First look: Climate careers platform raises money, launches app

Terra.do, a climate careers platform offering everything from job listings to exclusive courses, has raised $5 million in a seed funding round, the company told Axios.

Driving the news: The startup's mission is to get 100 million people working in climate by 2030, and to that end, it launches an app today that aims to connect climate professionals with hiring managers at top climate tech companies.

Why it matters: Climate tech careers are relatively new, and while job boards exist that feature some of these jobs, Terra.do's co-founder and CEO Anshuman Bapna says Terra.do is much more than a listings site. "While huge amounts of capital has come into climate lately, this massive transformation is already getting bottlenecked on talent," Bapna told Axios via email.

"The world doesn’t have enough carbon accountants, battery engineers, regenerative farmers, climate risk analysts, policymakers that understand climate," Bapna said.

Zoom in: Terra.do offers 10 to 12-week, intense training programs they call climate fellowships.

• The company does weekly talent drops that give users a chance to be on a shortlist sent to participating climate employers. It also hosts "climate communities" to allow companies to host calls about themselves and answer questions about job opportunities.
• Terra.do runs a climate bootcamp and select programs taught by experts including Katharine Wilkinson, co-founder of the All We Can Save Project, Zeke Hausfather of Stripe and Goldman Prize winner Kimiko Hirata.

• The goal on the education front is a big one, Bapna said: "To make climate education accessible to everyone on the planet."
• Terra.do is already working with companies including Pachama, Aurora Solar, Chewie Labs, Arcadia, Afresh and Kairos Aerospace.

Context: Avaana Capital led the funding round, which included participation from the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, Precursor, City Light and Avesta, among others. Funding also came from individuals including Albert Wenger, managing partner at Union Square Ventures, and David Helgason, founder of Unity, according to a statement.