Climate risk intelligence firm Climate X has successfully secured $18 million through a Series A funding round led by Google Ventures, with participation from investors including Pale Blue Dot, CommerzVentures, A/O, Blue Wire Capital, PT1, Unconventional Ventures, and Western Technology Investment (WTI).
Based in the UK, Climate X specializes in providing financial insights on the impact of climate risks on the valuations of physical assets, which encompass residential and commercial properties as well as critical infrastructure such as roads, railways, and power systems.
The company utilizes an innovative risk assessment model known as the ‘Digital Twin of the Earth’, which is supported by an extensive database consisting of over 500 trillion data points, including a proprietary library containing 1.5 billion individual assets and 44 million miles of infrastructure.
Co-founded by CEO Lukky Ahmed, who has led stress testing and risk transformation initiatives at HSBC Bank and Lloyds Banking Group, and COO Kamil Kluza, a former risk modeler for Barclays, MUFG, and Accenture, Climate X aims to address the urgent need for climate risk data.
The company’s Spectra platform offers a comprehensive approach to quantifying the likelihood and potential severity of future weather events, utilizing an interface similar to Google Maps. This tool enables clients to assess the future risks associated with 16 different climate hazards—from extreme heat to tropical cyclones and floods—across eight warming scenarios over a 100-year timeframe, down to individual properties.
Climate X’s technology not only translates these risks into expected annual financial losses but also helps clients evaluate the return on investment (ROI) for implementing various climate adaptation strategies derived from a range of 22 different interventions.
Among its clientele are notable organizations such as Legal & General, CBRE, Virgin Money, and Federated Hermes.
Ahmed commented, “In just over a year since our market launch, Climate X has emerged as one of the fastest growing providers of physical climate risk data and analytics, delivering substantial value to global financial services clients managing over $6.5 trillion in combined assets under management. Evaluating the influence of physical climate risk on asset valuations and business operations has become essential rather than optional.”
The newly acquired funding will be used to expedite Climate X’s expansion in Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. The company plans to strengthen its commercial team with the opening of its new office in New York and enhance its offerings in response to changing commercial and regulatory landscapes by integrating additional data sources into its platform.
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