Frontier raises $915M for carbon removal as Anthropic joins coalition — The tech-backed buying group nearly doubles its purchasing power to scale direct air capture, enhanced rock weathering and ocean-based carbon removal technologies, betting that government compliance markets will eventually take over demand.
A group of technology companies led by Stripe, Google and Salesforce committed $915 million to buy carbon-removal credits through the Frontier initiative, nearly doubling the coalition's purchasing power as it adds AI startup Anthropic as its newest member.
"The question today in carbon removal is whether demand will keep pace with technology development and whether demand will scale to the size the world needs to meet global climate goals," Hannah Bebbington Valori, head of Frontier, said. "That's why we've raised this growth advanced market commitment to ensure the best companies can keep building at pace."
Frontier, launched in 2022 with an initial $1 billion commitment, has bought about 1.8 million carbon-removal credits to date. The broader market has grown to 49 million credits sold for roughly $12 billion, up from a few hundred million dollars four years ago, according to CDR.fyi, a carbon-removal tracking database. Microsoft remains the largest buyer by far, purchasing 37 million credits, or 75% of all engineered removals.
The new funding targets technologies Frontier believes can scale fastest, including direct air capture, enhanced rock weathering and ocean alkalinity. The group also invested in Crew Carbon, which adds limestone to wastewater treatment facilities to capture carbon released during sewage processing. "We are showing that carbon removals can happen and can happen quickly," Joachim Katchinoff, co-founder and chief executive of Crew, said.
Why carbon removal needs government demand
The carbon-removal market has relied heavily on a handful of tech buyers, creating a fragile demand base. Microsoft told some suppliers this year it was pausing purchases, though it later announced another deal and said the program had not ended. "Any adjustments we make are part of our disciplined approach — not a change in ambition," Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft's chief sustainability officer, said at the time.
Frontier is betting that compliance regimes will eventually broaden the buyer pool. The European Union's emissions standards are pushing companies to seek credits, and the Science Based Targets initiative decided that from 2035, companies can use carbon credits to neutralize their hardest-to-abate emissions. About a dozen countries are working on carbon-removal demand policies that could add up to about $10 billion per year by 2035, according to Nan Ransohoff, who stepped down as Frontier's head this week and returned to a broader climate role at Stripe.
Stockholm Exergi, which delivers credits by capturing carbon from bioenergy production in Sweden, said Frontier's commitments helped unlock government support. The Swedish government ran a reverse state aid auction requiring companies to prove expected revenues before receiving financing. "Firm contracts are obviously the very best thing," Erik Rylander, head of carbon-dioxide removal at Stockholm Exergi, said. "Costs are higher than they will be in the future, and that cost difference between projects today and in 10 years from now needs to be bridged with government money."
Anthropic's entry into Frontier comes as AI companies face growing scrutiny over the environmental impact of data centers. Electricity demand from AI development has pushed many technology firms to seek carbon-removal solutions alongside renewable energy investments. The coalition now includes Stripe, Google, Shopify, JPMorgan Chase, Salesforce and Anthropic, with Frontier's total purchasing commitments reaching nearly $2 billion.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
