Houston Startup Mati Carbon Captures $50M XPrize, Revolutionizing Carbon Removal

Houston-based startup Mati Carbon has clinched the $50 million grand prize in Elon Musk’s XPrize Carbon Removal competition, outshining 1,300 global teams. Mati’s breakthrough uses “enhanced rock weathering”—spreading finely crushed basalt over farmland in India—to permanently capture atmospheric CO₂ while improving soil fertility and boosting smallholder farmers’ incomes. The process accelerates a natural mineral reaction, locking carbon away for millennia and supporting sustainable agriculture. It was formed in 2022, and the approach of Mati Carbon was one of a kind in terms of scalability and impact, removing over 1,000 net tonnes of CO₂ during the final year of the four-year challenge. The win is a landmark moment for climate tech and holds out promise for gigaton-scale carbon removal solutions worldwide. Source: Bloomberg