solutions (Seqana, BX, Agricarbon); biomass solutions (Carbon Cell, ecoLocked, InterEarth, Mote); ocean monitoring and coastal solutions (Aquatic Labs, Vesta); and forest measurement (Chloris Geospatial).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Counteract One: The first fund operated by Counteract, aiming to catalyze 5Gt of CO2e removal by 2050 through pre-seed and seed stage investments in carbon removal solutions.
Products and services
- Counteract One
Quantifiable outcome
- Catalyze 5 Gt CO2e removal by 2050 through Counteract One fund investments
Companies that use Counteract
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Counteract technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Counteract partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Counteract competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lowercarbon Capital: A venture capital firm founded by Chris Sacca that invests across climate and specifically backs carbon removal startups (including several CDR companies overlapping with Counteract's portfolio). Both funds target early-stage founders commercialising carbon removal technologies.
- Carbon Equity: Amsterdam-based climate tech venture capital platform offering both fund-of-funds and direct investment vehicles. Targets climate solutions including carbon removal, mirroring Counteract's thematic early-stage climate mandate.
- Pale Blue Dot: European climate tech venture fund backing pre-seed and seed founders addressing the climate crisis, including carbon removal. Highly comparable stage, geography and thematic focus to Counteract.
- Climate Capital: Climate biotech venture firm investing in nature-based and engineered carbon removal solutions at early stage. Direct mandate overlap with Counteract, particularly on biochar, soil and bio-based CDR.
Broad incumbents
- Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Bill Gates-backed climate venture fund with $2B+ AUM investing across decarbonisation and CDR. Far larger and broader in mandate than Counteract but competes directly for early-stage CDR deals and follow-on capital.
- Energy Impact Partners: Large global VC platform investing across the energy transition with utility and corporate LPs. While broader than pure CDR, it competes for early-stage climate deals and has a dedicated decarbonisation investment thesis.
- Prelude Ventures: Long-standing San Francisco-based cleantech venture firm investing in early-stage companies decarbonising industry. Overlapping mandate on hard-tech climate including CDR-adjacent technologies.
- Amazon Climate Pledge Fund: Corporate venture fund from Amazon backing climate and CDR companies as part of the Climate Pledge. CVC with substantially deeper capital than Counteract, competing in CDR deal flow.
- Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund: Microsoft's $1B climate venture fund investing in CDR and climate solutions. Corporate-backed CVC competing for the same early-stage CDR founders, with capacity to deploy far larger checks.
Emerging players
- 2150: European venture fund investing in urban and climate technologies including carbon-negative materials and construction-adjacent CDR. Competes with Counteract for portfolio companies like Carbon Cell and ecoLocked.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Counteract social profiles
Digital presenceCounteract financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Counteract leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Counteract funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Counteract M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments35 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Counteract
What does Counteract do?
Counteract is a London-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage (pre-seed and seed) carbon dioxide removal (CDR) companies across all CDR pathways — Direct Air Capture, Minerals, Soil, Biomass, Forests, and Water. Through its debut fund Counteract One, the firm writes first tickets of $250k–$1m and targets catalysing 5 gigatons of CO2e removal by 2050. Revenue is generated via fund management fees and GP carried interest of 16–24%.
Is Counteract a public or private company?
Counteract is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Counteract founded?
Counteract was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Counteract based?
Counteract is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Counteract make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Fund Management — Management Fees are the primary driver. The others are carried Interest.
Who are Counteract's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lowercarbon Capital, Carbon Equity, Pale Blue Dot and Climate Capital. Broad incumbents are Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Prelude Ventures, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund and Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund. 2150 is listed as an emerging player.
Does Counteract have an API?
No public API is recorded for Counteract.
What industry is Counteract in?
Counteract's product category is Venture Capital / Climate Finance. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAHAB, Captive CVC Fund (Dedicated corporate fund structure), with a secondary code of FSANAHAL, Corporate Deep Tech / R&D Commercialization CVC.