Highline BETA is a startup co-creation company that launches new ventures with leading corporations and founders. Through startup co-creation, the firm helps to identify industry opportunities and to launch and co-invest in a new startup. It invests in startups through corporate accelerator programs and in co-creations with corporate partners. Highline BETA was founded in 2017 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Highline Beta

Verdexus is a venture capital firm based in Ontario that finances seed and early stage investments.

Verdexus

Archangel is the overarching early stage investment fund based in Waterloo Region, the North Silicon Valley of North America.

Archangel Network of Funds

Carbonhound

Carbonhound is a carbon management software platform for small and mid-sized enterprises. They provide products for data management, carbonhound consultant network, marketing and verification, and carbon credits.

Canada-based Carbonhound offers a carbon management software solution for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) to measure, reduce, verify, and market their carbon emissions. This tool eliminates the need for SMEs to hire climate experts, which is costly for small businesses, and results in nearly <a href="https://betakit.com/carbonhound-raises-1-3-million-help-small-medium-business-get-ready-for-emissions-regulations/">75%–80%</a> cost savings as stated by the company.

New technology allows individuals and organizations to become carbon intelligent

Carbon Management Software

Carbonhound raises $1.3 million help small, medium business get ready for emissions regulations

Canada-based Carbonhound offers a carbon management software solution for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) to measure, reduce, verify, and market their carbon emissions. This tool eliminates the need for SMEs to hire climate experts, which is costly for small businesses, and results in nearly <a href="https://betakit.com/carbonhound-raises-1-3-million-help-small-medium-business-get-ready-for-emissions-regulations/">75%–80%</a> cost savings as stated by the company.Key customers and partnershipsAs of February 2024, Carbonhound had worked with 100+ companies to measure carbon footprints. Few of the company’s clients include Quarterback Transportation and Schupan, among others.Funding and financialsThe company’s most recent funding was in May 2023, when it raised CAD 1.3 million (USD 0.9 million) in a pre-seed funding round led by Verdexus, Highline Beta, and the Archangel Starforge Fund. The proceeds were used to scale up the platform offering for SMEs across North America.

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 Circular IQ is a Netherlands-based digital platform that offers SaaS-based solutions for businesses to assess their circular performance through smart data-gathering and analytics. Circular IQ collects and analyzes supplier-specific data and provides tailor-made reports for businesses about the circularity of their operations.&nbsp;
 
 
 Circular IQ offers three main services 1) Circular Procurement Program, a service that monitors and reports the circular performance of a business&rsquo;s existing supply chain, 2) Product Circularity Improvement Program, a service in collaboration with KPMG to identify areas where the circularity of an existing supply chain can be improved, and 3) Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) Program, a service that supports and guides businesses through circular transition.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In March 2024, Circular IQ reported more than 2,000 CTI customer accounts in 94 countries. Microsoft, KPMG, Whirlpool, Saudi Aramco, Aptar, Rabobank, bp, Deloitte and Royal DSM were some of Circular IQ&rsquo;s high-profile clients.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 
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Circular IQ

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 Cloverly offers an API-based digital infrastructure for voluntary carbon markets (VCM). The Cloverly platform is used by both corporate buyers and project suppliers. Buyers can directly purchase carbon removal credits through its platform or integrate its technology into their products, services, or supply chains. Similarly, project suppliers leverage the Cloverly Marketplace and the supplier software, to manage commercial operations such as inventory management and tracking of carbon credit sales. The supplier platform offers carbon credits from suppliers including Therm, KOKO Networks and CarbonCure. For each carbon credit purchase, Cloverly produces a unique transaction receipt and certificate.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Leading companies such as American Express, Salesforce, Visa, have added Cloverly to their platforms to facilitate the purchase of carbon offset credits. The online gift card company, Instagift, also allows its customers to offset emissions through Cloverly. In November 2021, Clovery partnered with Diversifi to launch a service that offsets the crypto-carbon footprint. In May 2022, Cloverly also partnered with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11507">
 BeZero Carbon
 </a>
 to obtain third-party ratings and independent quality assessments and 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11506">
 Redwood Logistics
 </a>
 to measure freight emissions and offset those via carbon credits in July 2022. In November 2023, the company also collaborated with Sustain.Life, a B2B carbon intelligence startup, to supply carbon credits. As of February 2024, the Cloverly platform was used by over 300 global enterprises.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials&nbsp;
 
 
 Cloverly&rsquo;s most recent funding was in May 2023, when it raised USD 19 million in a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18533">
 Series A funding
 </a>
 round led by Grotech Ventures. In July 2021, Cloverly raised USD 2.1 million in a seed funding round led by TechSquare Ventures. As a part of the transaction, Cloverly was also spun out from Southern Company, an American gas and electric utility where it was incubated.
 
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Cloverly

UK-based Giki offers two mobile apps to reduce the personal carbon footprint of its users:Giki Badges is an app that allows users to find sustainable and healthy products in supermarkets through 15 unique badges to UK supermarket products based on sustainability, health, and fairness. Customers can scan the product barcode to find the badges that are being awarded to the product. Giki Badges reported awarding badges to over 280,000 supermarket products.Giki Zero is an app that allows users to calculate and reduce the personal carbon footprint. Giki Zero estimates the personal carbon footprint of a user based on a lifestyle survey (a set of detailed questions about the user’s lifestyle) and provides customized advice to reduce the user’s carbon footprint. Giki Zero Pro is an extension of the same product for businesses which allows employees to monitor and reduce their carbon footprint.Key customers and partnershipsIn April 2023, Giki partnered with <a href="https://www.compass-group.co.uk/media/news/compass-partners-with-social-enterprise-giki-to-empower-its-45k-strong-workforce-to-reduce-their-carbon-footprint/">Compass Group </a>, a UK-based food and support services provider, to calculate and reduce the personal carbon footprint of its employees. As of March 2024, Giki had worked with over 100 global customers, including NatWest Group, Federated Hermes International, BBC, Deloitte, Adobe and Accenture, among others.

Giki

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 Canada-based Metrio primarily offers SaaS-based Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting solutions for businesses. Metrio allows companies to monitor their ESG performance in real-time using dashboard tools to create customized reports based on any standard ESG framework. In addition to ESG reporting, Metrio also offers ESG industry benchmarking, supply chain ESG monitoring, and ESG investment management services.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In June 2022, Metrio was acquired by Nasdaq. After the acquisition, Nasdaq integrated Metrio&rsquo;s SaaS platform into its suite of ESG solutions. Metrio continued to remain an independent company and brand after the investment. 	
 
 
 As of January 2024, Metrio software was used by over 5,000 clients, including 100+ multinational companies across financial, food, manufacturing, retail, and transportation sectors. Major customers include Target, Air Canada, Decathlon, and Aldo.
 
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Metrio

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 Proof (formerly Proof of Impact) is an Impact-as-a-Service (IaaS) company based in the Netherlands. Proof offers a range of SaaS-based digital tools for businesses and investors to collect, verify, and analyze real-time sustainability data from community assessments, IoT devices, and corporate disclosures. The company also verifies and secures them using blockchain technology and presents them in a quantifiable form for sustainable decision making.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Proof&rsquo;s services include: 1) Digital consultancy&ndash;digital assessments to create and deploy a company&rsquo;s sustainability strategy, 2) Impact dashboard&ndash;an end-to-end solution to collect, verify, analyze, and report sustainability data, and 3) Impact Catalyst Cloud&ndash;cloud-based tools and API solutions for tracking, verifying, and investing in sustainability projects. Proof also operates a marketplace for sustainability projects where investors may directly select, and fund verified sustainable projects.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 In May 2023, the company 
 <a href="https://resources.proof.io/press-release-assetmetrix-and-proof-join-forces-to-offer-an-integrated-sfdr-focused-esg-solution-to-private-market-clients/">
 partnered
 </a>
 with AssetMetrix, a German-based next generation asset servicer, to offer an integrated solution for ESG data collection, reporting and optimization.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 Proof&rsquo;s most recent funding was in August 2022, when it raised USD 6 million in a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12037">
 pre-series A funding
 </a>
 round led by Rakuten Capital. Previously in December 2021, the company raised USD 2.3 million in a seed funding round led by Altera Investments.&nbsp;
 
 
 
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Proof of Impact

Pure-play software solutions that measure, monitor, analyze, and report carbon footprints of internal business operations including ESG management and reporting software. Excludes supply chain and other Scope 3 carbon intelligence solutions.

Software for offsetting business carbon footprints including carbon intelligence startups that also offer offsetting solutions. Primarily includes instant offsetting services and carbon trading marketplaces.

Pure-play software solutions to measure, monitor, and analyze personal carbon footprints.

Software solutions to reduce, and offset personal carbon footprints including carbon intelligence startups that also offer offsetting solutions.

Pure-play software solutions that measure, monitor, analyze, and report carbon footprints from supply chains and other Scope 3 emissions.

Carbon trading marketplaces that allow individual and business users to buy and sell carbon offsets.

Solutions used improve carbon tracking transparency across internal and external business operations

Provides tools to monitor and offset CO2 emissions using reforestation, renewable energy credits, etc

Some carbon trading marketplaces are blockchain based (e.g., Nori)

Some carbon tracking companies use AI to measure and report CO2 emissions (e.g., Persefoni)

Carbonhound

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