Climate consulting firm Earth Finance acquires Google-backed environment data startup

Earth Finance, a Seattle-area company that helps businesses reduce their climate impacts, acquired Climate Engine, a startup that provides analysis and visualizations of satellite, meteorological and other climate data. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Climate Engine’s five employees will join Earth Finance, bringing its total headcount to more than 40.

Nevada-based Climate Engine launched in 2014 and includes researchers from Reno’s Desert Research Institute and the University of California Merced. It began as a White House Climate Data Initiative and Google has supported its efforts.

The company created a tool called Spatial Finance technology (SpatiaFi) that incorporates environmental and economic data to help users reduce their business and investment risks, determine the vulnerability of assets to natural disasters, and increase resiliency to climate impacts. Earth Finance will incorporate SpatiaFi into its operations.

“We are making this important acquisition because of the quality of the technology, the team, and because every sector — aviation, maritime, trucking, utilities, finance and banking, technology, built environment, consumer and retail — must understand how global environmental data can be used to make better business decisions,” said Reuven Carlyle, co-founder and executive vice president of Earth Finance, in a statement.

Earth Finance launched in 2023 and its other co-founders are climate policy expert Garrett Kephart and Bryan Weeks, former leaders at Russell Investments. Reuven is a past Washington state senator.

Earth Finance raised a $14 million seed round, and previously acquired Water Foundry, which helps clients manage water scarcity and quality, and Molecule, a firm with expertise in the transportation sector and renewable fuels.