Carbon removal gets an AI name

Anthropic has joined Frontier, the carbon removal group backed by Stripe, Google and Shopify.

The AI startup is part of a new $915 million funding round, bringing Frontier’s total pledges to $1.8 billion.

Frontier has already committed nearly $700 million to more than 50 projects aiming to remove 1.8 million metric tonnes of CO2.

It is a notable move because Anthropic is the first AI startup to join the group.

AI companies are facing more questions about their energy use as models and data centres get bigger.

Turns out, intelligence needs a power socket.

This is also Anthropic’s first major climate-related deal.

The company has not yet published a sustainability report and has previously backed an “all of the above” approach to energy.

Frontier funds carbon removal projects that help companies balance out emissions they cannot yet cut, such as air travel or heavy industry.

It has supported methods including direct air capture, enhanced rock weathering and bioenergy with carbon capture.

The group now plans to fund fewer projects, but with closer checks and a stronger focus on whether they can scale.

It also wants future projects to show a path to government support, suggesting private companies do not want to fund the carbon removal market forever.

Love a company discovering the atmosphere exists before the atmosphere sends a strongly worded email.- MG