Brazil's Mombak Raises New Fund, Adds Salesforce as Carbon Credit Buyer

SAO PAULO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian carbon removal startup Mombak said on Monday it secured the first close of its second reforestation fund and signed a new carbon credit purchase ​agreement with Salesforce, while betting demand will expand beyond the technology companies that ‌helped build the market.

The company said its Amazon Reforestation Fund II aims to raise $150 million to finance restoration projects in the Brazilian Amazon and will have access to a 200-million-real ($38.88 million) credit line from Brazil's Climate ​Fund, operated by state development bank BNDES.

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Investors are watching demand trends in the nascent ​carbon removal market, where companies such as Google, Microsoft and Meta have emerged as ⁠major buyers as they seek to address emissions linked to the rapid expansion of ​AI infrastructure.

"We are only raising this second fund because we proved over the last five years ​that there is a business, there is an industry and there is a market for this product," Mombak CEO Gabriel Silva told Reuters.

Mombak's first fund raised $120 million from investors including an AXA fund, CPP Investments and Bain ​Capital, financing restoration projects on 15 Amazon farms where the company planted nearly 15 million ​native trees.

The company also announced a multiyear carbon removal offtake agreement with Salesforce, adding the software firm to ‌a ⁠buyer roster that already includes Google, Microsoft and McLaren Racing.

The deal follows Mombak's first issuance of reforestation carbon removal credits earlier this year. It expects a second, larger issuance of roughly 80,000 metric tons by the end of 2026.

New Buyers Emerging

While Big Tech helped establish the market for high-quality carbon ​removals, both Mombak and ​BNDES expect demand to ⁠broaden into new industries.

"Over time, you can expect announcements involving companies that are not Big Techs," Silva said, adding that productivity gains and ​improved reforestation techniques are lowering costs and making credits accessible to a ​wider range ⁠of buyers.

BNDES socio-environmental director Tereza Campello said technology firms are reassessing climate targets as the costs associated with energy-intensive data centers become clearer, while interest from sectors such as oil, mining and steelmaking ⁠has ​accelerated.

"We have been approached by sectors that previously did ​not have as much appetite for carbon credits," she said.

Carbon credits allow companies to compensate for greenhouse gas emissions by ​financing activities that reduce or remove emissions elsewhere.