Climate tech startup Flowcarbon, founded by WeWork’s Adam Neumann, has been refunding investors who bought its “Goddess Nature Token” after failing to launch it for years. The startup aimed to merge carbon credits with the blockchain, and in 2022, it raised $70 million from investors like Andreessen Horowitz to create a token backed by carbon credits. However, recent market conditions and resistance from carbon registries led Flowcarbon to refund buyers’ funds instead of proceeding with the token launch.
Refunds for the Goddess Nature Token were issued to buyers who had waited for years for the token to launch. Flowcarbon cited industry delays as the reason for returning funds and asked purchasers to sign a release including a broad waiver of claims and confidentiality terms. The startup did not disclose these refunds on any public platform and did not address questions about the refund process when approached by Forbes.
Flowcarbon’s high profile, thanks to Neumann’s involvement and major backers like Andreessen Horowitz, attracted significant interest. At least $38 million of the $70 million raised in funding was through the sale of Flowcarbon’s token. The startup had a requested minimum purchase amount of $25,000 for presale participants, but many purchases were for less than that.
The idea of tokenizing carbon credits on the blockchain has gained traction in the crypto space, but concerns have been raised about the potential for double-counting and fraud. Projects like Toucan and KlimaDAO tokenized retired carbon credits, leading to caution from carbon registries like Verra. Flowcarbon’s plans to tokenize only unretired, certified credits were impacted by Verra’s ban on the tokenization of retired credits in 2021.
Buyers of the Goddess Nature Token were frustrated by delays in its launch, with some questioning whether their funds would be locked up for another year. Verra has stood by its decision to prohibit the creation of instruments or tokens based on retired credits, while Flowcarbon maintains a collaborative relationship with Verra and Gold Standard, another major registry. The company’s daily management falls to CEO Dana Gibber and COO Caroline Klatt, with the company’s origins traced back to the Neumann family office and the efforts of Gibber and Klatt following a call to research the carbon market.
Despite facing challenges in launching the Goddess Nature Token, Flowcarbon continues to operate with a focus on carbon finance. The company has not disclosed any plans for collaboration with Neumann’s real estate startup, Flow. As the climate tech space evolves and concerns about carbon offsetting mount, Flowcarbon remains committed to its mission of tokenizing carbon credits and simplifying participation in the carbon market.
