Lithos Carbon
Lithos Carbon is a U.S. agricultural carbon removal company that applies crushed volcanic basalt to farmland via enhanced rock weathering, selling Puro.earth-certified permanent carbon removal credits to enterprise buyers while delivering free soil amendments to a network of 80+ partner farmers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Lithos Carbon does
Lithos Carbon is a U.S.-based agricultural carbon removal company, founded in 2022 and headquartered in Charlotte, NC, that applies crushed volcanic basalt rock dust to farmland through Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW). When basalt reacts with rainwater, atmospheric CO2 is converted into dissolved bicarbonate and transported via rivers to the ocean, where it is sequestered as calcium carbonate for thousands of years. The company operates a single integrated product, branded Lithos Basalt, combining proprietary machine learning–driven application optimization, a farm-to-ocean carbon modeling pipeline backed by Yale University and Georgia Tech research, and full-service logistics that cover feedstock delivery, soil sampling, and field application at no cost to qualifying farmers. Farmers receive soil pH regulation (eliminating limestone costs), nutrient supplementation, and reported crop yield gains of 12%+ in row crops.
Lithos generates revenue exclusively through the sale of verified carbon removal credits to enterprise and consortium buyers, with pricing negotiated via multi-year offtake agreements rather than published list pricing. The primary revenue anchor is a $57.1 million agreement with Frontier buyers (Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, JPMorgan, H&M Group) covering 154,240 tons of CO2 removal from 2024 to 2028 — the world's largest ERW purchase at the time — with additional offtake volume from Microsoft (as one of 21 contracted CDR partners) and a 3,000-ton purchase arranged by Carbonx Climate. Credits are certified under the Puro.earth Puro Standard for engineered carbon removal, providing third-party registry validation.
The go-to-market model is enterprise field sales with a direct-to-farmer acquisition layer: farmers apply through a dedicated portal, Lithos manages soil analysis, basalt sourcing and spreading, and multi-year monitoring. Marketing combines earned media (Fast Company, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, NPR, WSJ), a Substack content channel, organic social, and seasonal winter grower events in target regions. The team is built around co-founder scientific credibility (Yale and Georgia Tech professors in CDR protocol leadership), AgTech operational hires (former Pattern Ag, EarthOptics, Eion Carbon, Bloomfield Robotics executives), and enterprise software engineering capacity, supported by venture capital from Union Square Ventures, Greylock, and Bain Capital Ventures.
Lithos Carbon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lithos Carbon
- Legal name
- Lithos Carbon Inc.
- Website
- https://lithoscarbon.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Lithos Carbon is a U.S. agricultural carbon removal company that applies crushed volcanic basalt to farmland via enhanced rock weathering, selling Puro.earth-certified permanent carbon removal credits to enterprise buyers while delivering free soil amendments to a network of 80+ partner farmers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lithos Carbon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Carbon Removal Services
- NAICS
- Coal Mining (21211)
- SIC
- Mining & Quarrying Of Nonmetallic Minerals (No Fuels) (1400)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Enhanced Weathering & Mineralization Projects (Ex-situ/In-situ) (EUABABAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Carbon Removal Project Development, Financing & Offtake (Developers, Aggregators, Buyers Clubs) (EUABAFAL), Enhanced Weathering (Rock Milling, Distribution & Field Ops) (EUABAFAE), Ocean-Based Carbon Removal (Alkalinity Enhancement, Seaweed, Ocean Biomass Sinking) (EUABAFAF)
Keywords
Where Lithos Carbon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lithos Carbon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Carbon Removal Credits Sales: Lithos generates revenue by selling verified carbon dioxide removal credits to corporate buyers. They deliver permanent carbon removal through enhanced rock weathering, with credits certified by Puro.earth. The company has secured major offtake agreements including a $57.1 million contract with Frontier to remove 154,240 tons of CO2 between 2024-2028.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Free basalt application for qualifying farms |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels8 records
Lithos Carbon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lithos Carbon applies crushed volcanic basalt rock dust to U.S. agricultural fields through Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW), where silicate minerals react with rainwater to convert atmospheric CO2 into dissolved bicarbonate that is transported via rivers to the ocean and permanently sequestered as calcium carbonate minerals. The service — including basalt feedstock delivery, soil sampling, and field application — is provided at no cost to participating row crop, pasture, and hay farmers, while Lithos monetizes the resulting verified, registry-certified carbon removal credits through multi-year offtake agreements with enterprise buyers such as Microsoft and the Frontier consortium.
Product overview
Lithos Carbon offers a single unified product—their enhanced rock weathering carbon removal service—centered on applying crushed basalt rock dust to agricultural farmland. The core offering, Lithos Basalt, serves as both a soil amendment (replacing traditional liming products) and a carbon capture mechanism. The service includes proprietary ML-optimized application planning, full-service delivery coordination, and farm-to-ocean carbon tracking. Farmers receive free basalt application and earn passive revenue from carbon removal credits while benefiting from improved soil health and increased crop yields.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Enhanced Rock Weathering Carbon Removal Service (Lithos Basalt) End-to-end enhanced rock weathering carbon removal service in which Lithos applies crushed volcanic basalt rock dust to U.S. agricultural fields, delivering essential plant nutrients (iron, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium), regulating soil pH as a liming alternative, and permanently sequestering atmospheric CO2 as dissolved bicarbonate transported via rivers to the ocean. The service includes proprietary ML-optimized application planning, full-service delivery coordination, multi-year soil sampling and monitoring, and farm-to-ocean carbon tracking. The service is provided at no cost to qualifying row crop, pasture, and hay farmers; Lithos monetizes the resulting verified, registry-certified carbon removal credits through multi-year offtake agreements with enterprise buyers (Microsoft, Frontier consortium members). Approximately 3 tons of basalt captures up to 1 ton of CO2, with row crop yield increases of 12%+ reported.
Quantifiable outcome
- 3 tons of basalt application captures up to 1 ton of CO2
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Lithos Carbon
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Lithos Carbon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature4 records
Lithos Carbon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Puro.earthcoreSelected Puro.earth, the world's leading carbon crediting platform for engineered carbon removal, to certify Lithos' carbon removal credits under the globally recognized Puro Standard for engineered CDR.
- Carbonx ClimatecoreCarbonx Climate, a carbon credits procurement and management partner, arranged a 3,000 ton carbon removal purchase from Lithos on behalf of their partners to help achieve net zero goals.
- Yale UniversitycoreCo-founder Dr. Noah Planavsky is a professor at Yale. The company's modeling pipeline is backed by long-term research conducted at Yale University, providing scientific rigor to their carbon measurement approach.
- Georgia Institute of TechnologycoreCo-founder Dr. Chris Reinhard is a professor at Georgia Tech. Research collaboration with Georgia Tech supports Lithos' farm-to-ocean carbon modeling pipeline and measurement methodology.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Lithos Carbon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Eion Carbon: Direct competitor in enhanced rock weathering for agricultural carbon removal. Eion applies crushed olivine to farmland using proprietary measurement protocols and is the most head-to-head ERW peer to Lithos. Lithos's own Head of Research Partnerships was previously Eion's Co-Founder and CSO.
- 280 Earth: Enhanced rock weathering startup extracting CO2 by spreading basalt on agricultural land. Operates a commercial DAC-adjacent ERW program with similar farmer-partnership GTM and corporate CDR credit sales.
- Undo: UK-based enhanced rock weathering company that spreads crushed basalt rock on farmland to permanently remove atmospheric CO2. Operates a similar farmer-partnership model and sells verified CDR credits to corporate buyers.
Emerging players
- Terradot: Emerging enhanced rock weathering startup focused on tropical agriculture and smallholder farmer partnerships, with significant backing from climate-tech investors. Targets similar CDR buyer pool with a differentiated geographic and smallholder farmer model.
- Vesta (formerly NCX): Nature-based carbon removal platform that partners with landowners (including agricultural producers) to generate verified carbon credits. While not exclusively ERW, it competes for the same corporate CDR buyer dollars and farmer relationships in the agricultural setting.
Others
- Pattern Ag: AgTech company providing soil analytics and predictive intelligence to row-crop farmers. Lithos's COO Rob Hranac was previously CEO of Pattern Ag, and the companies serve overlapping farmer customers, though Pattern focuses on agronomic analytics rather than carbon removal.
- EarthOptics: Soil sensing and measurement company that maps soil carbon, moisture, and compaction for agricultural and carbon market use cases. Lithos's VP of Finance Katie Hsia was previously EarthOptics's CFO, and EarthOptics is an enabling soil-data provider adjacent to Lithos's measurement needs.
Broad incumbents
- Heirloom Carbon: Direct air capture company using limestone-based DAC technology to permanently remove CO2. Operates in the same corporate CDR buyer market (Frontier offtakes, Microsoft supplier) as Lithos, but with a different removal pathway and significantly larger capital base.
- CarbonCure Technologies: Established carbon removal company that mineralizes CO2 into concrete, with a more mature commercial footprint and large concrete-industry channel. Competes with Lithos for the same corporate CDR procurement budgets but in a different industrial pathway.
- Indigo Ag: Large AgTech incumbent operating a major agricultural carbon credit program (Indigo Carbon) that pays farmers for regenerative practices. Competes with Lithos for both farmer mindshare and corporate carbon credit procurement in the agricultural CDR market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Lithos Carbon social profiles
Digital presenceLithos Carbon compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Lithos Carbon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lithos Carbon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Lithos Carbon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lithos Carbon 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 Lithos Carbon
What does Lithos Carbon do?
Lithos Carbon applies crushed volcanic basalt rock dust to U.S. agricultural fields through Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW), where silicate minerals react with rainwater to convert atmospheric CO2 into dissolved bicarbonate that is transported via rivers to the ocean and permanently sequestered as calcium carbonate minerals. The service — including basalt feedstock delivery, soil sampling, and field application — is provided at no cost to participating row crop, pasture, and hay farmers, while Lithos monetizes the resulting verified, registry-certified carbon removal credits through multi-year offtake agreements with enterprise buyers such as Microsoft and the Frontier consortium.
Is Lithos Carbon a public or private company?
Lithos Carbon is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Lithos Carbon founded?
Lithos Carbon was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Lithos Carbon based?
Lithos Carbon is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Lithos Carbon make money?
One revenue line is on record: carbon Removal Credits Sales.
Who are Lithos Carbon's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Eion Carbon, 280 Earth and Undo. Emerging players are Terradot and Vesta (formerly NCX). Others are Pattern Ag and EarthOptics. Broad incumbents are Heirloom Carbon, CarbonCure Technologies and Indigo Ag.
Does Lithos Carbon have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lithos Carbon.
What industry is Lithos Carbon in?
Lithos Carbon's product category is Carbon Removal Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUABABAK, Enhanced Weathering & Mineralization Projects (Ex-situ/In-situ), with a secondary code of EUABAFAL, Carbon Removal Project Development, Financing & Offtake (Developers, Aggregators, Buyers Clubs). Its NAICS code is 21211 and its SIC code is 1400.