What Brightly does

Brightly is a Boston-based, early-stage climate-tech company founded in 2023 by Andy Levitt that operates a proprietary AI-powered platform to convert food waste and avoided methane emissions into high-integrity carbon credits under Verra's VM0046 methodology. Its core technology uses AI and large language models to classify food versus non-food materials, analyze dry matter content, and model avoided methane with precision specific to food type, geographic location, and disposal method, incorporating USDA, EPA, and global databases. The platform has analyzed over 5 billion pounds of rescued food and calculated more than 1 million metric tons of CO2e avoided across a network of 225+ food recovery organizations spanning 97% of U.S. counties.

Brightly serves two primary customer segments in a dual-sided model: food brands, CPG companies, and Fortune 500s seeking to reduce Scope 3 emissions and meet climate targets through carbon insetting, MRV services, and ESG reporting alignment (SBTi, CSRD, GHG Protocol); and nonprofit food rescue organizations that act as supply-side partners, recovering surplus food and generating the underlying emissions data and carbon credits. Marquee corporate buyers include Schreiber Foods (also the lead seed investor) and PopSockets, and the supply-side network includes Feeding America, San Antonio Food Bank, FoodRecovery.org, Food Rescue US, The Farmlink Project, Midwest Food Bank, Sharing Excess, Spoonfuls, and Epic-Cure, among others.

The business model combines three revenue streams: carbon credit sales to corporate buyers (the primary revenue line, distributed via direct enterprise sales and the Xpansiv CBL exchange), carbon insetting and advisory services (MRV, project design documentation, and reporting alignment), and forward purchase agreements that provide upfront capital. Pricing is negotiated per engagement and is not publicly disclosed. Up to 80% of credit proceeds flow back to nonprofit food rescue partners, with Brightly capturing value through platform fees and advisory services. The company raised a $2.3 million oversubscribed seed round in December 2024 led by Schreiber Foods and received an Ae ex ante rating from BeZero Carbon in June 2025, placing its project in the top 4% of U.S. waste-related carbon projects and top 25% of global climate technology projects assessed.

Name

Brightly

Legal name

Brightly Ventures, Inc.

Website

https://brightly.earth

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Brightly is a Boston-based climate-tech company that operates an AI-powered platform to generate Verra VM0046 carbon credits from food rescue, selling credits to enterprise buyers to reduce Scope 3 emissions while funding nonprofit food rescue organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Carbon Credit Services / Climate Tech

akta.pro primary industry

Carbon Market MRV (Offsets/Projects: Verra/Gold Standard/ART; registry reporting) (EUAHADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial & Energy MRV (Facilities, Renewables, Methane, Process Emissions) (EUABACAI), Credit Issuance, Serialisation & Retirement Assurance (Registry Integrity Checks) (EUABACAM), GHG Inventory & Corporate/Facility Reporting (Scopes 1–3) (EUAHADAC)

Keywords

• Carbon credit services
• Food waste emissions
• Methane measurement platform
• Carbon insetting strategy
• Voluntary carbon market

Headquarters

HQ city

Weston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Carbon Credit Sales: Brightly generates high-integrity carbon credits using Verra's VM0046 methodology from food rescue activities. Credits are sold to corporate buyers (Fortune 500s, CPG companies) seeking to meet climate goals and reduce Scope 3 emissions. A majority of proceeds (up to 80%) flow back to food rescue nonprofit partners, with Brightly retaining a portion as platform/issuance revenue.
2. Carbon Insetting & Advisory Services: Brightly offers insetting strategy, carbon accounting, and advisory services to food brands looking to reduce waste and meet climate goals within their supply chain. Services include MRV support, project design documentation, and alignment with SBTi, CSRD, and GHG Protocol reporting frameworks.
3. Forward Purchase Agreements: Corporate partners (e.g., Schreiber Foods) enter into forward purchase agreements for carbon credits, providing upfront capital to Brightly and its food rescue partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Brightly operates an AI-powered measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) platform that quantifies methane emissions avoided through food rescue activities aligned with Verra's VM0046 methodology. It generates high-integrity carbon credits from these operations, sells them to corporate buyers (Fortune 500s and CPG companies) for Scope 3 emissions reduction and climate commitments, and channels up to 80% of credit proceeds back to nonprofit food rescue partners to fund their operations.

Product overview

Brightly offers a unified climate-tech platform centered on its proprietary technology for measuring, verifying, and scaling food waste reduction and permanent methane prevention. The core Brightly Platform connects food rescue organizations with carbon finance through a portfolio of integrated services: Carbon Insetting Strategy (for supply chain interventions), Measurement & MRV (AI-powered emissions quantification), High-Integrity Carbon Credits (generated under Verra's VM0046 methodology and rated by BeZero Carbon), and Food Rescue Operations support. The platform analyzes over 5 billion pounds of rescued food and has calculated more than 1 million metric tons of avoided emissions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brightly Platform A proprietary AI-powered technology platform that powers food rescue and emissions reduction by measuring, verifying, and scaling food waste reduction and permanent methane prevention. The platform collects detailed data on food type, weight, and destination and calculates avoided methane emissions using AI-powered analysis aligned with Verra VM0046.
• Carbon Insetting Strategy A solution for companies to reduce food waste emissions through supply chain interventions, preventing waste before it happens. Helps businesses identify high-impact food waste reduction opportunities and design cost-effective interventions aligned with SBTi, CSRD, and GHG Protocol reporting frameworks.
• Measurement & MRV (Measurement, Reporting, Verification) Services for accurately tracking food waste emissions, verifying impact, and reporting progress toward climate targets. Quantifies emissions specific to food type, geographic location, and disposal method rather than industry averages.
• High-Integrity Carbon Credits Carbon credits generated in partnership with local food rescue organizations, representing one metric ton of CO2e avoided through food recovery. Credits are validated by SCS Global Services, aligned with Verra's VM0046 methodology, and rated Ae ex ante by BeZero Carbon. Revenue is shared with nonprofit food recovery partners.
• Food Rescue Operations Support Support for surplus food being rescued from going to landfill by local food recovery organizations, which distribute it to communities experiencing food insecurity. Brightly partners with 225+ food recovery organizations across the U.S. that recover nearly 4.5 billion pounds of surplus food annually.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5B+ lbs of food waste analyzed; 1M+ MT CO2e avoided (equivalent to 225,000+ cars off the road or 120,000+ homes' energy use eliminated)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• XpansivcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2026Xpansiv and Brightly partnered to launch the first-of-their-kind food waste carbon credits on Xpansiv's CBL spot exchange. The credits (initial tranche of ~250,000 A-rated ex-ante credits, potentially scaling to 500,000) are offered via RFQ process. Xpansiv provides the marketplace infrastructure and transparent price discovery mechanism for Brightly's credits.
• Leket IsraelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrightly expanded globally by partnering with Leket Israel, Israel's largest food rescue organization, to apply Brightly's food-rescue climate funding model internationally. The partnership brings climate finance to hunger relief at scale by preventing surplus food from entering landfills in Israel.
• BeZero CarboncoreOthersBeZero Carbon, the leading independent carbon credit ratings agency, awarded Brightly's food rescue carbon credit project an Ae ex ante rating. BeZero Carbon's ratings and risk tools validate Brightly's credit integrity and market credibility.
• SCS Global ServicescoreOthersBrightly's project was validated by SCS Global Services, a third-party auditor, before receiving BeZero Carbon's independent rating.
• VerracoreOthersBrightly develops carbon credits under Verra's VM0046 methodology for avoided food loss and waste, the globally recognized framework from the leading carbon registry.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Apeel Sciences: Apeel Sciences develops plant-derived coatings that slow produce spoilage, reducing food waste at the supply chain level. Tangentially comparable — addresses upstream food waste reduction — but does not monetize avoided emissions via carbon credits.

Direct peers

• Leanpath: Leanpath offers automated food waste tracking and analytics for foodservice, helping operators measure and reduce waste. Comparable to Brightly's measurement side but operates upstream in kitchens rather than funding food rescue via carbon credits.
• OLIO: OLIO is a food-sharing platform that lets neighbors and businesses share surplus food to reduce waste; it shares Brightly's mission of preventing food from going to landfill but uses a community-sharing model rather than carbon credit financing.
• Too Good To Go: Too Good To Go operates a marketplace that connects consumers with surplus food from restaurants and retailers to reduce waste. Addresses the same food waste problem space but via consumer-facing marketplace rather than carbon credit monetization.
• Winnow Solutions: Winnow provides AI-powered food waste measurement and analytics for commercial kitchens and food service operators. Both companies quantify food waste emissions to drive reduction and reporting, though Winnow focuses on commercial-kitchen data rather than generating carbon credits from food rescue.
• Patch: Patch is a carbon credit API platform that enables businesses (including CPG and food brands) to embed carbon offsetting into their products. Directly comparable to Brightly's corporate-facing credit distribution motion, though Patch aggregates across multiple project developers rather than operating its own methodology.

Broad incumbents

• Pachama: Pachama is a carbon credit marketplace connecting corporate buyers to forestry and avoidance credits using satellite/AI verification. Overlaps with Brightly in carbon-credit distribution and AI verification but does not focus on food waste.
• South Pole Group: South Pole is a large carbon project developer and advisory that develops and sells credits across many project types including agriculture and waste. Comparable to Brightly as a project developer with a focus on high-integrity credits and corporate advisory.
• Watershed: Watershed is an enterprise climate platform that helps companies measure, reduce, and report emissions and purchase high-quality carbon credits. Comparable to Brightly's enterprise-facing MRV + credit offering, but broader across all scopes and sectors.

Regional players

• Phénix: Phénix (France) is a food waste prevention and rescue company operating across Europe with both consumer marketplace and B2B surplus redistribution. Comparable to Brightly's food rescue mission, but serves European markets rather than U.S. and does not currently monetize carbon credits.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brightly-ventures-inc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Brightly