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Two startups that went through the 21st by CentraleSupélec accelerator are announcing major milestones. CarbonFarm, supported in 2023, has raised €7 million in a Series A round to decarbonize rice farming on a global scale. Entalpic, supported in 2025, has received an investment from NVIDIA to accelerate the discovery of new materials using AI. From agriculture to semiconductors, these two deeptech trajectories illustrate the strength of our ecosystem.
CarbonFarm : decarbonizing rice farming at scale
A largely untapped climate lever
Rice cultivation is responsible for approximately 12% of human-caused methane emissions, a footprint comparable to that of global aviation. It also accounts for up to 28% of the world's freshwater usage. Yet, solutions exist: periodic drainage of rice paddies can reduce emissions by up to 50% and water consumption by up to 30%, without lowering yields or increasing production costs, all while improving farmers' incomes.
The difficulty lies in the scale. The sector relies largely on smallholders, often on plots of about one hectare: changing practices requires convincing tens of thousands of farmers.
Technology for measuring, financing, and certifying
This is the challenge CarbonFarm is tackling, a climate tech company specializing in rice decarbonization. Its technology combines AI-powered satellite imagery analysis, field data collection tools, and greenhouse gas modeling. It enables the monitoring of agricultural practices and the quantification of emissions at the individual plot level, supporting both the generation of carbon credits and supply chain decarbonization commitments.
CarbonFarm supports its partners from end to end: project design, financing, certification, and connecting them with buyers. Its approach is based on a clear principle, championed by its CEO: scale up by equipping local industry players—who understand agricultural systems and have the necessary relationships—rather than trying to replace them.
€7M to accelerate international deployment
CarbonFarm has announced an oversubscribed €7 million Series A round, led by Colam Impact, with participation from Proparco, Suma Capital,elea,Working Capital Fund, Albo and Bpifrance, as well as continued support from Serena & makesense and Techmind.
This funding will allow the startup to strengthen its technology, consolidate its presence in Asia, Africa, and Europe, and accelerate its growth in Latin America. Currently operating in 19 countries, CarbonFarm works with key players capable of transforming practices on a large scale: agri-food groups (Mars Food & Nutrition, Diageo, Ebro Foods,Tilda,BASF Agricultural Solutions), carbon finance stakeholders (Livelihoods Funds,myclimate) and development organizations (World Bank Group,Asian Development Bank,SNV, Helvetas,Action Against Hunger UK).
Its ambition: to become the go-to partner for organizations looking to develop, finance, or measure the impact of high-integrity rice projects. As summarized by James Hastwell, co-founder and CTO: "Independent, plot-level measured evidence is becoming the expected standard."
The founders
CarbonFarm was founded in 2022 by Vassily Carantino (CEO) and James Hastwell (CTO), and supported by 21st by CentraleSupélec in 2023.
Entalpic : AI for materials discovery
Reinventing a long and complex process
Designing new materials traditionally requires years of research and experimentation. Entalpic is accelerating this process by working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and physical simulations, with a specific focus: making semiconductor technologies more efficient.
An investment from NVIDIA
Entalpic announces an investment from NVIDIA. This is a strong signal of confidence that brings the startup into the European ecosystem of startups supported by the tech giant.
This support will strengthen their work on designing precursors for Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), a key technique in semiconductor manufacturing. It also opens up new opportunities to apply the team's expertise in surface and interface chemistry to the challenges of advanced electronics, particularly for materials intended for faster and more energy-efficient interconnects.
The founders
Entalpic was founded in Paris in 2024 by Mathieu Galtier (CEO), Victor Schmidt (CTO) and Alexandre Duval (CSO), and is supported by 21st by CentraleSupélec as of 2025. Alexandre Duval is a graduate of CentraleSupélec, where he earned a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence followed by a PhD in Graph Machine Learning in 2024.
What 21st by CentraleSupélec provided them
During their time in the accelerator, CarbonFarm and Entalpic received tailored support based on several complementary pillars:
- Strategic guidance, to help founders gain perspective, make key decisions, and prepare for their next stages of growth.
- Connections with CentraleSupélec research labs, to explore R&D opportunities and accelerate technological development.
- A presence at STATION F, at the heart of a dynamic entrepreneurial community.
- The support of our partner AgroParisTech, is particularly valuable for innovation at the intersection of agriculture, climate, and biodiversity.
Connecting talent, science, and resources
From Asian rice paddies to electronic chip interconnections, the paths of CarbonFarm and Entalpic appear to have nothing in common. Yet they share the essentials: ambitious teams, breakthrough technologies, and an ecosystem capable of helping them scale.
This is what we build every day at 21st by CentraleSupélec: an ecosystem that brings together entrepreneurial talent, scientific expertise, partners, and resources, so that deeptech innovations can move from breakthrough technology to real-world impact.
Congratulations to Vassily Carantino, James Hastwell, and the entire CarbonFarm team, as well as to Mathieu Galtier, Victor Schmidt, Alexandre Duval, and the entire Entalpic team! We are proud to have been a part of your journeys.
Are you building an innovative startup and looking to accelerate your growth? Discover the support offered by 21st by CentraleSupélec.
