# Jason Aramburu

> Jason Aramburu is the cofounder and CEO of Applied Carbon, a Houston-based climate tech company building the world's first mobile, in-field biochar production machines that convert agricultural crop waste into permanent carbon storage - and improved soil - in a single pass. A Princeton-trained ecologist who first encountered biochar during field research in Panama, Aramburu has spent two decades building at the intersection of soil science, robotics, and carbon markets. Before Applied Carbon, he founded re:char (smallholder biochar in Kenya, backed by Gates Foundation) and Edyn (smart irrigation, Y Combinator W14), then invested in AI and energy startups at Baidu Ventures and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures before returning to his original mission. Applied Carbon raised a $21.5M Series A in July 2024, backed by Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Congruent Ventures, and the Grantham Foundation, and won the $500,000 Wilkes Climate Launch Prize in September 2024.

- **Role:** Cofounder and CEO at Applied Carbon
- **Organizations:** Applied Carbon, re:char, Edyn, Baidu Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (cum laude), Certificate in Environmental Studies, Princeton University
- **Known for:** Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs, Business Week Top 25 Social Entrepreneurs in America, Echoing Green 2010 Global Fellow

## Career timeline

- **2003-2007** — Princeton University - studied Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; conducted senior thesis research on ant populations and soil characteristics in Panama
- **2007-2009** — Research at Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama) and Princeton's Carbon Mitigation Initiative; Gates Foundation-sponsored work training smallholder farmers in biochar in East Africa
- **2009** — Founded re:char, developing biochar agriculture systems for smallholder farmers in Kenya; backed by Echoing Green, Gates Foundation, and Doen Foundation
- **2010** — Named Echoing Green Global Fellow; named 2009 Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellow
- **2012** — Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs; Business Week Top 25 Social Entrepreneurs in America; named Ashoka Fellow
- **2013** — Founded Edyn, a Wi-Fi-enabled soil probe and smart irrigation system; presented at TechCrunch Disrupt SF
- **2014** — Edyn joined Y Combinator (W14 batch); Kickstarter campaign exceeded goal by 2x within two weeks
- **2016-2019** — Director at Baidu Ventures, investing in early-stage AI startups
- **2019-2022** — Investment Principal and then Investment Director at Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures; closed deals including Energy Vault (unicorn) and Rain Neuromorphics
- **2020** — Co-founded Climate Robotics (later renamed Applied Carbon) with Dr. Morgan Williams
- **2024** — Applied Carbon (rebranded from Climate Robotics) raised $21.5M Series A led by TO.VC; won $500K Wilkes Climate Launch Prize; named XPRIZE Carbon Removal top-20 finalist; named DOE CO2 Removal Purchase Pilot Prize semifinalist

## Achievements

- Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs
- Business Week Top 25 Social Entrepreneurs in America
- Echoing Green 2010 Global Fellow
- Ashoka Fellow
- 2009 Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellow
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grantee
- Applied Carbon raised $21.5M Series A (July 2024)
- Won $500,000 Wilkes Climate Launch Prize (September 2024)
- XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition top-20 global finalist
- DOE CO2 Removal Purchase Pilot Prize semifinalist
- re:char adopted by thousands of smallholder farmers in Kenya
- Edyn exceeded Kickstarter goal by 2x in two weeks
- Closed Energy Vault investment at Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (went public at unicorn valuation)

## Latest updates

- **2024-09** — Applied Carbon won the $500,000 Wilkes Climate Launch Prize from the University of Utah
- **2024-07** — Applied Carbon raised $21.5M Series A led by TO.VC with participation from Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Congruent Ventures, Grantham Foundation, S2G Ventures, and others
- **2024-06** — Company rebranded from Climate Robotics to Applied Carbon to better reflect the core mission
- **2024-05** — Named top-20 global finalist in XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition; named DOE CO2 Removal Purchase Pilot Prize semifinalist (awarded $50,000)

## Links

- Website: https://appliedcarbon.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonaramburu
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jasonaramburu

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jason-aramburu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-14