Latest news with #MatiCarbon
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Startup awarded $50 million for volcanic rock technique with potential to address growing crisis: 'This … is going to go a long way'
What if fighting the changing climate was as easy as spreading dust on a field? Mati Carbon, a startup using crushed volcanic rock to pull carbon from the air and strengthen soil, just won the $50 million Xprize for Carbon Removal, TechCrunch reported. The win is turning heads across the climate tech world. Mati's technology is based on a naturally occurring process called enhanced rock weathering. The company grinds up basalt, a volcanic rock, into fine dust, which is then spread across farmland. As the rock weathers, it reacts with CO2 in the air and locks it away in mineral form for thousands of years, all while enriching soil and improving crop yields. "This material is the difference between having a crop and having no crop," Mati founder and CEO Shantanu Agarwal said. "We've seen that in Zambia this year. There were farmers who put this in half of the field — and half of the field was like normal — and there was no crop [in the] normal half because everything died because there was a drought." While the idea sounds low-tech, that's exactly its advantage. Enhanced rock weathering doesn't require fancy machinery or rare minerals. Basalt is widely available, often as a byproduct of construction, and the process itself has been happening in nature for millions of years. Mati's innovation is that the company found a way to scale it for modern agriculture. Mati provides the basalt dust to farmers at no cost, funding the program through carbon credit sales and grant funding. "You deploy that into carbon removal, you get more than a gigaton of removal every year while increasing income of these farmers who are extremely poor," Agarwal said. By Mati's estimates, around 200 million smallholder farms across low-income countries (covering nearly 900 million acres) could benefit from this soil-boosting, carbon-sequestering dust. The company's approach is especially appealing because it solves multiple problems at once, pulling carbon from the air, reviving degraded farmland, improving water retention, and boosting productivity — up to 70% in struggling soils. All this could also mean more income and food security for farmers in places such as Zambia, India, and Tanzania, where Mati is already operating. To scale faster, Mati is offering free licenses to its enterprise platform for any organization willing to share at least 50% of profits with the farmers they serve. "I want to build a market mechanism and scale a nonprofit to global scale, which allows for a large portion of the value to accrue [to] the farmer," Agarwal said. "This Xprize is going to go a long way to push us in that direction." By the early 2030s, Mati hopes to sell carbon credits for under $100 per ton — a competitive price point in the carbon removal market. In the long run, it wants to go even lower. The startup expects to deliver up to 6,000 tons' worth of credits in 2025. And with fresh funding from the Xprize, Mati is one big step closer to turning farmland into one of the most powerful climate action tools. Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Definitely Only in some areas Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's $100M Climate Gamble: Houston's Mati Carbon Wins $50M With Rock Dust Hack To Save 100M Farmers Across 3 Continents
Mati Carbon, a climate-tech startup based in Houston, just walked away with $50 million in prize money from the Elon Musk-backed XPrize Carbon Removal competition. The company announced the win, highlighting it as a major step toward scaling its carbon removal efforts globally. The funding positions Mati at the forefront of a massive shift in how carbon is removed from the atmosphere by spreading pulverized rock on farmland. Don't Miss: 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Founded in 2022, Mati Carbon's rock weathering method caught the attention of investors, scientists, and climate advocates alike. The startup's goal is to remove carbon dioxide from the air while boosting crop yields for smallholder farmers across India, Tanzania, and Zambia. Mati's process is simple. It grinds basalt rock into a fine dust and then applies it to agricultural land. As rainwater and natural weather conditions interact with the basalt, the rock binds with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and turns it into a stable form of carbon stored in the soil. As the basalt breaks down, it releases vital minerals that re-mineralize depleted soil. Farmers see yield increases and stronger crops without paying anything upfront. Mati provides the service at no cost. The startup is already on track to work with 30,000 farmers by the end of this year, and founder and CEO Shantanu Agarwal said in an interview with Time last week, the goal is to reach 100 million globally by 2040. In many cases, this method increases yields by 25% to 70%, depending on the condition of the soil, Agarwal told TechCrunch. Trending: Donald Trump just announced a $500 billion AI infrastructure deal — . The XPrize Foundation, funded by Musk's Musk Foundation, awarded Mati Carbon the $50 million prize as part of a broader $100 million initiative to accelerate carbon removal technologies. While the backing from Musk gives the award high-profile visibility, it also brings some scrutiny. Climate policy expert Wil Burns, who helped design the XPrize guidelines, expressed concern in an interview with Politico, saying Musk's funding of this prize while pushing for research cuts in other areas taints the credibility of the initiative. Still, the prize remains one of the largest ever awarded for climate innovation. Agarwal sees this win as validation. "Being named the grand prize winner of XPrize Carbon Removal is not just a validation of our approach to [carbon dioxide removal], it also represents a major catalyst to building out the science and infrastructure needed to deliver on our mission – generating climate resilience and economic empowerment for the more than 100 million smallholder farmers in developing economies worldwide," Agarwal said in a company's method is also being recognized for meeting all the core criteria of the XPrize competition: operational feasibility, long-term sustainability, and low cost per ton of carbon removed. Mati is already scaling its operations. With $50 million in hand, they plan to build out logistics, expand partnerships with farmers, and continue refining their carbon tracking software. The team uses a tech-forward system to monitor and verify carbon drawdown and soil improvement. This precision allows them to scale across vastly different geographies while maintaining impact integrity. Mati Carbon's win comes at a moment when many climate startups are struggling to prove effectiveness. By focusing on simplicity, scale, and farmer empowerment, the startup has done what few others have: created a system that benefits people and the planet. Read Next: Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary called Missing Ring his biggest mistake — Don't repeat history—Image: Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Elon Musk's $100M Climate Gamble: Houston's Mati Carbon Wins $50M With Rock Dust Hack To Save 100M Farmers Across 3 Continents originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mati Carbon, AirMiners Launchpad Accelerator Graduate, Wins $50M Carbon Removal Grand Prize
SAN FRANCISCO, April 25, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week, XPRIZE announced that Mati Carbon, a graduate of the AirMiners Launchpad accelerator program, as the winner of the $50M grand prize in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, the largest single incentive ever offered for climate innovation. The prize recognizes Mati Carbon's enhanced rock weathering process, which converts atmospheric carbon dioxide into stable minerals while improving smallholder farmers' yields and enhancing their livelihoods. Mati Carbon sources basalt dust from aggregate quarries and applies it to cropland. As the basalt weathers, it releases nutrients that raise farm productivity on average by 20 percent and improves soil water retention capacity. Mati Carbon is one of more than 200 carbon removal startups alumni from AirMiners Launchpad accelerator. AirMiners alumni have raised more than $250M of venture funding, grants, and prizes, and secured more than $100M in carbon removal offtakes. "Mati's success sends a clear signal to carbon removal entrepreneurs everywhere. Join a strong community, test fast, learn faster, and you can move the needle on climate," said Tito Jankowski, CEO of AirMiners."AirMiners is proud to have played a part in this journey, and we cannot wait to see Mati scale their carbon removal technology worldwide," he said. "We're incredibly proud of all the teams whose work contributed to significantly advancing the carbon removal industry. The collaboration between XPRIZE and AirMiners shows that strong networks turn bold ideas into real impact. Mati is living proof, and we are excited to see how this momentum accelerates the entire field," said Nikki Batchelor, Executive Director of XPRIZE. "As a proud graduate of AirMiners accelerator, Mati team was able to connect with a community of doers and benefited from the camaraderie. AirMiners structured incubation was also very helpful allowing early stage startups to gain important insights on business building. We are thankful to the whole AirMiners team and the community for being part of our story," said Shantanu Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer of Mati Carbon. As part of its vision for reversing climate change, AirMiners provides innovators with the support to rapidly scale their businesses through networking, education and investment, with the ultimate goal of enabling the removal of one billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2030. AirMiners is hosting an online overview of Mati Carbon with CEO Shantanu Agarwal at 2 PM PST on Thursday, May 1st. To attend, register here. After the event, watch the recording here. ABOUT AIRMINERS AirMiners provides the catalytic infrastructure for innovators working to remove a billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2030. To learn more visit follow on Twitter @airminers and LinkedIn. ABOUT MATI CARBON The Mati Carbon project is supported by a US 501(c)(3) non-profit, Swaniti Initiative. Mati accelerates the natural process of rock weathering (ERW) by applying pulverized basalt to croplands of partnered smallholder farmers free of charge. As the pulverized basalt weathers, it removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Meanwhile, the weathering process releases nutrients from the rock which acts to re-mineralize depleted agricultural soils. This increases crop yields and thus smallholder farmers' incomes. At present, the company is on pace to work with 30,000 farmers in India, Tanzania, and Zambia by the end of 2025. Mati is set on a planetary-scale mission to make ERW a common agricultural practice in order to benefit 100 million smallholder farmers in developing economies over the next 20 years. ABOUT XPRIZE XPRIZE is the recognized global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity's greatest challenges. For over 30 years, our unique model has democratized crowd-sourced innovation and scientifically scalable solutions that accelerate a more equitable and abundant future. Donate, learn more, and co-architect a world of abundance with us at View source version on Contacts FOR MORE INFORMATION:Marie Domingomarie@ (650) 888-5642for AirMiners Stacy (970) 819-0839for AirMiners Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Wire
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Mati Carbon, AirMiners Launchpad Accelerator Graduate, Wins $50M Carbon Removal Grand Prize
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week, XPRIZE announced that Mati Carbon, a graduate of the AirMiners Launchpad accelerator program, as the winner of the $50M grand prize in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, the largest single incentive ever offered for climate innovation. The prize recognizes Mati Carbon's enhanced rock weathering process, which converts atmospheric carbon dioxide into stable minerals while improving smallholder farmers' yields and enhancing their livelihoods. 'As a proud graduate of AirMiners accelerator, Mati team was able to connect with a community of doers and benefited from the camaraderie," said Shantanu Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer of Mati Carbon. Mati Carbon sources basalt dust from aggregate quarries and applies it to cropland. As the basalt weathers, it releases nutrients that raise farm productivity on average by 20 percent and improves soil water retention capacity. Mati Carbon is one of more than 200 carbon removal startups alumni from AirMiners Launchpad accelerator. AirMiners alumni have raised more than $250M of venture funding, grants, and prizes, and secured more than $100M in carbon removal offtakes. 'Mati's success sends a clear signal to carbon removal entrepreneurs everywhere. Join a strong community, test fast, learn faster, and you can move the needle on climate,' said Tito Jankowski, CEO of AirMiners.'AirMiners is proud to have played a part in this journey, and we cannot wait to see Mati scale their carbon removal technology worldwide,' he said. 'We're incredibly proud of all the teams whose work contributed to significantly advancing the carbon removal industry. The collaboration between XPRIZE and AirMiners shows that strong networks turn bold ideas into real impact. Mati is living proof, and we are excited to see how this momentum accelerates the entire field,' said Nikki Batchelor, Executive Director of XPRIZE. 'As a proud graduate of AirMiners accelerator, Mati team was able to connect with a community of doers and benefited from the camaraderie. AirMiners structured incubation was also very helpful allowing early stage startups to gain important insights on business building. We are thankful to the whole AirMiners team and the community for being part of our story,' said Shantanu Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer of Mati Carbon. As part of its vision for reversing climate change, AirMiners provides innovators with the support to rapidly scale their businesses through networking, education and investment, with the ultimate goal of enabling the removal of one billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2030. AirMiners is hosting an online overview of Mati Carbon with CEO Shantanu Agarwal at 2 PM PST on Thursday, May 1st. To attend, register here. After the event, watch the recording here. ABOUT AIRMINERS AirMiners provides the catalytic infrastructure for innovators working to remove a billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2030. To learn more visit follow on Twitter @airminers and LinkedIn. ABOUT MATI CARBON The Mati Carbon project is supported by a US 501(c)(3) non-profit, Swaniti Initiative. Mati accelerates the natural process of rock weathering (ERW) by applying pulverized basalt to croplands of partnered smallholder farmers free of charge. As the pulverized basalt weathers, it removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Meanwhile, the weathering process releases nutrients from the rock which acts to re-mineralize depleted agricultural soils. This increases crop yields and thus smallholder farmers' incomes. At present, the company is on pace to work with 30,000 farmers in India, Tanzania, and Zambia by the end of 2025. Mati is set on a planetary-scale mission to make ERW a common agricultural practice in order to benefit 100 million smallholder farmers in developing economies over the next 20 years. ABOUT XPRIZE XPRIZE is the recognized global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity's greatest challenges. For over 30 years, our unique model has democratized crowd-sourced innovation and scientifically scalable solutions that accelerate a more equitable and abundant future. Donate, learn more, and co-architect a world of abundance with us at
Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Mati Carbon, winner of $50million XPRIZE, has been helping smallholder farmers leading fight against climate change
Mati Carbon, an Indian-led climate initiative has secured the $50 million grand prize in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, outshining over 1,300 teams from 112 countries. Their model seems simple, but is quite complex. Mati Carbon uses an Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) model, which captures carbon dioxide (CO2) while boosting crop yields for smallholder farmers. This offers a rare synergy of environmental and social impact. Mati operates in India, Tanzania, and Zambia, and has partnered with over 16,000 farmers since 2022. They aim to reach 30,000 by year-end, with a bold vision to impact 100 million by 2045. As India grapples with climate-induced agricultural stress and a nascent carbon market, scaling this solution faces formidable hurdles. In an exclusive interview with The Indian Express, Shantanu Agarwal, Mati Carbon's founder and CEO, and Jake Jordan, chief science officer, outlined their mission. 'This XPRIZE win validates our science and commitment to smallholder farmers who bear the brunt of climate change,' Agarwal said. 'But scaling in India, with its fragmented landholdings and uneven infrastructure, is a massive challenge.' How enhanced rock weathering works Mati's ERW process involves spreading pulverised basalt—a volcanic rock—on farmlands, accelerating a natural weathering process that captures atmospheric CO2 and stores it as bicarbonate in groundwater and oceans for over 10,000 years. 'The process forms a weak acid from rainwater and CO2, breaking down the rock faster than natural weathering,' Jordan explained. 'It's like dissolving powdered sugar versus a sugar cube.' The basalt also releases nutrients, enhances soil fertility and results in healthier crops and better yield. The rigorous Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) framework, developed with IIT Kanpur, Yale University, and the University of Sheffield, ensures precise carbon quantification, earning trust from buyers like Shopify, Stripe, and H&M. Empowering India's smallholder farmers Smallholder farmers, cultivating 47 per cent of India's farmland, are uniquely vulnerable to climate change. The 2024 Monsoon Report by the India Meteorological Department noted eight per cent above-average rainfall, yet flooding and crop losses disproportionately affected smallholders. Mati's model addresses this by improving soil health and incomes. Agarwal shared the story of a Chhattisgarh farmer with two acres whose rice yield surged from 2,500 to 3,500 kilos—a 70 per cent increase—after basalt application. 'He paid off debts because it's free. We deliver and spread the basalt; he farms as usual,' Agarwal said. Mati targets climate-vulnerable regions like northern Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand, often hours from airports. 'We focus on small farmers in backward areas,' Agarwal explained. 'We analyse crop types, soil compatibility, and basalt composition to ensure viability.' The Deccan Traps' vast basalt supply—capable of removing all anthropogenic CO2 with just one per cent of its reserves—makes India an ideal hub. Mati piggybacks on existing rock-crushing for construction, minimizing environmental impact. Farmers also report a 65 per cent reduction in pesticide use, as nutrient-rich soils yield healthier, disease-resistant crops. 'It's like humans eating vitamins for better immunity,' Agarwal said. 'Healthy plants don't get sick.' This organic, nature-driven approach aligns with India's push for sustainable agriculture under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. Scaling challenges: Trust, logistics, and markets Mati's ambition to reach 100 million farmers by 2045 is daunting. 'Farmers dependent on a few acres are risk-averse,' Agarwal noted. 'Explaining that we remove invisible CO2 for distant buyers sounds dubious.' Mati overcomes this through demonstration: trials in the first season, 10-20 per cent adoption in the second, and overwhelming demand by the third. 'They see yield increases and lower pesticide needs with their own eyes,' he said. Logistics in remote areas pose another hurdle. Transporting basalt to villages and training farmers across India's diverse agro-climatic zones is costly. Mati's proprietary platform, matiC, uses AI to streamline operations, from farmer engagement to carbon verification, but scaling to millions requires more. 'Our tech stack enables farmer-entrepreneur partners to deliver our model regionally,' Agarwal said, emphasizing a franchise-like approach to achieve the 'unreasonable' 100-million-farmer goal. The carbon market, where Mati sells credits to fund its free basalt applications, is another challenge. Currently priced at $300-$400 per ton, credits are bought by net-zero-focused firms like Shopify, Stripe, and H&M. 'These buyers support our scaling to hit $100 per ton in five to seven years,' Agarwal said. However, India's carbon market is nascent, with prices volatile ($10-$30/ton globally in 2024, per the World Bank). Convincing Indian unicorns to buy removal credits as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) requires education. 'Indian companies with net-zero goals should include removal in their portfolios to mitigate past emissions,' Agarwal urged. The role of Government Mati has garnered local support from district magistrates, agriculture officers, and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). 'They love our technology and collaborate closely,' Agarwal said. Studies with government universities, like IIT Kanpur, provide years of data to prove ERW's efficacy. Yet, national-level adoption could unlock greater impact. 'Subsidies for basalt transport or carbon credit incentives would accelerate scaling,' Agarwal suggested, aligning with India's net-zero-by-2070 goal. Jordan emphasized ERW's fit for India's agriculture-heavy economy. 'Governments serve farmers, a key constituency. Our yield increases and climate benefits are a strong match for national priorities,' he said. However, policy inertia and the need for extensive proof points slow progress. 'We're building scientific momentum with Indian research to convince policymakers,' Agarwal said. A broader climate context Mati's focus on removal doesn't negate the need for emissions reduction. 'We need both,' Jordan stressed. 'Reduction stops new CO2; removal balances unavoidable emissions, like agriculture's residual CO2.' India, the world's third-largest emitter, relies heavily on coal, complicating its net-zero path. Mati's ERW, with its permanence, offers a robust tool, but it's not a panacea. The Global South's degraded soils make it ideal for ERW, unlike chemically optimized farms in the US. 'Skeptics in the West question small farms' scalability, but their yield gains drive adoption,' Jordan said. This economic incentive positions India as a leader in inclusive climate solutions. Looking ahead Mati's XPRIZE win and $50 million prize provide a springboard to scale its smallholder-focused model, sustained by carbon credit sales. Its partnerships with IIT Kanpur, Yale, and the University of Sheffield ensure scientific rigor, while local collaborations amplify reach. Yet, success hinges on overcoming logistical, market, and policy barriers. As India navigates climate change and food security for 1.4 billion people, Mati's model—rooted in nature and farmer empowerment—offers a blueprint. Whether it can scale to 100 million farmers remains a test of innovation, collaboration, and political will. 'For us, the farmer is the only stakeholder,' Agarwal concluded. 'If we help them, society helps us back.'
