Natural Capital Research Limited (Natcap) announced it has secured $10 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round to scale its pioneering nature tech product. Natcap had secured new funding from André Hoffmann, Norinchukin Capital, Yeo Ventures, and Pelican Ag. The round also includes investment from former CEO of Refinitiv David Craig and follow-on investments from Oxford Science Enterprises, funds advised by MW&L Capital Partners, and Alea Iacta Est, all of which participated in the company’s £2.5 million seed round last year.
This funding round will help accelerate Natcap’s rapid growth supporting organisations to understand their nature-related risks and opportunities. And the company’s focus is to scale the delivery of high-quality nature data to the growing number of companies in scope for the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, or those voluntarily reporting under the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations. Natcap is one of the first nature and biodiversity intelligence companies globally to complete Series A funding in the nascent market.
Natcap’s platform brings together the world’s best science, data and technology, enabling companies to measure, report and act on nature-related risks and opportunities. And the company was launched in 2018 by Professor Baroness Kathy Willis at the University of Oxford and others, and is on a mission to embed nature intelligence into business decision making.
The company developed world leading technology to support 20+ organisations, including collaborating with Tesco’s Nature Programme, and a partnership with MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings. And Natcap was recently selected as one of just four UK tech companies to receive government support from the UK-APAC Tech Growth Programme for expansion into the Japanese market.
KEY QUOTES:
“It has been truly exciting to see the level of investor interest in our company, particularly in a less-than-optimal fundraising environment globally,” said Sebastian Leape, CEO of Natcap. “We see our investors’ support as a further endorsement of the market need for what we offer: a simple, straightforward solution for companies grappling with nature risks and reporting needs under CSRD and TNFD. We look forward to scaling our offering, allowing more organizations to integrate nature into their decision-making, and accelerating the world’s transition to a nature-positive future.”
– Natcap CEO Sebastian Leape
“As an investor deeply committed to sustainability and environmental stewardship, I am thrilled to support Natcap. Their innovative and science-based approach to assessing nature risk and opportunity represents a pivotal step forward in our efforts to embed nature into how businesses make decisions. Through my role as a senior advisor to the Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) I have witnessed firsthand the gap that Natcap fills: helping businesses to measure nature risk and opportunity at scale. I look forward to working with the Natcap team to help them achieve their ambitious goals.”
– André Hoffmann, Vice-Chairman, Roche Holding AG
“Managing nature-related risks effectively is crucial for both companies and investors, and requires the development of new innovative nature-related technologies. This significant round of capital is a testament to both Natcap’s remarkable progress in this cutting-edge field and to the team behind it. We are thrilled to continue supporting the growth of their platform as part of our mission to scale the most promising technologies from the Oxford ecosystem.”
– Nick Dixon-Clegg, Partner, Oxford Science Enterprises
