Sphere
Sphere (Our Sphere, Inc.) is a Delaware public benefit corporation that offers the Sphere 500 Climate Fund, a mutual fund excluding fossil-fuel and other screened companies for US 401(k) and individual investors, distributed through major retirement platforms and paired with the AtmoSphere climate-impact analytics suite.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersWalnut, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Sphere does
Sphere (legal entity Our Sphere, Inc.) is a Delaware-registered public benefit corporation founded in 2021 by Alex Wright-Gladstein that builds climate-aligned investment products for US retirement savers. Its flagship offering is the Sphere 500 Climate Fund (SPFFX), an actively governed mutual fund that tracks the proprietary Sphere 500 Fossil-Free Index (SPFFXI) — the top 500 US equities by market capitalization, minus 52 fossil-fuel companies and 41 additional names excluded on deforestation, tobacco, firearms, and private-prison grounds under criteria supplied by the non-profit As You Sow and administered by index provider BITA GmbH. SPFFX is structured as a mutual fund (not an ETF) specifically to be eligible on 401(k) and 403(b) plan menus, and is distributed through 401(k) recordkeepers and brokerage platforms including Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, ADP, Empower, TIAA, and Ascensus, with an institutional brokerage share class (SPFEX) added on Fidelity and Schwab in November 2025. The company also operates AtmoSphere, a Form 5500-based analytics suite that quantifies 401(k) fossil-fuel exposure at the company and participant level, with a free starter tier and an enterprise tier for sustainability teams, and launched the AtmoSphere Portal client interface in February 2026. Sphere earns revenue through fund expense ratios — a net 0.07% on the 401(k) share class (with a 0.95% gross expense subsidized to remain price-competitive against incumbent climate funds) and 0.30% on SPFEX — and pairs the financial products with a community-led movement that supplies employee advocacy tools so workers can request SPFFX be added to their employer retirement lineups. The company is led by Founder/CEO Alex Wright-Gladstein (formerly of Ayar Labs and MIT), with a C-suite including CPO Jason Britton (ex-Bank of America sustainable investing), CCO Doug Burnett, and Chief of Staff Jolie Chan, and an advisory board featuring behavioral economist Shlomo Benartzi, Climate Finance Fund lead Marilyn Waite, and Pale Blue Dot GP Heidi Lindvall; approximately $3.26 million in disclosed funding has been raised, led by Pale Blue Dot in a September 2021 seed round.
Sphere firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sphere
- Legal name
- Our Sphere, Inc.
- Website
- https://oursphere.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Sphere (Our Sphere, Inc.) is a Delaware public benefit corporation that offers the Sphere 500 Climate Fund, a mutual fund excluding fossil-fuel and other screened companies for US 401(k) and individual investors, distributed through major retirement platforms and paired with the AtmoSphere climate-impact analytics suite.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sphere industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sustainable Investment Management
- NAICS
- Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- ESG/SRI & Climate ETFs (FSAAAFAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Renewable Energy & Energy Transition Funds (FSANAJAB)
Keywords
Where Sphere is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Walnut
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sphere business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Investment Management Fees: Sphere earns revenue through expense ratios charged on the funds under management. The SPFFX share class for 401(k) plans charges a net expense ratio of 0.07%, while the SPFEX share class for brokerage platforms charges 0.30%. The gross expense ratio is 0.95%, with the difference subsidized to keep costs competitive.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | SPFFX for 401(k) Plans |
| Subscription | Annual | SPFEX for Brokerage Platforms |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Sphere product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sphere offers the Sphere 500 Climate Fund (SPFFX), a mutual fund that tracks a proprietary fossil-free index of the top 500 US companies by market capitalization, excluding fossil fuel producers and companies in deforestation, tobacco, firearms, and private prisons. The fund is designed specifically for 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plans and is complemented by the AtmoSphere platform, which tracks the climate impact of retirement plans using public Form 5500 data. Sphere also operates a shareholder voting program for climate action and provides direct IRA and brokerage access to individual investors.
Product overview
Sphere is a mission-driven financial services company offering a unified climate-friendly investment platform built around the Sphere 500 Climate Fund (SPFFX) — a mutual fund designed specifically for 401(k) and 403(b) plans that excludes fossil fuel companies. The core product is complemented by AtmoSphere, a climate impact tracking suite that includes a free tool for analyzing retirement plan emissions, AtmoSphere Starter for individual company insights, and AtmoSphere Enterprise for calculating portfolio-level emissions. A client portal (AtmoSphere Portal) launched in February 2026 provides consolidated financial and climate performance views. The fund is available across major brokerage and retirement platforms including Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, ADP, Empower, and TIAA.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Sphere 500 Fossil-Free Index: The climate-friendly index that tracks the top 500 US companies minus fossil fuel companies. Serves as the benchmark for the SPFFX fund.
- Sphere 500 Climate Fund (SPFFX)
- SPFEX
- AtmoSphere
Products and services
- Sphere 500 Climate Fund (SPFFX) Mutual fund that tracks the Sphere 500 Fossil-Free Index, excluding fossil fuel companies and other excluded industries (deforestation, tobacco, firearms, private prisons). Designed specifically for 401(k) and 403(b) plans with a 0.07% net expense ratio. Available on major retirement platforms including Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, ADP, Empower, TIAA, and Ascensus.
- SPFEX (Brokerage Share Class) Institutional share class version of the Sphere 500 Climate Fund, available on Fidelity and Schwab brokerage platforms for direct investor purchase with a 0.30% expense ratio.
- AtmoSphere Climate impact tracking tool that shows the climate impact of any retirement plan in America using publicly available Form 5500 data. Includes AtmoSphere Starter for individual insights and AtmoSphere Enterprise for calculating 401(k) emissions in context of total emissions.
- AtmoSphere Portal Online client portal launched in February 2026 providing a clearer view of both financial performance and climate impact of investments for Sphere clients.
- AtmoSphere App Application that shows the climate impact of any retirement plan in America using publicly available data on 401(k)s and 403(b)s.
Companies that use Sphere
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Sphere technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Sphere partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Reflection Asset Management (RAM)coreSEC-registered investment advisory firm that partnered with Sphere to launch the Sphere 500 Climate Fund (SPFFX). Jason Britton, CEO of RAM, brought sustainable investing experience from Bank of America.
- As You SowcoreIndependent non-profit organization that provides the exclusion criteria for the Sphere 500 index, defining which companies are fossil fuel companies or involved in deforestation, firearms, private prisons, or tobacco. Also provides the As You Vote service for shareholder voting.
- BITA GmbHcoreIndex administrator that constructs and maintains the Sphere 500 Fossil-Free Index according to As You Sow's exclusion criteria.
- U.S. BankcoreServes as the custodian for the Sphere 500 Climate Fund assets.
- Ultimus Fund DistributorscoreFINRA member broker-dealer that distributes the Sphere 500 Climate Fund to investors.
- VanguardcoreMajor brokerage and 401(k) platform where SPFFX is available for investors.
- FidelitycoreMajor brokerage and 401(k) platform where SPFFX is available. SPFEX is also available on Fidelity's brokerage platform.
- SchwabcoreMajor brokerage and 401(k) platform where SPFFX is available. SPFEX is also available on Schwab's brokerage platform.
- AscensuscoreRetirement plan platform serving 12 million people where SPFFX is available.
- ADPcorePayroll and HR platform with retirement plan services where SPFFX is available.
- EmpowercoreRetirement plan platform where SPFFX is available.
- TIAAcoreFinancial services company focusing on retirement solutions for academic and research employees where SPFFX is available.
- Buena (Agency)minorAward-winning creative agency led by Doug Burnett (Sphere's Chief Creative Officer) that handles marketing and movement building for the company.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sphere competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Calvert Research and Management: Calvert is one of the largest US managers of fossil-fuel-free and ESG-screened mutual funds, including 401(k)-eligible share classes. It is the most direct competitor to Sphere's ex-fossil-fuel index strategy and shares the mission-driven, values-aligned positioning.
- Green Century Funds: Green Century offers fossil-free equity and balanced mutual funds available on select retirement platforms, and was an early entrant in ex-fossil-fuel 401(k) offerings. It competes head-to-head with SPFFX for ESG-driven retirement plan lineups.
- Trillium Asset Management: Trillium is a long-standing fossil-fuel-free and ESG equity manager serving institutional and wealth management clients. It is directly comparable in investment philosophy and in offering strategies that screen out fossil fuels and other excluded industries.
- Impax Asset Management: Impax is a global asset manager specializing in sustainable and thematic equity strategies, with several fossil-fuel-screened products available on US retirement platforms. It is a direct competitor for institutional and retirement plan mandates focused on climate-aligned equity.
- Boston Common Asset Management: Boston Common is a fossil-fuel-free, ESG-focused equity manager serving institutional, foundation, and endowment clients. It shares Sphere's exclusion criteria and shareholder-engagement approach, and competes in the same institutional and retirement channels.
Emerging players
- Aspiration: Aspiration offers fossil-fuel-free banking, credit cards, and a 'Spend & Save' climate-aligned investment product to retail and small business customers. It overlaps with Sphere's mission of removing fossil fuels from personal finance, though it is consumer-first rather than 401(k)-focused.
- Ethic: Ethic is a technology-driven ESG and impact wealth management platform serving advisors and institutional clients with personalized, values-aligned portfolios. It is comparable to Sphere in mission (climate-aligned investing) but targets the high-net-worth and advisor channel rather than 401(k)s.
- Newday Impact: Newday Impact builds fossil-free and impact-aligned investment portfolios and thematic funds (clean energy, oceans, racial equity). Like Sphere, it is a mission-driven firm, but it focuses more on direct thematic exposure versus broad-market exclusion.
Broad incumbents
- BlackRock (iShares ESG funds): BlackRock offers a broad suite of ESG-screened ETFs and index funds (including ex-fossil-fuel variants) and is the dominant US asset manager. It represents the incumbent threat: a proprietary, lower-cost climate-screened product from BlackRock could displace Sphere on retirement platforms.
- Vanguard (ESG / ex-fossil-fuel funds): Vanguard distributes SPFFX but also offers its own ESG and ex-fossil-fuel-screened funds. As both partner and potential competitor, Vanguard could promote its own product and risk crowding Sphere out of the very menu it currently sits on.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sphere social profiles
Digital presenceSphere financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sphere leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Sphere funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sphere M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sphere
What does Sphere do?
Sphere offers the Sphere 500 Climate Fund (SPFFX), a mutual fund that tracks a proprietary fossil-free index of the top 500 US companies by market capitalization, excluding fossil fuel producers and companies in deforestation, tobacco, firearms, and private prisons. The fund is designed specifically for 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plans and is complemented by the AtmoSphere platform, which tracks the climate impact of retirement plans using public Form 5500 data. Sphere also operates a shareholder voting program for climate action and provides direct IRA and brokerage access to individual investors.
Is Sphere a public or private company?
Sphere is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Sphere founded?
Sphere was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Sphere based?
Sphere is headquartered in Walnut, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sphere make money?
One revenue line is on record: investment Management Fees.
Who are Sphere's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Calvert Research and Management, Green Century Funds, Trillium Asset Management, Impax Asset Management and Boston Common Asset Management. Emerging players are Aspiration, Ethic and Newday Impact. Broad incumbents are BlackRock (iShares ESG funds) and Vanguard (ESG / ex-fossil-fuel funds).
Does Sphere have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sphere.
What industry is Sphere in?
Sphere's product category is Sustainable Investment Management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAAAFAJ, ESG/SRI & Climate ETFs, with a secondary code of FSANAJAB, Renewable Energy & Energy Transition Funds. Its NAICS code is 525 and its SIC code is 6282.