London-based Treecard, a fintech company that allows people to plant trees with every purchase they make, announced on Thursday that it has raised $23M (approximately €22M) in a Series A round of funding led by Valar Ventures.
Other investors include World Fund, EQT Ventures, Seedcamp, Episode 1, and angel investors Dylan Field (Figma) and Josh Browder (DoNotPay).
The UK company has raised $30M (approximately €28.7M) in funding to date. Treecard says it will deploy the capital to grow the team, aiming to almost double in size and continue to develop the product ahead of the official launch in 2023.
Jamie Cox, co-founder and CEO at Treecard says, “We’ve always believed that if there were a button that could make your life more sustainable, then people would press it. There is a desire, and an urgent need, to be more sustainable, but too often, people don’t know where to start or aren’t sure about the right way to go about it. Treecard is here to provide that support. First, by helping people become more sustainable in their financial lives, including planting trees with purchases, and eventually extending to all aspects of their lifestyle. Through this, we’re making it easier than ever for people to reduce their carbon footprint so we can help more people embrace this journey. We’re excited to have the backing of Valar Ventures and World Fund as we look to build the ultimate environmental super app for millions of people across the world.”
Treecard: What you need to know
Founded in 2020 by Jamie Cox and James Dugan, Treecard is an impact-first business on a mission to plant 1B trees.
The company’s wooden Mastercard Debit Card channels 80 per cent of the profits earned from merchant transaction fees into tree planting.
Whenever a Treecard customer swipes or taps their card, they are helping to finance the planting of trees worldwide.
Users can also monitor their forest through the Treecard app and watch when new trees are going into the ground on the TreeCam.
Treecard claims to have funded the planting of over 200,000 trees globally in partnership with Ecosia, the not-for-profit search engine that uses advertising profits to plant trees.
Additionally, the app uses gamification techniques and a rewards programme, enabling people to access exclusive deals and offers, such as free National Park passes, after spending a certain amount.
The company’s users have also removed 315,000 plastic bottles from the ocean through the app’s rewards programme. Currently, it is in beta with a global waitlist of over 250,000.
The company also clarified that it would never fund fossil fuels or deforestation using its accounts.
Investors
Valar Ventures is a VC firm backed by Peter Thiel and focuses on startups outside Silicon Valley.
James Fitzgerald, founding partner at Valar Ventures, says, “In the last decade, we’ve witnessed the ability of fintech companies to act as a powerful force for good, for example, by effecting positive change in financial inclusion and the democratisation of opportunity. We are excited to see Treecard harness this power to enable people to make more sustainable and environmentally responsible financial decisions.”
World Fund is a European-focused climate venture capital fund. From energy, food, agriculture, and land use, to building materials, manufacturing, and transport, World Fund invests in European climate tech with a climate performance potential (CPP) of at least 100Mt CO2e emission savings per year.
Tim Schumacher, founding partner at World Fund, says, “The Treecard team is building a brilliant product that will help transform the way people think about their carbon footprint. However, it’s not enough to offer carbon offsets, if we’re going to reach the target of limiting global warming by 2030, then sustained, comprehensive action is needed. Using interchange profits to plant trees is one of them, as it drives meaningful change across all areas of a customer’s life. We’re delighted to be supporting Jamie and the rest of the Treecard team on the next stage of their journey as they look to build the leading environmental super app.”
