Mitiga will double its workforce and move to Pier 07 in Barcelona after raising 13 million

The Barcelona-based technology company Mitiga Solutions has just closed a funding round of 13.25 million euros with the aim of establishing itself as the leading company in providing information for the prevention, measurement, and mitigation of risks linked to climate change. The Series A round was led by Kibo Ventures and also included participation from Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, the fund created by Microsoft and endowed with one billion dollars to invest in innovative companies that contribute to improving the planet's climate. Other investors who have subscribed to the capital increase are Nationwide Ventures, Faber Ventures, and the Spanish impact or purpose investment manager Creas Impacto.

Mitiga, which was founded in the Catalan capital in 2018, is a spin-off of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing to improve prevention, resilience, and adaptability to climate-related hazards. "We prevent natural hazards from becoming disasters," explains the company, which expects to more than double its workforce in Barcelona and triple its turnover in one year.

Currently, Mitiga's headquarters, which also has an office in the United Kingdom, is located on Ramon Turró street, in the 22@ district, but, soon, the firm will move to the new Pier 07 campus launched by Tech Barcelona on Via Laietana, a hub specialized in developing new technological solutions for the health and research sector. According to sources from Mitiga, the team currently consists of 30 professionals ---40% have a doctorate---, but the goal is to increase this number to 70 people within a year, coinciding with the move to Pier 07, meaning 40 more people will be hired.

The new economic resources raised in this round will allow the climate-tech to "become the market standard" for measuring climate-related risks to assets of any company or sector. Specifically, Mitiga has developed a solution called Climate Score that provides companies with the necessary tools to evaluate, measure, and report risks associated with climate hazards, whether caused by wind, wildfires, extreme rainfall and temperatures, floods, sea level rise, volcanoes, or cyclones. The startup points out that, unlike other methodologies, its Climate Score is based on physics and not statistics and does not focus only on individual hazards, but combines multiple threats that facilitate decision-making for asset managers, insurers, financial institutions, and real estate companies. The analysis is carried out in real time, but can cover a projection of up to 100 years thanks to its advanced computing methodology.

"We are on a mission to prevent natural hazards from becoming disasters and to push the boundaries on how risks are managed and mitigated. But most importantly, we want to make the world a more resilient and safer place under a changing climate," explained Dr. Alejandro Martí, CEO and co-founder of Mitiga Solutions alongside Mauricio Hanzich, who is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

The firm already counts among its clients insurance companies such as AXA, Howden Group, Willis Tower Watson; large companies such as Suez, Indra, or Safran; governmental organizations such as Eurocontrol; and NGOs such as the Danish Red Cross.

The funding round will allow scaling its risk modeling offering, expanding the scientific and commercial team worldwide, investing in cloud architecture and security, and "continuing to push the boundaries of climate science." Mitiga's goal is to more than triple revenues in 2023.

"Global warming is occurring at a rate not seen in 10,000 years. In the last century, human activity has increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, which has resulted in a one-degree Celsius increase in the average surface temperature of the planet. Almost 90% of the additional heat has been absorbed by the ocean, which has warmed more than 0.33 degrees Celsius since 1969," the company states.

Mitiga reminds that in 2023, all regulated companies listed on the market and EU-based entities with at least 500 employees must report on the impacts of physical risks associated with climate change adaptation and mitigation, which is why its technology has strong business potential.

"Traditional risk management tools that rely on past events to predict the future are no longer sufficient, leaving businesses exposed, assets stranded, and reputation at risk. As a company, we value transparency above all else. That's why we work with our clients to quantify uncertainty and enable them to make informed decisions," adds Mitiga's director.

For his part, Javier Torremocha, co-founder and managing partner of Kibo Ventures, highlights that "there is a lot of potential and resilience in climate technology. We have been impressed by what Alex and the team have built; proprietary, state-of-the-art technology with multiple applications. We are delighted to support Mitiga with its vision to become a category leader while helping to reduce disasters caused by climate change."

Along the same lines, Brandon Middaugh, senior director of Microsoft's climate fund, emphasizes that having "the ability to predict and manage the effects of climate-related hazards is a critical need to adapt to a changing ecosystem." "Mitiga's use of AI and high-performance computing is a valuable tool for assessing climate-related risk across a variety of hazards to mitigate threats and build a more resilient future," the investor noted.