Octopus Energy has invested in Cultivo, a company that aims to accelerate large-scale regeneration of nature, which has former Bank of England governor Mark Carney on the board.
This was part of a $14 million 'series A' funding round, co-led by Octopus's fund management arm and US venture capital firm MassMutual Ventures.
Cultivo, which says it uses its technology platform to "mobilize" pools of capital into land regeneration projects that remove carbon, increase biodiversity and improve water storage, has signed an agreement with Octopus to deploy further funding up to $40 million into these 'natural capital' projects.
The startup, which collaborates with non-profit organisations and land owners to design, implement and monitor projects, says it has more than 100 million hectares of nature-based projects in its pipeline, which for comparison would be around the size of France plus Germany combined, or slightly smaller than South Africa at 120 million.
The new funding will allow the startup to "supercharge" its platform, which links greenfield projects with potential financial institutions and corporates who want to invest.
Last year Carney joined Cultivo's board as an independent board member, where he joined fellow Goldman Sachs alumni Brace Young, who is chair.
At the time Carney explained that large investors are "demanding high integrity and greater transparency" for their nature-based carbon credits and Cultivo addresses this by building "custom portfolios of high quality natural capital fit for their needs, ensuring they have transparency from the beginning and throughout the development".
Of today's funding, chief executive Dr Manuel Piñuela said it "allows us to continue to deliver our growing pipeline of high-quality natural capital projects for our institutional customers, and accelerate the development of our AI-driven science & technology platform".
Alex Brierley, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team, added that he and his team were impressed by Cultivo's tech-led approach, track-record and experienced team.