Carbon Ventures

What Carbon Ventures does

Carbon Ventures is a New York-based venture capital firm founded in 2017 by Jason Cahill and Katherine Zamsky, with Gary Ragusa as Venture Partner. The firm invests at the seed and Series A stages in early-stage companies developing technologies for sustainable infrastructure, with a thematic focus on the five highest-emitting industrial sectors: transportation, waste management, manufacturing, energy, and agriculture. Typical initial checks are $500,000 into U.S. companies valued at approximately $5 million, and the firm has built a portfolio of roughly ten companies including Smarter Sorting, Fortify, Idelic, TransitScreen, WastePlace, mobius, Andium, Novel Effect, SummitSync, and Sayspring.

The firm's value proposition is structured around a "Code, Capital, Customers" framework, combining equity capital with operational mentorship, code-level technical guidance, and introductions to a Senior Advisory Network of industry experts, seasoned executives, and institutional contacts. Technologies of interest include robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing applied to carbon-reducing use cases. The firm originally invested in companies at the intersection of legacy industries and new technology, and in 2019 rebranded to Carbon Ventures to sharpen its focus on technologies that directly reduce carbon footprint.

Commercially, Carbon Ventures generates returns through traditional venture capital economics — equity stakes in portfolio companies, with exits realized via acquisitions or IPOs. Revenue from management fees and carried interest is not publicly disclosed, and the firm operates with a small core team supplemented by an external advisory platform. Deal flow is sourced through direct founder outreach, partner networks (Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, SXSW), and content marketing via the firm's website and newsletter. Notable portfolio outcomes to date include Adobe's acquisition of Sayspring (2018), Smarter Sorting's $17M Series A led by US Ecology (2020), and industry recognition such as a Webby Award (Novel Effect), Forbes 30 Under 30 Manufacturing (Fortify), and the Western Growers AgSharks grand prize (mobius).

Name

Carbon Ventures

Legal name

Carbon Ventures

Website

https://www.carbonventures.vc/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Carbon Ventures is a New York-based seed-to-Series A venture capital firm founded in 2017 that invests in early-stage companies applying robotics, AI, ML, and NLP to reduce carbon emissions across transportation, waste management, manufacturing, energy, and agriculture.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Climate Tech Investment

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Carbon Finance & Investment Advisory (Project Finance, Funds, SPVs) (EUABADAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital investment
• Climate tech funding
• Seed stage investing
• Sustainable infrastructure
• Early-stage startups

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Carbon Ventures generates returns through equity investments in early-stage climate tech companies. They invest seed and Series A capital in exchange for equity stakes in portfolio companies. Returns are realized through exits via acquisitions or IPOs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Carbon Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests seed and Series A capital (typically $500k in U.S. companies valued at ~$5m) into startups developing technologies that reduce carbon emissions across energy, transportation, waste management, agriculture, and manufacturing. The firm provides portfolio companies with capital, customer introductions, and ongoing mentorship under a "Code, Capital, Customers" framework.

Product overview

Carbon Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies (seed to Series A) focused on technologies that transform the top five carbon-emitting industries: Energy, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Transportation, and Waste Management. The firm provides capital (typically $500k investments in U.S. companies valued around $5m), access to customers through their network, and code/technology guidance to portfolio founders. Their investment approach is built on three pillars: Code, Capital, and Customers. The firm does not offer a traditional product in the sense of software or services it develops; rather, it acts as an investor and advisor to sustainable infrastructure startups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 2018 was a record year for VC investment in clean energy companies, a 4x increase since 2015
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• JE Dunn ConstructionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 May 2020WastePlace, a Carbon Ventures portfolio company, formed a strategic partnership with JE Dunn Construction to streamline waste and recycling services at construction jobsites across the country, bringing automation, transparency, and cost savings.
• US EcologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 March 2020Smarter Sorting partnered with US Ecology to revolutionize retail waste classification and compliance services. US Ecology led Smarter Sorting's $17M Series A funding round. The partnership enables retailers to achieve compliance while saving money through smart waste identification.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• VoLo Earth Ventures: Climate-focused early-stage fund backing entrepreneurs solving climate change through technology and innovation. Comparable in seed-stage climate-tech focus though typically with somewhat different sub-sector emphasis.
• CleanTech Open: Accelerator and competition platform for early-stage clean-tech startups. Overlaps with Carbon Ventures on early-stage climate-tech founder support and deal flow but operates an accelerator format rather than a traditional VC fund.

Direct peers

• Clean Energy Ventures: Early-stage venture firm investing in climate tech startups decarbonizing energy, transportation, buildings, and industry. Highly comparable in stage, check size, and climate-tech thematic focus.
• Congruent Ventures: Early-stage climate tech venture firm investing at seed and Series A into companies decarbonizing energy, transportation, agriculture, and industry. Highly comparable to Carbon Ventures in stage, check size, climate-tech focus, and target verticals.
• Elemental Excelerator: Climate-tech investor and accelerator deploying early-stage capital into startups addressing energy, transportation, and circular economy challenges. Comparable in stage and climate focus, though typically larger deployment and more structured accelerator programs.
• Prime Coalition: Climate-tech focused impact investment fund providing early-stage capital to breakthrough climate solutions. Comparable to Carbon Ventures in mission alignment, early-stage deployment, and thematic focus on climate-positive technologies.
• Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital: Long-standing clean-tech and energy venture firm investing across industrial innovation, energy, and resource efficiency. Comparable climate-tech thesis but operates with a larger fund base and broader portfolio scope than Carbon Ventures.
• Powerhouse Ventures: Early-stage venture firm focused on solar, clean energy, and climate-tech startups. Comparable to Carbon Ventures in seed-stage deployment and focus on decarbonization technologies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VenturesCarbon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carbon-ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments18 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Carbon Ventures