Anthropic first AI startup to join Frontier carbon removal coalition

Anthropic has joined Frontier, a carbon removal collective, contributing to a new $915 million funding tranche and becoming the first AI startup to join the group.

The new funding nearly doubles Frontier's pledges, bringing the total to $1.8 billion. To date, Frontier has contracted nearly $700 million across over 50 projects to remove 1.8 million tons of carbon. Companies that pledge funds to Frontier typically use its carbon removal credits to offset their publicly reported carbon footprints.

The new funding will strengthen Frontier's position in the carbon removal industry, but Anthropic's involvement is more noteworthy. Although Google is a founding member, Anthropic is the first pure AI company to join. Its membership arrives as AI companies have been aggressively buying energy, not all of which has been clean.

Joining Frontier marks Anthropic's first climate-related deal. The company has not yet published a sustainability report and has stated it favors an "all of the above" energy strategy, which usually means large purchases of polluting power. However, this move may signal a shift in the company's stance.

Frontier was founded by tech companies including Stripe, Google, and Shopify to help them meet their climate commitments. These founding companies, along with others, face a dilemma: many aim to reach zero emissions within the next decade or two, but certain emissions—such as those from air travel—cannot yet be eliminated. At the same time, carbon removal was and remains a nascent industry, lacking large-scale players capable of removing the necessary amounts of carbon. Frontier evaluates carbon removal companies and signs contracts with those it believes can deliver.

Carbon removal credits, such as those backed by Frontier, allow companies to continue emitting some pollution. These credits can be deducted from their carbon footprint, much like profits offset debts on a balance sheet. Frontier vets projects, acting as a shared resource for companies interested in carbon removal.

In announcing the new pledges, Frontier stated that future project funding would face stricter scrutiny. The organization plans to fund fewer projects, concentrating on those it believes have the best chance of removing a gigaton (one billion metric tons) of CO2 or more annually. New contracts will typically span eight to ten years, according to Frontier.

Since its launch in 2022, Frontier has supported a variety of carbon removal technologies, including direct air capture, enhanced rock weathering, bio-oil, ocean antacids, and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.

Frontier's shift from many small bets to fewer larger ones mirrors a similar trend at Microsoft, which has been the largest purchaser of carbon removal credits.

While companies want the carbon removal market to expand and mature, they are making it clear they do not intend to fund it indefinitely. For any new contract, the carbon removal company must "demonstrate a path to government subsidy or support," a Frontier spokesperson told TechCrunch.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that carbon dioxide removal technology will be essential for achieving net zero emissions, although few companies or consumers are willing to bear the cost. Much like clean water, this challenge will likely ultimately fall to governments. Frontier has said it will enter contracts extending as far as 2040.

Frontier did not specify what happens beyond 2040, but it is clear they hope governments will have taken over by then. And if they don’t? At the current rate of warming, we will face far greater problems.