Request for Applications: AI Climate Accelerator Program (2025)

The Climate Collective is excited to announce its AI Climate Accelerator Program to address critical climate and nature challenges.

There is no shortage of ideas on how AI can accelerate climate and nature goals. But bringing products to market remains a key barrier to climate tech innovation. So, their 2025 accelerator focuses on helping founder find product- market fit (PMF).

Focus Areas

You are advancing climate and nature goals in five impact areas:
- Nature conservation and restoration
- Policy and governance
- Decarbonization and energy transition
- Climate resilience and adaptation
- Circular economy and resource management

Funding Information

They don’t take equity. They provide small non-dilutive grants, setting a new generation of global founders up for success.
Stipends of about $10,000 USD will be available for each participating team. Think of this as a contribution to the time you will dedicate to the accelerator.
Teams will enter in a contractual agreement with Climate Collective to articulate specific participation-based milestones that are required in order to unlock tranches of stipend payments.

What to expect?

They’ve built a dynamic and flexible 12-week program designed to accelerate your startup.
Each week, you’ll be expected to show up with all your heart and energy for:
- Activities relevant to the week’s topic or theme:
  - 60-90 minute remote group sessions with a coach
  - 1:1 async and remote check-ins with a coach
  - Homework and activities between weeks
- Activities that support your general progress:
  - 1:1 remote check-ins with a mentor
  - 60-minute virtual Q&As with guest speakers
  - WhatsApp cohort
  - community group
You’ll leave the accelerator with:
- Knowledge
  - Templates and primers to share
  - back to your team and investors
  - Best-in-class techniques to find
  - product-market fit
  - Unique global perspectives on
  - AI, climate, and nature
  - Policy, hiring, and funding lessons from leading climate AI companies
- Impact
  - A clear path to achieve your revenue and growth goals
  - A pathway to more customers that truly love your product
  - A strong funnel with strong KPIs and right-sized unit economics
  - Hard and soft founder skills to build your business
- Networks
  - Introductions to investors and funders to help raise your next round
  - Access to a cohort-specific Whatsapp community
  - Access to a community of mentors and experts
  - Presence at dedicated networking events at major activations like NY Climate Week

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Countries: Applicants in All Countries can apply
You are applying AI tools and approaches across any of four dimensions:
- Prediction and monitoring
- Optimization and efficiency
- Automation and action
- Knowledge and insights
Your project is anywhere from the idea stage to having secured series-A funding.
- Idea stage
  - You have operational experience
  - You might be an engineer or product person at a company and are ready to go out on your own.
  - You might not have a team, product, or funding.
  - Not yet incorporated.
- Pre-seed
  - You have a small team and an early product
  - You have raised less than $1M
  - You might not have revenue or ongoing users
  - You have had customer conversations and users at some point.
- Seed
  - You have a team of 10+
  - You have raised more than $1M with >$500K revenue
  - You have a product with bare or weak product-market fit
  - Your KPIs aim to secure series A funding
- Series A
  - You have raised over $2-10M
  - You have $500k-$2M in annual revenue
  - You have grown to around 20+ employees
  - You have market fit and you are optimizing for scale
They will support startups whose team members:
- Complement each other with skills and attributes that make the sum greater than the parts.
- Bring subject matter expertise and familiarity with the audience and problem.
- Demonstrate a willingness to learn and adapt based on evidence.