Athian, a cloud-based carbon marketplace for the livestock industry, has received a seed investment from Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods Inc.

This latest investment from Tyson Ventures, along with previous investments from Elanco Animal Health Inc. and Newtrient LLC, will fast-track the launch of the first-of-its kind transactional carbon credit inset program for the livestock sector that will provide producers economic incentives for on-farm sustainability practices, while helping improve the sustainability of the food system and reduce climate warming.   

"This investment from Tyson Ventures propels the development of our carbon marketplace platform forward," said Paul Myer, CEO of Athian. "We now have investors from each segment of the livestock production value chain – farmers, packers, processors, and animal health companies – supporting sustainability practices, including the economic aspect of sustainability, which has been left out of the conversation for far too long. While no single company can solve the challenge of climate change alone, we can work together to make meaningful impacts. We will launch Athian's carbon credit insetting platform in the second half of 2023 so that livestock farmers who prioritize measurable carbon management practices will be able to, for the first time, earn revenue to fund those practices."

Athian's key mission is to help the beef and dairy value chains capture and claim carbon credits earned through sustainability efforts by aggregating, validating, and certifying, greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, and monetizing those reductions through the sale of carbon credits. Athian aggregates data for producers of all sizes through a connected carbon marketplace, allowing beef and dairy producers to monetize and capture value from sustainability efforts, such as GHG reductions. When it goes to market later this year, Athian's carbon credit insetting platform will allow livestock farmers who implement sustainable practices the ability to earn revenue to fund those practices.

"Our vision is to be the platform that enables the livestock industry to meet its sustainability goals by empowering producers to implement on-farm practice changes that will move the needle on climate change," Myer said. "Climate change presents a profound systemic challenge to the livestock industry. Athian is positioned to work with market leading companies to quantify, gain third party certification for and reward farmers for a range of sustainability practices executed at the farm level."

Rahul Ray, Investment Lead for Tyson Ventures, will be an observer to the Athian Board of Directors in connection with this investment.

Source: Athian