AirCarbon Exchange raises US$15m from convertible note series; Trirec is lead investor

BLOCKCHAIN-BASED carbon exchange AirCarbon Exchange (ACX) has closed its convertible note series with Singapore-based decarbonisation investor Trirec leading the deal. 

The company on Wednesday (Dec 28) told The Business Times it raised a total of US$15 million via the convertible note series, which preceded the company’s Series B fundraising round planned for early 2023.

In a press statement on the same day, ACX also highlighted Trirec’s “valuable knowledge and experience in financial markets and climate technology from a global perspective”.

The substantial synergies across Trirec’s and ACX’s respective businesses added to the value proposition for this successful investment, said the latter.

Founded in 2015 by former investment bankers Lawrence Wu and Melvyn Yeo, Trirec is an investment holding company with a focus on renewable energy and clean technology. Earlier in September this year, the company raised US$66 million for the first close of its decarbonisation fund. 

ACX was launched in October 2019 to offer a marketplace for transportation industry stakeholders to trade carbon credits, which are securitised into tokens using blockchain technology. The exchange is a venture between Singapore’s AirCarbon and the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, supported by Enterprise Singapore.  

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Other investors that participated in ACX’s latest funding exercise include existing investor Mubadala Investment Company, an Emirati sovereign wealth fund, as well as the corporate venture capital arm of Thailand-based energy group Banpu Public Company.

ACX chief executive and co-founder Thomas McMahon said he sees the latest note series as a reflection of investor confidence in the company’s “journey to revolutionise carbon markets”.

Said Trirec’s Yeo: “Coupled with the robust structural tailwinds that the carbon markets are facing, we are convinced that ACX will be a major driver of growth in our portfolio and a significant participant in the ecosystem.”