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Founded in 2019 by Matt Atwood, AirCapture is a climate technology company in Berkeley, California, that develops modular direct air capture systems to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for industrial use and permanent geological storage. The enterprise operates a B2B model by installing hardware directly at customer facilities to provide a localized, clean supply of carbon dioxide as a service. This onsite production replaces fossil-derived carbon dioxide for clients across the food and beverage, agricultural greenhouse, synthetic fuel, and manufacturing sectors. To scale operations, the company secured government funding including a $2.93 million grant from the United States Department of Energy to engineer a capture system at a Nutrien fertilizer plant. Additionally, the firm serves as a technology partner for the Southeast DAC Hub alongside Southern Company to advance commercial scale carbon removal initiatives.
AirCapture has raised $50.0M across 1 funding round.
AirCapture has raised $50.0M in total across 1 funding round.
AirCapture has raised $50.0M in total across 1 funding round.
AirCapture's investors include 3one4 Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Digital Currency Group, Fifth Wall, Master Ventures Investment Management, monashees, Hans Tung.
AirCapture has raised $50.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $50.0M Series A in June 2025.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2025 | $50M Series A | — | 3one4 Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Digital Currency Group, Fifth Wall, Master Ventures Investment Management, Monashees, Hans Tung | Announced |
# AirCapture: Direct Air Capture for a Circular Carbon Economy
AirCapture is a climate technology company that captures CO2 directly from the atmosphere and converts it into valuable products for commercial and industrial customers.[1][2] Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Berkeley, California, the company operates at the intersection of direct air capture (DAC) and carbon utilization, positioning atmospheric CO2 not as a waste problem but as a feedstock opportunity.[2]
The company's core mission centers on making DAC technology economically accessible while building infrastructure for a circular carbon economy.[2] Rather than focusing solely on carbon removal, AirCapture emphasizes carbon-to-product conversion—transforming captured atmospheric CO2 into usable materials that offset emissions and create economic value. This dual focus on environmental remediation and commercial viability distinguishes the company within the climate tech space.
AirCapture was founded in November 2019 by Matt, a technologist and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in renewable and climate technology development.[1] His background includes founding Algae Systems, where he developed the world's first energy-positive wastewater treatment platform, and a decade of specialized experience with DAC and CO2 utilization technologies.[1] This deep technical expertise in CO2 management, water treatment, and biofuels directly informed AirCapture's founding premise: that atmospheric CO2 represents an untapped economic and environmental opportunity rather than merely a threat.
The company emerged during a period of growing recognition that carbon removal alone would be insufficient to address climate change—carbon utilization and conversion became increasingly central to climate strategy. AirCapture's timing aligned with this shift and with growing federal support for DAC technologies.
AirCapture operates within the rapidly expanding direct air capture sector, which has gained significant momentum due to federal policy support (including the Inflation Reduction Act's carbon removal tax credits) and corporate net-zero commitments.[2] The company's focus on carbon-to-product conversion addresses a critical gap in the climate tech ecosystem: while many DAC companies pursue permanent storage, AirCapture targets the nearer-term economic opportunity of converting captured CO2 into chemicals, fuels, and materials.
This positions the company at the intersection of two major trends: the decarbonization of heavy industry (which requires low-carbon feedstocks) and the circular economy movement. By supplying commercial and industrial customers with atmospheric CO2, AirCapture enables them to reduce their reliance on fossil fuel-derived carbon inputs—a particularly valuable proposition for sectors like chemicals, beverages, and synthetic fuels that require CO2 as a raw material.
The company's federal partnerships, including a $535,288 Department of Energy award (with $396,996 in federal funding) for carbon-neutral methanol production, signal validation from policy makers and indicate that AirCapture's technology pathway aligns with national climate and manufacturing priorities.[5]
AirCapture is well-positioned to capture value in the emerging carbon utilization economy, but success depends on achieving cost competitiveness at scale. The company's current focus—producing carbon-neutral methanol from atmospheric CO2 via electrochemical conversion—targets a high-volume, economically significant market. The $800/tonne cost target for carbon-neutral methanol represents an ambitious but achievable milestone that would make the product competitive with conventional methanol in price-sensitive industrial applications.[5]
The broader trajectory for AirCapture hinges on three factors: (1) whether electrochemical conversion can achieve the efficiency and cost reductions necessary for commercial viability, (2) whether industrial customers will pay a premium for carbon-neutral feedstocks as regulatory and market pressures intensify, and (3) whether the company can scale from lab validation to commercial deployment. As federal support for DAC matures and corporate carbon accounting becomes more rigorous, companies like AirCapture that offer tangible, economically defensible carbon solutions—rather than relying solely on carbon credits—may emerge as the winners in the climate tech space.
