Paris-based Celest Science, a climate risk modelling startup, has raised €2M in seed funding. Astorya.vc and Plug and Play led the round.
The round also saw participation from 16 business angels. Participants include Stéphane Guinet, CEO of Kamet Ventures, Christophe Neves, Chief Risk Officer at Skyline, Éric Mignot, CEO & co-founder of +Simple, Didier Valet, Founding Partner at Varsity.vc, and Armando Mann, former executive at Dropbox and Google.
What does Celest Science offer?
In 2023, climate-related events caused losses of over $100B worldwide, including €6.5B in France, according to SwissRe and France Assureurs. These figures highlight growing pressure on the insurance sector to manage climate risk more effectively.
At the same time, new EU regulations now require organisations to disclose climate-related risks, increasing the need for reliable, science-based modelling tools.
Celest Science is addressing this shift by supplying climate risk intelligence to financial institutions, energy companies, and governments, helping them respond to regulatory requirements and evolving risk conditions.
The company uses climate science and machine learning to improve the understanding and anticipation of extreme climate events. Its proprietary models identify the physical causes of events, link multiple risk factors, adjust frequency curves based on climate change, and offer forecasts ranging from two weeks to six months.
The company aims to connect short-term forecasts with long-term scenarios, helping clients such as insurers, investors, and public institutions manage climate risk.
Celest’s approach differs from traditional models by analysing interactions among atmospheric, oceanic, and land systems rather than relying only on historical data.
Dr. Léo Lemordant and Professor Pierre Gentine co-founded Celest Science in 2023. Their partnership began during Lemordant’s PhD at Columbia University.
Lemordant previously founded Enerfip, a crowdfunding platform for renewable energy that raised over €600M. Gentine, a climate scientist at Columbia, has received recognition from the Nobel Prize committee for his work on machine learning in climate science. Together, they combine experience in entrepreneurship and research to contribute to the climate technology sector.
Capital utilisation
Celest Science will use its new funding to advance its technology and expand its market approach.
Following a period of research and development and a partnership with insurer Zurich, the company is expanding its presence in the insurance sector.
Celest has progressed from proof-of-concept to production and was selected as one of five startups to join Allianz’s AI accelerator programme.
Brief about the investors
Plug and Play is a US-based early-stage VC firm with more than 30 unicorns in its portfolio, including Dropbox, PayPal, N26, and LendingClub. The firm connects founders with over 650 corporate and government partners, more than 350 investors, and a network spanning over 60 international offices.
astoryaVC invests in tech startups focused on reshaping the insurance industry and addressing new types of risk. The firm supports European startups from the Seed stage and has built a portfolio of companies using software, data, and algorithms to address challenges in the sector.
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