Technology and Science17 June, 20263 min read
Anthropic Joins Frontier Coalition With $915 Million To Accelerate Carbon Removal Projects
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Frontier raises another $915 million from corporate buyers to purchase carbon removal credits. Anthropic becomes the first AI startup to join Frontier, aiding monitoring of carbon removal.
Frontier doubles funding
A coalition backed by major technology companies committed an additional $915 million to accelerate carbon removal projects through Frontier, nearly doubling the group’s purchasing ambitions for carbon removal credits. Frontier, launched in 2022, is designed to create demand for technologies that remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and store it permanently, and it said the new funding nearly doubles its purchasing ambitions. The coalition also announced that AI company Anthropic has joined its ranks as a new participant, with the new funding taking Frontier’s total commitment to $1.8 billion.
“The new funding takes Frontier’s total commitment to $1.8 billion.”
ESG Today reported that Frontier raised an additional $915 million from corporate buyers including Stripe, Google, Shopify, Salesforce, H&M Group, and Anthropic, and said the advance market commitment is aimed at accelerating carbon removal technologies with guarantees of future demand. TechCrunch said Anthropic is joining Frontier with a new $915 million tranche and that it is the first AI startup to join the group, bringing total pledges to $1.8 billion.
AI joins, scrutiny rises
Frontier’s strategy shift is tied to a “Growth AMC,” with Hannah Bebbington Valori saying the new approach will focus on “pushing the best companies to the scale that enables robust, long-term demand.” ESG Today said Frontier will target larger and longer contract terms, seeking approximately 10–15 focused bets through 8- to 10-year offtakes to get projects to final investment decision (FID) at commercial scale, and contracting out as far as 2040. TechCrunch reported that Frontier said it will fund fewer projects, focusing on those that it thinks have the best chance at removing a gigaton — 1 billion metric tons — of CO2 or more annually.
In the coalition’s announcement, Google’s Randy Spock said, “At Google, we believe in the power of science and technology to mitigate planetary warming,” and described Frontier’s mission as a cornerstone of that approach. The American Bazaar added that Anthropic’s entry comes as AI companies face increasing scrutiny over the environmental impact of rapidly expanding data centers and computing infrastructure, and said electricity demand associated with AI development has prompted technology firms to seek additional climate solutions alongside renewable energy investments.
What’s at stake next
Frontier said it is refining its strategy to prioritize projects with the strongest potential to scale and eventually attract government-backed demand, and it said public-sector participation will be necessary if carbon removal is to reach the levels required to make a meaningful impact on global climate goals. TechCrunch reported that Frontier’s founding companies and others face a dilemma because “some emissions they can’t eliminate today,” while carbon removal credits let companies subtract removals from their carbon footprints. Trellis Group said Frontier members have already contracted for $700 million in carbon removals from 53 companies, and that the new infusion will be used to fund offtake agreements with 10-15 companies.
The American Bazaar said Frontier’s investments support approaches including direct air capture, enhanced rock weathering and ocean-based carbon removal methods, and it described the announcement as highlighting continued momentum in the carbon removal market despite concerns about policy uncertainty and fluctuating climate-related investment. In a conversation excerpt from Heatmap News, Hannah Bebbington Valori argued that “the moral hazard around carbon removal has really not come to fruition,” and said buying carbon removal today costs hundreds of dollars a ton.