# Renoster

> Renoster is an Austin-based climate technology company that brought scientific rigor and radical transparency to the carbon markets. It began as an independent ratings agency - using LiDAR, satellite imagery, and AI to publicly review more than 200 nature-based carbon projects and over 500 million credits through its Mercury platform. Convinced that most existing credits fell short, the company pivoted from grading the market to fixing it, launching Apollo, an improved forest management program that helps small landowners in Maine store more carbon and generate high-integrity forest carbon credits.

- **Founded:** 2019
- **Headquarters:** Austin, Texas, United States
- **Founders:** Saif Bhatti (Co-Founder & CEO), Elias Ayrey (Co-Founder & Chief Science Officer / Head Scientist)
- **Team size:** ~13 employees
- **Products:** Apollo, Mercury Carbon Ratings, Project Explorer, Remote Sensing & MRV
- **Notable:** Publicly reviewed 200+ nature-based carbon projects and over 500 million carbon credits via the Mercury platform., Reviewed 170 forestry projects (~400M nature-based credits) in its first year through the Mercury Rubric., Raised $3.9M total to build transparent MRV for carbon markets.

## Products & services

- **Apollo** — An improved forest management (IFM) program working with small landowners in Maine, helping them shift from short harvest rotations to longer cycles that store more carbon. Backed by Isometric's IFM Protocol, LiDAR monitoring, and Kita insurance, with zero upfront cost and a minimum land size of 25 acres.
- **Mercury Carbon Ratings** — A carbon ratings platform that publicly reviewed and rated nature-based carbon projects (forestry, mangroves, peat) using remote sensing and open-science methodology. Renoster reviewed 200+ projects and 500M+ credits; ratings reflect Renoster's opinion as of July 2025 and are no longer maintained.
- **Project Explorer** — A public tool for exploring and comparing the quality and characteristics of carbon projects, extending the transparency mission to a broader audience.
- **Remote Sensing & MRV** — Measurement, reporting and verification built on LiDAR, satellite imagery, and machine learning to assess and forecast carbon project quality independently of project developers.

## Achievements

- Publicly reviewed 200+ nature-based carbon projects and over 500 million carbon credits via the Mercury platform.
- Reviewed 170 forestry projects (~400M nature-based credits) in its first year through the Mercury Rubric.
- Raised $3.9M total to build transparent MRV for carbon markets.
- Launched Apollo, an improved forest management program in Maine, backed by Isometric's IFM Protocol and Kita insurance.
- Pioneered a public, NDA-free ratings model that maintained independence from project developers to avoid conflicts of interest.
- Techstars 2021 accelerator company; featured on The Pitch podcast.

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Launched Apollo, a new forest carbon program for small landowners in Maine, backed by Isometric's IFM Protocol, LiDAR monitoring, and Kita insurance.
- **2025-09** — Featured in a Business Spotlight and Maine forest carbon market coverage (Windham Eagle, Press Herald) around its pivot to carbon supply.
- **2025-08** — Released the Mercury Carbon Ratings platform update; ratings reflect Renoster's opinion as of July 2025 and will not be further maintained as the company pivots to supply.
- **2023-07** — Closed $3.8M seed round led by climate-focused investors including Better Ventures, Cerulean, Climactic, Possible Ventures, and Seraphim Space.

## Links

- Website: https://renoster.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/renosterinc

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/renoster
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-03