San Francisco-based startup Tangible is on a mission to combat the significant greenhouse gas emissions produced by the construction industry. With building materials accounting for approximately 11% of global emissions, the company aims to reduce embodied carbon through its innovative solutions. To support its efforts, Tangible has secured $3 million in seed funding, led by renowned early-stage construction tech investor Foundamental, known for backing successful startups like Appear XR and 011h.
Joining the funding round are notable investors including Fifty Years, who led Tangible’s undisclosed pre-seed round, as well as Redstone Built World Fund, Pi Labs, Asymmetric, and Deco Ventures. This brings the total investment raised by Tangible to $4 million, providing the startup with the resources to expand its team and further develop its platform.
By addressing the lack of standardisation and reliable guidance in reducing embodied carbon, Tangible aims to redefine sustainable construction practices. With this funding boost, the company states it is well-positioned to make a meaningful impact in the industry and pave the way for a greener future.
Anneli Tostar, co-founder and CEO at Tangible, said: “We’re really excited about the potential of Tangible to make a difference in this space and decarbonise the built world at scale. We’re delighted to have the support of our investors, including Foundamental, who understand the significance of this problem for the industry, as well as the renewed support of Fifty Years. This investment will help us develop the platform in preparation for a full launch later this year.”
Nicole Granath, co-founder at Tangible, said: While leading sustainability programs in-house and as consultants, Anneli and I saw the overwhelming need for a scalable solution to track, reduce, and report on embodied carbon. Tangible is the embodied carbon management platform developers have been waiting for. We’re delighted to be launching Tangible for owners and developers who want a portfolio-wide view of their embodied carbon footprint and where they can decarbonise.”
Adam Zobler, General Partner at Foundamental, said: “Tangible is the first platform we’ve come across that can help solve the problem of embodied carbon for developers, specifically. Anneli and Nicole’s combined experience in sustainability in the real estate sector means they understand the challenges facing developers and are building the platform which will have a substantial impact at a global scale.”
Seth Bannon, Founding Partner at Fifty Years, said: “We’re thrilled to be deepening the partnership with Tangible. Anneli and Nicole’s experience is only outmatched by their drive to fix the growing problem of embodied carbon. The built environment needs to be decarbonised and Tangible has a path to get there.
Niklas Grunewald, Managing Partner at Redstone Built World Fund, said: “The impact of finally providing the construction and real estate industry with a platform for the selection of sustainable materials and harmonised reporting of embodied carbon cannot be overstated. It’s about enabling change. We are proud to back the team around Tangible on this mission – to that end we even had to go to the USA to find it.”
Faisal Butt, Founder, and Managing Partner at Pi Labs, added: “From the first meeting, we have been impressed by this brilliant founding team who bring together unique insight from both a real estate sustainability consulting lens and materials manufacturing perspective. We believe Tangible’s platform has the potential to fit seamlessly into the design and build process to become an indispensable tool for the construction sector to take those necessary leaps forward in meeting global sustainability targets.”
Reduces carbon impact of building projects
Tangible was founded in 2021 in San Francisco by Anneli Tostar and Nicole Granath, former classmates at Harvard University. The Tangible platform has been designed to support sustainability and development managers who use it as a tool to find low-carbon materials. It lets users add materials to a project and share the impact with stakeholders. This gives developers a view of all their projects, the materials being used, and the environmental and health impact.
Tangible users can also share this information with their customers and investors to demonstrate the changes being made on the ground.
Currently, Tangible is focusing on North America, which is a $72 billion market opportunity with a select group of beta customers. It is concentrating on helping commercial real estate developers to report embodied carbon for construction projects. In the future, Tangible plans to add additional features to create a one-stop shop for sustainable construction.
