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Founded in 2019 by Manuel Piñuela and James Clifton, Culttivo is a Public Benefit Corporation based in Pleasanton, California, that uses AI and satellite imagery to identify degraded lands for nature-based restoration projects. The technology-driven company originates and finances these environmental initiatives across the Americas, earning carbon removal credits and project management fees from financial institutions and corporations seeking natural capital investments. Operating with a team of 23 employees, the enterprise has evaluated a pipeline of sites covering over 70 million hectares with a carbon sequestration potential of 1.8 gigatons of carbon dioxide. Culttivo currently generates approximately $23 million in annual revenue and has secured $16.7 million in total funding to scale its operations. This capital includes a $14 million Series A funding round closed in January 2024, led by investors MassMutual Ventures and Octopus Energy Generation.
Culttivo has raised $1.0M across 1 funding round.
Culttivo has raised $1.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Culttivo has raised $1.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Culttivo's investors include Cedro Capital, Invest Tech, KPTL.
Culttivo has raised $1.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $1.0M Seed in January 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2022 | $1M Seed | — | Cedro Capital, Invest Tech, KPTL | Announced |
Cultivo is a technology-driven public benefit corporation founded in 2019 and headquartered in Pleasanton, California, that regenerates degraded or underutilized natural landscapes at scale through AI, satellite imagery, remote sensing, and nature-based solutions.[1][2][3] The company builds a proprietary tech platform to identify high-restoration-potential lands, design and operate restoration projects (with a focus on grasslands), generate carbon removal credits, and attract investment from financial institutions, generating returns for landowners like ranchers while enhancing biodiversity and land resilience.[1][2][3][4] It serves financial institutions, businesses, NGOs, project developers, and landowners, solving the challenge of scaling nature-positive investments by bridging land, capital, and regeneration—having raised $23.26M total, including a $14M Series A in late 2024 led by MassMutual Ventures and Octopus Energy Generation.[1][4]
Cultivo's growth momentum includes the recent acquisition of Kateri (the "rancher's carbon company") to accelerate U.S. grassland restoration, deploying tools like sensors and virtual fencing, securing offtake agreements for carbon credits, and evolving nature-based projects into "fundamental infrastructure" for permanent capital.[2]
Cultivo was founded in 2019 by CEO and cofounder Dr. Manuel Piñuela and a diverse team blending ecological expertise, technological innovation, and financial acumen, driven by the vision of regenerating nature at scale through cutting-edge science and human collaboration with landowners.[1][2][3] The idea emerged from recognizing untapped potential in natural capital markets, where technology could identify and forecast high-quality restoration projects to deliver financial, social, and environmental returns—initially focusing on natural climate solutions like project inception, registration, monitoring, and carbon removal.[1][3][4]
Early traction built through proprietary algorithms and remote sensing to package projects for investors, culminating in Series A funding and the strategic Kateri acquisition about a year ago, which expanded grassland initiatives amid rancher adoption of new tech like virtual fencing.[1][2] This marked a pivot from alternative investments to institutional-grade infrastructure, reflecting six years of industry maturation.[2]
Cultivo rides the natural capital and nature-based carbon removal trend, leveraging AI and remote sensing to industrialize landscape regeneration amid surging demand for high-quality offsets from corporations targeting net-zero.[2][3] Timing is ideal as nature shifts from niche "alternative asset" to "fundamental infrastructure," drawing long-term capital post-Paris Agreement maturation and tech advancements that crystallized viability over the last six years.[2]
Market forces like voluntary carbon markets, biodiversity mandates, and investor appetite for resilient assets (e.g., from MassMutual, Octopus) favor Cultivo, while U.S. grassland focus taps underutilized ranchlands amid climate-driven degradation.[1][2] It influences the ecosystem by proving tech can make nature investments scalable and bankable, partnering with NGOs/governments, enriching biodiversity, and modeling hybrid financial-ecological models that inspire competitors like RenewWest or BluEarth.[1][2]
Cultivo is poised to dominate AI-driven natural capital infrastructure, with next steps centering expanded grassland projects, more acquisitions, and platform enhancements for global scaling—fueled by its $23M war chest and rancher alliances.[1][2][4] Trends like AI-optimized carbon markets, permanent capital inflows, and regenerative ag-tech (e.g., virtual fencing) will propel growth, potentially valuing it far beyond current marks as offsets demand surges.[2][3]
Its influence may evolve into a standard-setter for "nature-positive" infrastructure, humanizing tech-scale regen by prioritizing landowner partnerships—ultimately proving investing in landscapes yields returns as reliable as any asset class, tying back to its mission of resilient futures through tech-guided nature.[2][3]
