Sustainability data provider Util has closed a £5.3 million seed round of funding.
The funding, led by Eldridge, will support the London company’s expansion into the United States.
Additional participants in the round include the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE), the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE Global Markets) and founding investor Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE).
“We’re delighted CBOE and LuxSE share our vision and look forward to working together to integrate sustainability intelligence into the global financial system,” said Patrick Wood Uribe, Util CEO.
Customers including PGIM Quantitative Solutions, Nuveen and Danske Bank Asset Management work with Util to research companies, report on portfolios, and create differentiated financial products benchmarked against material sustainability issues.
Julie Becker, CEO at LuxSE, said Util’s overarching objective is fully aligned with the exchange’s mission to contribute to the growth of sustainable finance.
“As we accelerate the climate transition, it is increasingly important to be able to map the social and environmental impact of companies,” she added.
“A growing number of investors are now seeking solid sources of sustainability data to evaluate the positive or negative SDG contributions of different companies as this allows them to make informed investment decisions that reflect their sustainability objectives.”
Riaz Shaikh, previously global head of data analytics strategy, investment banking at Credit Suisse, was recently appointed to lead product development.
Earlier this year, Mike Goynes joined Util as CTO, prior to which he was chief data officer at supply-chain AI unicorn Interos.