Flowcarbon, the climate tech startup cofounded by WeWork’s Adam Neumann, has been quietly refunding investors after failing for years to launch its “Goddess Nature Token,” Forbes learned.
Since debuting more than two years ago, the startup has struggled to realize its mission of bringing carbon credits onto the blockchain. In 2022, Flowcarbon announced it had raised $70 million in funding from investors like Andreessen Horowitz to create a new token backed 1:1 by carbon credits, certificates that companies typically buy en masse to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. Each credit represents a metric ton of carbon dioxide that has been removed or prevented from entering the atmosphere. Tokenizing them would, in theory, make it easier for anyone to participate in the carbon market, a system that some reports have claimed can do more harm than good.
But in recent weeks, Flowcarbon has been issuing refunds to people who purchased its “Goddess Nature Token” and waited years for a launch that never happened. According to sources who were contacted by the company last month, Flowcarbon cited market conditions and resistance from carbon registries as the reason for returning buyers’ funds instead of continuing to hold them indefinitely. These individuals told Forbes that the company relayed this information over Zoom calls.
As part of the refund process, Goddess Nature Token purchasers were asked to sign a release including a broad waiver of claims against Flowcarbon and its affiliates, as well as confidentiality terms, according to a contract viewed by Forbes.
“There was so much demand for the presale that everyone was asked to help.”
Flowcarbon did not address a list of questions about the refund. It told Forbes, “It's well known that since last year we have been offering refunds to retail GNT buyers due to the industry delays, with standard and customary terms, as we continue to grow Flowcarbon as a leader in carbon finance.”
Earlier this year, Flowcarbon stopped using Discord as a communications channel, telling Forbes that........