Clarity AI announced it closed a $15 million funding round led by Deutsche Börse and co-investor Mundi Ventures. Clarity AI helps has a proprietary technology platform that uses big data and machine learning to assess sustainability for all societal stakeholders to help investors manage the impact of their portfolios. The raised funds will be used to scale-up investment in proprietary technology and AI, as well as integrate with the world’s largest financial services platforms.
“Our purpose is simple: to measure the impact of companies on our society and planet,” said Rebeca Minguela, founder and CEO of Clarity AI, in a statement. “Investors attempting to evaluate impact have faced fragmented and unreliable data, inconsistent subjective definitions, and a lack of standards and tools for comprehensive analysis. Historically it has been too hard and resource-intensive to get accurate and transparent insights.”
Since its founding in 2017, Clarity AI has attracted a client network representing in excess of $3 trillion of assets and funding from investors, including Kibo Ventures, Founders Fund, Seaya Ventures and Matthew Freud. The company’s tech platform features more than 30,000 companies, 198 countries, 187 local governments and over 200,000 funds. It uses proprietary technology and algorithms to produce transparent assessments for investors that are the most consistent and comprehensive available.
The “Sustainable Investment” market has grown 34% in the last two years and now represents one-third of total global assets under management (AUM) – $30.7 trillion (of a total of $79.2 trillion). This rapid growth comes as research shows that 81% of investors want to better understand and improve the impact performance of their investments, with millennials (in particular) demanding greater social impact transparency in their portfolios. In the last six months, Clarity AI has seen a significant increase in demand, including signing clients with eight times the assets under management as in the preceding period.
Minguela said in the statement: “2020 has seen extraordinary volatility and uncertainty – from COVID-19 to social justice protests. It has never been more important for investors to have accurate insights on the true impact of the companies in which they place their trust and their money.”
Deutsche Börse led the funding round, underscoring the strong alignment of the Clarity AI product offering with Deutsche Börse’s expanding presence in the sustainability space and the importance of accelerating the growth of a European-focused Impact and ESG technology platform. Clarity AI and Deutsche Börse are also exploring potential collaboration opportunities in various Deutsche Börse business areas, including Qontigo, a leading provider of indices and analytics.