Persefoni – Founders, Business Model, Funding & Competitors

Persefoni AI, Inc. (branded simply as Persefoni) is a leading climate management and carbon accounting platform aimed at helping organizations measure, analyze, and report their greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions.

Founded in early 2020, Persefoni offers a cloud-based “ERP for carbon data” that enables enterprises and financial institutions to calculate their carbon footprints in real time, in compliance with major frameworks (e.g. the Greenhouse Gas Protocol).

The platform uses sophisticated data management and emerging AI capabilities to automate carbon accounting tasks that were previously labor-intensive and consultancy-driven. In an era of increasing climate disclosure regulations and net-zero commitments, Persefoni has positioned itself as a comprehensive solution for both regulatory compliance and voluntary decarbonization.

This article provides an in-depth brand and strategic analysis of Persefoni, covering its founding story, leadership team, business model and revenue streams, funding history, competitive landscape, strategic advantages, products and services, and market trajectory.

Founding Story of Persefoni

Persefoni’s origins trace to late 2019 in Tempe, Arizona, when Kentaro Kawamori and Jason Offerman—former executives at Chesapeake Energy—identified a gap in the market for enterprise-grade carbon accounting software.

Both men had witnessed first-hand the complexity of tracking emissions data in a large energy firm, and they envisioned a software platform that could make carbon reporting as ubiquitous and robust as financial accounting.

Working through the winter of 2019–2020, Kawamori and Offerman secured support from Rice Investment Group (a family office) and formally incorporated Persefoni in January 2020. An initial seed round of $3.5 million in August 2020 enabled the young startup to build out its product.

From the outset, the founders framed Persefoni as a “market’s first ‘ERP for Carbon Data’”, emphasizing that their software would automate and standardize carbon disclosure processes in line with frameworks like the GHG Protocol.

The company’s founding narrative is one of leveraging institutional finance expertise to tackle climate challenges.

For example, Persefoni’s platform was co-designed to satisfy the needs of asset managers and banks; it applies financial-grade data techniques (a “CO₂ ledger” logic) to emissions, displacing the need for expensive consulting engagements.

This vision was articulated early by CEO Kentaro Kawamori: “Ultimately, Persefoni wants to make measuring and tracking every organization’s carbon footprint as ubiquitous as managing their financial performance”.

By late 2020 Persefoni was already operational, and within six months it had rolled out a functional MVP and demonstrated demand from large corporations that sought to manage Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

Thus the founding story of Persefoni is one of rapid formation in response to rising climate disclosure demands, blending the founders’ energy-sector experience with venture funding to create an enterprise-grade climate software platform.

Founders of Persefoni

Persefoni was co-founded by Kentaro Kawamori (CEO), Jason Offerman (President & COO), and Kim Stroh (CDIO).

The trio brought complementary expertise:

Kawamori had led digital transformation at Chesapeake Energy and held roles at management consulting and software firms;

Offerman was a seasoned operations and ERP expert (with 30 years at Chesapeake and later the Rice Investment Group);

Stroh was a computer scientist focused on software architecture and product development.

Kawamori (a Carnegie Mellon MBA) had a vision of applying automated ledger techniques to carbon data, while Offerman recognized the need for scalable implementation. Stroh joined the team early in 2020 to lead product development.

Under their leadership, Persefoni prioritized cloud-based SaaS delivery and a data-driven approach; by 2025 the co-founders were still in their original roles, signaling continuity and commitment. (Notably, Robert G. Eccles – a founding chair of SASB – joined Persefoni’s advisory board in 2021, reflecting the team’s strong governance focus.)

Business Model of Persefoni

Persefoni’s business model is enterprise SaaS. The company provides subscription-based access to its climate management platform, tailored to client size and needs.

Pricing is structured around the customer’s annual revenue or enterprise scale: as one public listing shows, annual contracts start at about $55K for organizations <$250M revenue and scale to $260K for the largest enterprises.

Contracts are typically multi-year (often 1–3 year terms) with a large portion of revenue coming from recurring licenses. A recent industry report notes that Persefoni generates roughly 98% of its revenue from software subscriptions, underscoring the SaaS focus.

The platform targets two primary markets: large corporations and financial institutions. It is sold directly by Persefoni’s sales team as well as via strategic partners (including system integrators and consultancies).

Early on, Persefoni adopted a “channel strategy” akin to how leading enterprise software (like robotic process automation) scaled via Big Four consulting firms. For example, the company formed partnerships with advisors (Carnrite Group in 2022) and technology vendors (Bain and First Street in 2024) to broaden its reach.

Persefoni also sells through the AWS Marketplace as a SaaS offering.

The company maintains dedicated sales and customer success teams for onboarding, but differentiates its model by requiring minimal professional services: initial implementation can be done in weeks or months with little outside help.

In effect, Persefoni positions itself as an end-to-end software solution – in contrast to legacy models of climate consulting – with premium features (e.g. expert “Concierge Support”) available as add-ons.

Revenue Streams of Persefoni

Nearly all of Persefoni’s revenue comes from platform subscriptions.

Large enterprise clients pay annual or multiyear fees for the Persefoni software, often with tiered pricing based on organizational revenue. According to industry analysis, smaller firms (<$250M revenue) pay roughly $55K/year, mid-market pay $90–130K, and global corporations up to $260K.

Persefoni reports this pricing includes core features (Scope 1–3 accounting, reporting, analytics) and support for standards like GHG Protocol and CSRD.

In addition to licenses, Persefoni offers professional services and support as optional add-ons.

These include a “done-for-you” consulting service for carbon measurement and disclosure, and a concierge support package for personal assistance. However, services revenue is relatively small – Persefoni deliberately keeps its model lean on consultancy, focusing instead on product-led growth.

(Indeed, CEO Kawamori has noted that the company “cracked the code” on automating accounting so that external services are rarely needed.) Persefoni also generates minor income via partnerships (e.g. referral agreements with carbon marketplaces like Patch) and possibly training/certification programs, but these are not core revenue drivers.

In summary, subscriptions form the vast majority of income, supplemented by selective add-on services.

Funding of Persefoni

Persefoni has raised substantial venture capital to finance its growth. Its funding history is as follows:

Notes: Series C‑1 extended Persefoni’s total raised to “>$150M” (likely ~$164M). The March 2025 extension brought cumulative funding to $179M. (Discrepancies in reported totals reflect rounding and inclusion of small angel rounds.)

Each round has involved top climate-tech and fintech investors. For example, the Series B round in 2021 (the largest round at the time for a climate SaaS company) was co-led by Prelude and TPG’s Rise fund. The later rounds attracted strategic backers: TPG Rise Fund led the 2023 Series C‑1, and companies like EDF Pulse (French utility), ENEOS (Japanese energy), and a European fashion conglomerate joined in 2025. In total, Persefoni has raised nearly $180 million by early 2025.

Competitors of Persefoni

Persefoni operates in a crowded but fast-growing market of carbon and ESG software.

Its competitors range from specialist startups to offerings by major tech firms.

Notable peers include Watershed (a San Francisco startup focused on enterprise Scope 1–3 accounting), Emitwise and Sweep (UK startups with machine-learning approaches), and Normative (acquired by Deloitte).

There are also sustainability modules from large software vendors: Microsoft’s Sustainability Manager, Salesforce’s Net Zero Cloud, IBM’s Envizi, and smaller players like Greenly (France) and Plan A (Germany) have emerged in recent years.

Consulting and ERP firms also offer ESG reporting tools (e.g. Workiva, Diligent’s platform after acquiring GRIST).

According to TechCrunch, the rise of “the likes of Plan A, South Pole and Watershed” exemplifies this competition, along with Salesforce’s solution. In practice, Persefoni differentiates itself by its financial-sector focus and AI-driven features (see below), but its rivals span the full spectrum of carbon management.

The market backdrop amplifies competition: estimates suggest global carbon accounting software could grow from $15–19 billion in 2024 to over $100 billion by 2032.

As regulators (SEC, CSRD, etc.) and stakeholders demand transparent disclosures, more firms will seek such platforms. Yet for now Persefoni is often mentioned alongside high-growth competitors like Watershed, IBM, Salesforce, and Microsoft as leaders in the field.

Products and Services of Persefoni

Persefoni’s offerings center on its Climate Management & Accounting Platform (CMAP), which is segmented into tiers and modules for different customer needs. The main products include:

• Persefoni Pro (Free Tier): A no-cost, self-service carbon accounting platform for small-to-medium organizations. Pro includes full Scope 1–3 coverage (all 15 Scope 3 categories) and a built-in sustainability report builder (CSRD, ISSB, etc.). It also features an in-app GPT “Copilot” to guide users and extensive learning resources (Help Center, Academy). Pro is intended for single-user access (for multi-user or export capabilities, customers upgrade). In its first year, Pro attracted thousands of users (universities, NGOs, SMBs, etc.), validating Persefoni’s mission to “democratize” carbon accounting.

• Persefoni Advanced (Enterprise Tier): A paid subscription for large enterprises and complex organizations. This tier provides scalable, audit-grade carbon accounting, including multi-user access, role-based permissions, and SOC/ISO-compliant security. Advanced adds features like decarbonization planning and advanced analytics: customers get a dedicated “Carbon Solutions Expert” advisor, unlimited data inputs, and the ability to model finance-specific and location-based climate impacts. (For context, AWS Marketplace pricing shows enterprise contracts from $55K to $260K/year, tiered by revenue.) Advanced is positioned “for sustainability-ambitious and enterprise-scale organizations” and underpins comprehensive ESG reporting and strategy.

• Persefoni for Financial Services: Specially tailored solutions for banks, asset managers, and insurers. These include financed emissions accounting (under PCAF) and portfolio analytics. For example, the Portfolio Analytics Suite helps investment firms aggregate and report the carbon impact of their portfolios. Persefoni CEO Kawamori emphasizes that the platform was built with financial investors in mind. These modules allow financial organizations to calculate financed emissions for funds, evaluate portfolio alignment with net-zero benchmarks, and meet ESG reporting demands.

• Net-Zero Navigator: Developed in partnership with Bain & Company, this is a decision-support tool for crafting decarbonization strategies. It generates industry-specific decarbonization scenarios and tracks progress against science-based targets. This module enables companies to identify high-impact reduction actions and integrate them into their overall climate roadmap.

• Professional Services / Add-ons: While Persefoni’s model minimizes mandatory consulting, it does offer optional services. Customers can purchase “Professional Services” – a full-service, done-for-you engagement covering data collection, emissions analysis, and reporting – as well as premium support (“Concierge”) for onboarding and custom assistance. These services are additive; even large clients often prefer the platform’s self-serve approach supplemented by such support when needed. Persefoni’s offerings also extend to education and compliance resources (e.g. climate policy libraries and training courses) to complement the software.

The table below summarizes Persefoni’s key product offerings:

Each of these products addresses different pain points in climate management. For example, the AWS Marketplace listing highlights that Persefoni provides “a single source of truth” and an audit-ready data ledger, enabling teams to manage carbon with “the same rigor and confidence” as financial accounts. In practice, clients use Persefoni to produce GHG inventories, multi-framework disclosures, supplier-engagement reports, and climate risk analyses in a unified system.

Conclusion

Persefoni has rapidly grown from a two-person startup into a well-funded leader in climate disclosure software.

The company has continually innovated – introducing a free SMB platform, embedding generative AI (PersefoniGPT), and expanding into climate-risk analytics – while scaling its enterprise business globally.

Industry observers note that Persefoni’s specialization in financial-sector emissions and “audit-grade” carbon accounting have set it apart in a competitive field. With backing of ~$180M in venture capital and marquee customers (including multiple top private equity and banking firms),

Persefoni is on track to leverage the forthcoming wave of regulatory mandates. Its leadership team projects profitability by late 2025, reflecting disciplined growth and strong demand.

In summary, Persefoni’s brand story is one of mission-driven innovation: founded to fill a crucial gap in climate reporting, it now offers a comprehensive SaaS platform that has won industry recognition (Forrester calls it a “leader”).

By focusing on compliance, automation, and broad accessibility (via its free tier), Persefoni has built a durable strategic position.

Going forward, the company is poised to capture a major share of the growing $20+ billion carbon-management market, helping organizations worldwide meet their sustainability goals and disclosures.

Also Read: Lumos – Founders, Business Model, Funding & Competitors

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