Quadrature Climate Foundation

What Quadrature Climate Foundation does

Quadrature Climate Foundation (QCF) is an independent charitable foundation registered in England and Wales (charity number 1187301, company limited by guarantee, number 12194319), headquartered at 10 Queen Street Place, London. Founded in 2019 by Greg Skinner and Suneil Setiya, the founders of the Quadrature Capital quant hedge fund, QCF operates as a grantmaking and impact-investing vehicle funded by the Quadrature Capital group, with a wholly owned subsidiary (QCF Services Limited) ringfencing certain operational services. The foundation's core product is philanthropic capital deployed through three channels: invitation-only grantmaking, impact-first investments, and field engagement. Partners are not solicited through open applications; instead they are identified via QCF's sustained networks with practitioners, community leaders, researchers, movements, and peer funders.

QCF's mandate has evolved from a single-issue climate focus to an integrated 2025 framework addressing three interconnected challenges: human security, poverty and inequality, and climate risk, with priority geographies in the UK and Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa plus selected global coalitions. The current portfolio includes methane reduction (Global Methane Hub, Green Africa Youth Organization), clean energy access (KawiSafi Ventures), sustainable cooling (Clean Cooling Collaborative), urban climate resilience (C40, Climate Resilience for All), industrial transition (Global Industry Hub, JUST Stories), and AI-for-climate open datasets (Climate Change AI Innovation Grants, co-funded with Google DeepMind). A ~40-person London team, led by CEO Jess Ayers, is staffed with senior hires from CIFF, Carbon Trust, Systemiq, ClientEarth, Omidyar Network, Chatham House, and BCG, indicating an organisational buildout that combines grantmaking with an emerging impact-investing capability.

The business model is structurally a single-funder philanthropic operation: Quadrature Capital provides the capital base, and QCF distributes it via grants and impact-first investments rather than selling products or services. There is no pricing model, no revenue from customers in the commercial sense, and no product roadmap in the conventional technology sense. The foundation's only disclosed use of technology is AI-assisted review of grant applications (human decisions retained), and its primary external-facing assets are brand credibility, curated partner networks, and thought leadership through published perspectives and strategic co-funding arrangements with peer foundations, tech firms, and multilateral science organisations.

Name

Quadrature Climate Foundation

Legal name

Quadrature Climate Foundation

Website

https://qc.foundation

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Quadrature Climate Foundation is an independent UK-registered charity funded by Quadrature Capital that deploys philanthropic capital through invitation-only grants and impact-first investments to address interconnected climate, poverty, and human security challenges globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Philanthropy and Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Climate philanthropy
• Grantmaking foundations
• Impact investing
• Climate finance
• Humanitarian funding

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic funding from Quadrature Capital group: QCF is funded by Quadrature Capital group. It operates as an independent charity regulated by the Charity Commission with its own governance and decision-making structures. Funding supports grantmaking, impact-first investments, and field engagement.
2. Impact-first investments: Impact-first investments are made to further charitable purposes, help de-risk and unlock additional capital, support new business models, and scale innovative solutions that strengthen resilience.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Quadrature Climate Foundation (QCF) is an independent charitable foundation that deploys philanthropic capital through invitation-only grant funding and impact-first investments. It supports NGOs, researchers, and field organisations working on three interconnected challenges: human security, poverty and inequality, and climate risk, with grantmaking focused on UK/Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and selected global partnerships.

Product overview

Quadrature Climate Foundation (QCF) is an independent charitable foundation, not a technology product company. QCF operates as a grant-making organization and impact investor focused on three interconnected challenges: human security, poverty and inequality, and climate risk. QCF provides flexible, long-term grant funding, impact-first investments, and field engagement to strengthen resilience and shift systems. The organization does not offer software products or technology platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• $4.9M allocated across 33 projects globally since 2019 through Climate Change AI Innovation Grants
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Climate Change AIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 April 2026QCF supported Climate Change AI's 2026 Innovation Grants program as a co-funder alongside Google DeepMind, Global Methane Hub, and Canada Hub of Future Earth. The program awarded $1.7M to 12 projects from 400+ submissions across 78 countries, building open-source datasets as digital public goods for climate applications.
• Global Methane HubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 November 2025Global Methane Hub announced a $30 million investment for low-emission rice research and development in Brazil and Singapore. QCF supports Global Methane Hub which funds and convenes organizations reducing methane on the ground.
• Green Africa Youth OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 September 2025Green Africa Youth Organization is a QCF partner funded through Global Methane Hub. Their programme tackles methane emissions caused by uncollected waste and open dumping in Accra, Ghana, demonstrating how waste management can contribute to climate goals.
• KawiSafi VenturesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKawiSafi Ventures is delivering clean, affordable energy to more than 10 million people in East Africa, displacing 1 million tons of carbon while addressing energy poverty and inequality - an example of QCF-supported climate resilience work.
• Clean Cooling CollaborativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClean Cooling Collaborative is scaling sustainable cooling while phasing out harmful refrigerants that drive short-term warming - highlighted as an example of climate funder resilience lens work.
• Climate Resilience for AllminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate Resilience for All has supported more than 225,000 women in India's informal sector through insurance and cash payments during extreme heat waves. Co-founded by Rachel Kyte, QCF Advisory Council co-chair.
• Global Industry HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal Industry Hub is accelerating a just transition in carbon-intensive sectors like steel and cement through foundation collaboration.
• C40minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerC40 is a city climate leadership network supporting mayors and cities. In Freetown, Sierra Leone, Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr - supported by C40 and Climate Resilience for All - launched a Heat Action Plan.
• JUST StoriesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJUST Stories, from the Institute for Human Rights and Business, elevates perspectives of workers, communities, and Indigenous groups navigating trade-offs of industrial transition.
• Youth Climate Justice FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth Climate Justice Fund addresses the gap in resources for youth-led initiatives. Joshua Amponsem, co-executive director and QCF Advisory Council member, leads intersectional climate funding efforts demonstrating what participatory grantmaking makes possible.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF): Large UK-based independent climate and child welfare philanthropy. Multiple QCF senior leaders (CEO, Chief Impact Officer) joined from CIFF, signalling directly comparable model and mandate around climate, blended finance, and field engagement.
• ClimateWorks Foundation: Global climate philanthropy supporting systems change through grants and convening. Directly comparable to QCF, with QCF staff having moved from ClimateWorks (e.g., Carbon Removal), making them a near-overlapping peer in climate programme strategy.
• Bezos Earth Fund: One of the largest dedicated climate philanthropies globally with $10B in funding. Closest scaled comparable peer to QCF on mission, grantmaking scale, and emphasis on climate solutions at the frontier (carbon removal, AI, energy).
• Climate Imperative Foundation: Climate-focused grantmaker funding climate action, clean energy, and policy. Directly comparable to QCF in mission emphasis on fast, fair transition and grantmaking to grantees across geographies.
• Open Philanthropy: Large US-based philanthropic foundation supporting climate change and other global catastrophic risks. Directly comparable model of evidence-driven, science-led grantmaking with substantially larger capital and headcount.
• Oak Foundation: Major private foundation funding climate, human rights, and social justice. Highly comparable model of invitation-driven, multi-year, systems-change grantmaking aligned with QCF's three interconnected challenges.
• Arcadia Fund: UK-based charitable fund addressing climate, cultural heritage, and open access. Closely comparable structure, geography, and mission orientation to QCF as a London-based private foundation.

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Large multi-cause philanthropy with significant climate/C40 funding streams. Comparable climate work to QCF but broader mission across public health, education, and cities, making it a broader incumbent rather than climate-pure peer.
• The Schmidt Foundation (Schmidt Futures / 11th Hour Project): Large family philanthropic platform funding climate and inclusive prosperity through 11th Hour Project. Climate programme directly comparable to QCF's mission; broader portfolio places it as a broader incumbent.

Emerging players

• Waverley Street Foundation: Climate-focused philanthropic foundation funding systems change and decarbonization. Comparable mission to QCF though more US-focused; overlapping emergence rather than direct UK/Europe competitive overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/qc-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Quadrature Climate Foundation