Synature is one of a rising number of startups exploring the use AI to make a positive impact on the planet. Startup data firm Dealroom numbers more than 400 European AI startups targeting environment-related UN Sustainable Development Goals on its database. These have raised a combined US$5.5bn, according to Dealroom’s overview of the “AI for good” startup landscape, published in March 2025.

And more and more of these startups are entering the market each year. In 2015, Dealroom recorded nine first funding rounds (the first time a startup raises funds) for AI startups focused on environmental SDGs, growing to 37 during the year 2022 (dipping to 35 the following year amid a general slowdown in the startup ecosystem).

“It has absolutely gained in profile,” says Paul Miller, CEO of the UK-based, tech-for-good venture capital firm Bethnal Green Ventures. The number of AI-focused impact startups approaching the firm for investment has gone up considerably in the past couple of years, he explains. “In the environmental sphere, certainly, it’s doubled.”

Miller suggests AI has become popular among impact entrepreneurs, who see it as a new, powerful tool to achieve their social or environmental mission. “What they’re really obsessed with is the problem they’re trying to solve,” says Miller. “As technologies become available, founders think, ‘Ok, how can I apply that to the problem that I really care about?’”

Because the technology is young and ever-evolving, founders are still uncovering what it can be used for, finding new ideas and developing new products and services, Miller says. AI for impact is growing fast, he adds. “I imagine that's going to continue growing for some time.”

A bright future

Harry Wright is the founding CEO of Bright Tide, a UK company that supports entrepreneurs focusing on climate, nature and oceans. It recently launched Sustain.AI, an accelerator programme for startups that use artificial intelligence to tackle environmental issues. 

“Artificial intelligence is everywhere, it’s the future,” he says. “We’re in the midst of the new industrial revolution, where things are just changing at such a fast and accelerating pace.”

But Wright also admits there are “some moral and ethical considerations with AI”. Concerns are rising over the technology’s impact on the planet – due to its high energy consumption and water usage – and on society, with many people at risk of losing their jobs, and big tech companies training their AI models in controversial ways. Wright says Sustain.AI aims to show that AI can, however, also be used “for really good reasons, particularly around things like climate, nature and biodiversity monitoring”.

In this year’s cohort are 10 startups (including Synature) from around the world. Among them is UK-based Ecodetect, which provides underwater wildlife detection systems to marine renewable energy operators, to help them monitor their impact on marine biodiversity and mitigate any negative effects they may have.

The impact on local wildlife is not yet well known for emerging technologies including tidal stream turbines, floating offshore wind and wave energy converters, founder David Gold explains. “There are questions about collision risks with marine wildlife, such as marine mammals, whales, dolphins, seals, diving birds and fish, and what happens if they come into contact with some of these devices.” 

Ecodetect gathers imaging data from multiple sources, such as video camera footage, sonar, lidar (which is similar to a sonar but uses laser rather than sound waves to locate objects), infrared cameras and others, and uses computer vision (a type of AI that enables a computer to see and interpret images like humans) and machine learning to identify different types of wildlife. This information is provided to the energy company, which can then report to regulators and, if there’s a risk, can take steps to protect local wildlife from harm – which enables the development of low-carbon energy production while protecting biodiversity.

Gold launched the startup in June 2024 after a career in geoscience. It is currently piloting its technology with renewable energy companies, whose names aren’t public at this stage. The aim is to understand their needs, then develop the product, Gold explains, “rather than doing it the other way around, and building a solution and then trying to find out whether people want to buy it.”

The market is still in its infancy, Gold says, and while environmental regulation may soften over time, he is confident that public pressure will compel energy companies to measure their impact on biodiversity. “People are making much more ethical choices about where their energy comes from, and holding people to account,” he says. “So I think there will always be a market for what we're doing, and beyond the initial work that we’re doing right now.” Expansion into other industries, such as shipping and oil infrastructure decommissioning, is also a possibility for growing the business.

The number of founders eager to use AI to save the planet is rising, but how big is investors’ appetite?

While investor enthusiasm for AI startups is through the roof, VCs seem to have lost interest in impact startups, in particular those working on climate issues. After years of growth, VC funding towards “climate tech” startups started falling from 2023, dropping by 30% last year, according to Dealroom figures from 2024.

Meanwhile, separate research from BloombergNEF shows an even worse picture, with climate-tech VC investment dropping by a whopping 40% in 2024.

In fundraising terms, environment and AI startups have often been pitched against each other, with investors quoted as saying that “AI has sucked the oxygen out of the room” for green startups. The picture for those that combine the two is unclear.

Read more: VC investments in impact startups worldwide fall by more than a quarter in 2024

There might be an opportunity, Bright Tide’s Wright suggests. As some investors are pulled away from the idea of making a positive impact by geopolitical headwinds, startups using AI for environmental impact can be agile about how they present themselves. Calling yourself an AI business – “riding the AI wave” – could be a way to stay relevant during this turbulent period, he says. “Unfortunately, we live in an ever-changing, I think on some aspects, less altruistic world. For those entrepreneurs, they have to repackage and redesign and re-communicate what they’re doing in a more commercial sense.”

Synature’s co-founder Staehli, however, warns that “AI is a buzzword”. Saying that one uses AI doesn’t help much anymore, “because every startup does it” – what will make the difference is the company’s business model, track record and credentials, he says. 

Miller at Bethnal Green Ventures agrees. While investors might want to be associated with “very cool AI startups”, they are generally savvy enough to look at the business model beyond the tech, he says. That’s particularly the case for impact investors, given their long-term focus. VCs may be tempted to invest in AI given its sharp upwards trajectory, but impact investors looking at eight to 10-year commitments with a company will be sceptical of quick upticks in valuation.

“I do think there is a huge amount of value to be gained and huge amounts of positive impact [to be created] from artificial intelligence and machine learning and so on. But… we’re going to have to wait and see how it really plays out,” Miller says. That cautious stance is echoed in Bethnal Green Ventures’ strategy: rather than going all-in on AI, it has a diversified portfolio among different technologies, business models and impact themes. 

Recently, large language models such as ChatGPT have come under scrutiny because of their need for power-intensive data centres, which also require water to cool them down. But not all AI models have the same environmental impact. LLMs differ from AI models such as those used by Synature or Ecodetect, which train on specific datasets to be able to execute specific tasks, and are less energy-hungry.

AI’s negative environmental footprint is front of mind for the entrepreneurs, but they argue that this can be minimised.

Staehli’s main concern is the energy used by cloud storage, where Synature needs to keep large amounts of data collected by its smart microphones to keep training their models. He believes the positive impact of Synature on biodiversity will outweigh the negatives of energy usage, but says the company will consider buying carbon credits to offset its impact as it grows.

Ecodetect uses green data storage providers and destroys useless data before uploading it to the cloud as much as possible. Gold says the renewable energy produced by the infrastructure operating with its support will far outweigh the energy needed to power its models.

Listen to our Good Leaders podcast with Julia Stamm and Olivia Gambelin, the women driving AI for good

Beyond AI’s negative impacts, operating in such a young field comes with unknowns, starting with ever-evolving regulation. Louise Crawford, partner at global law firm Hogan Lovells, says it’s vital for tech startups to be adaptable and responsive to change: “this is often the key difference between a business with a short lifespan and one that grows and thrives.” Laws currently being developed, such as the EU’s AI Act, are likely to have a significant impact, with AI-specific regulations expected to emerge in other jurisdictions, she adds.

In a highly competitive landscape, entrepreneurs should ensure they protect their intellectual property, advises Crawford. And constantly staying at the forefront of innovation is far from easy. “You don’t have a manual, you don’t have a blueprint,” says Staehli. Ecodetect’s Gold explains how hard it is for a small startup to grow as a business while dedicating enough time to technology development. “I’m just keen not to lose our competitive advantage,” he says.

Responsibility

Experienced investors point out that, while AI is new territory, the questions it raises are familiar. Bethnal Green Ventures has been investing in impact startups for 12 years, and Miller says he has seen several waves of emerging technologies similarly leading to new startup ideas and approaches.

“What we have to be careful of is that they really understand that technology, [and that] they [have] thought through the unintended consequences,” he says. 

More broadly, one must not lose the nuances in conversations around AI for good, Miller says. AI entails risks, but we need to be wary of overstating the dangers too, he points out. “There’s a chance that the whole thing gets sidelined by a huge wave of fear about it, or a huge wave of hype.

“There’s a responsibility on us, as investors, and on the founders who are trying to create impact and value from this, to try and steer that conversation so as we don’t get caught in the extremes of it, and try to have sensible conversations about what’s possible and what’s desirable.”