Tangible, a London-based fintech startup, has raised £4 million in a funding round led by Future Positive Capital, Hardware Club VC, MMC, Blackwood, and Systemiq. The company is developing software to streamline the financing process for climate hardware companies, targeting a significant gap in accessible financing for climate-critical assets.
Tangible’s platform is designed to facilitate the structuring, modeling, and management of asset-backed financial transactions, addressing an industry need for more scalable and reliable climate technology financing.
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What problem is the startup trying to solve
With growing demand for sustainable energy and technology solutions, Tangible aims to bridge the financing gap by making climate hardware assets more accessible to institutional capital. Founder and CEO William Godfrey highlighted that while venture capital has been instrumental in driving innovation, it is debt markets that can scale these innovations to a meaningful impact level.
According to Godfrey, Tangible’s platform turns climate technology assets into “bankable” assets that institutional investors can readily understand and fund, ultimately making large-scale deployment possible.
The company’s mission resonates with the larger financing challenges associated with climate transition. Recent studies estimate an $8.7 trillion annual funding gap to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, creating an urgent need for scalable capital solutions.
By transforming climate hardware into assets compatible with the institutional debt market, Tangible is poised to facilitate the flow of funds required to meet global climate targets.
How is the startup addressing the disconnect between climate innovation and capital markets
The asset-backed security (ABS) market, valued in the trillions, holds significant potential for financing climate solutions. However, the complexity of climate technology and a lack of standardisation in asset-backed financing models often limit climate companies’ access to this capital. Tangible’s platform attempts to solve this problem by enabling climate companies to “speak the language” of institutional finance, effectively communicating the value and risk of their assets in a way that capital markets recognise.
Godfrey emphasised that many founders view their businesses purely from an equity perspective, often excelling in high-risk ventures. However, scaling these ventures with debt financing requires a shift in mindset toward managing and mitigating credit risk. According to Tangible, the companies that can successfully adopt both equity and debt financing strategies are best positioned to drive long-term success in climate technology.
Utilising bankruptcy-remote structures to build trust in climate finance
An important part of Tangible’s offering is its emphasis on what it calls “bankruptcy-remote” structures, designed to protect financed assets in case of a borrower’s financial failure. According to Godfrey, these structures add a layer of trustworthiness to the financing model, which is crucial for accelerating capital deployment in climate finance.
He pointed out that the financial crisis of 2008 revealed the risks of inadequate financial infrastructure and opaque risk assessment; in the context of climate finance, a similar failure could have severe environmental as well as economic repercussions.
By prioritising transparency and robust financial structures, Tangible aims to build resilience into climate asset financing, ensuring that financial models can withstand market challenges while accelerating the deployment of capital into critical climate projects.
How is the startup supporting innovation from First-of-a-Kind to sstablished solutions
Tangible’s platform is built to support both first-of-a-kind (FOAK) climate innovations and established, ready-to-scale (NOAK) technologies. For pioneering climate technology companies with limited data, Tangible offers a “sandbox” environment to simulate and refine their financing structures, helping these companies to prepare for large-scale funding.
Meanwhile, more mature companies with proven technologies can use Tangible’s standardised tools to deploy faster and more efficiently. According to Godfrey, the climate crisis requires both breakthrough solutions and scalable deployment, and Tangible’s dual focus on FOAK and NOAK projects reflects this need.
Tangible’s platform addresses three major challenges in climate finance: structuring, repeatability, and reporting.
Structuring: The process of creating structured finance deals is often complicated, with numerous details that can delay or derail transactions. Tangible’s platform uses templates and collaborative tools to streamline deal structuring, reducing the time needed to move from concept to finalised transaction.
Repeatability: Each climate-related financing deal is often treated as a unique case, limiting the growth of a cohesive market. Tangible aims to standardise these transactions, building a repeatable framework that can be applied across deals, which, in turn, enables institutional investors to view climate technology as a mature and viable asset class.
Reporting: Once a deal is closed, ongoing reporting requirements can drain resources, with manual compliance and reporting taking up valuable time and increasing costs. Tangible’s platform automates reporting functions, enabling deal teams to focus on asset deployment rather than administrative tasks.
According to Godfrey, this holistic approach is essential to scaling new asset classes effectively. By integrating streamlined structuring, repeatable frameworks, and automated reporting, Tangible hopes to create a more efficient financing landscape for climate assets.
What is Tangible’s plan for future
Tangible plans to use its latest funding to expand its team and further develop its platform. The company aims to become a critical player in the climate finance ecosystem by providing tools that make it easier and faster for climate hardware companies to access capital. Tangible’s partnerships with major investment banks and its development of standardised financing models underscore its goal to enable the swift deployment of funds into climate-critical projects, ultimately contributing to global decarbonisation goals.
What do we think about the startup
With a focus on streamlining climate finance, Tangible seeks to make it easier for climate technology companies to secure the funding needed to scale their solutions. By addressing the complex challenges of financing in this space and establishing standardised practices,
Tangible’s platform could play a role in closing the financing gap for climate-critical hardware. Through continued development and partnerships, Tangible is working to make structured finance accessible to a sector in urgent need of capital, positioning itself as part of the growing movement to align finance with environmental goals.
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