Flipping the Switch on Home Decarbonization

Why we invested in Arbor

In the fight against climate change, we need to decarbonize everything, including our homes. Residential energy use accounts for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

As we’ve highlighted in the past, our mission at Obvious is to invest in startups that align with our belief in a sustainable and equitable future. A big part of that is working with climate tech founders who are recording, reducing, and removing carbon, which is why we are thrilled to announce our recent investment in Arbor.

Arbor is an innovative digital energy platform that aligns perfectly with our world positive investment thesis. The company helps consumers save on their home energy bills without changing their power reliability or billing process. By streamlining energy management, Arbor empowers people to reduce costs and improve efficiency — a change we believe is essential in decarbonizing the home.

America’s desire to decarbonize at a residential level is growing — $9 billion in energy rebates was earmarked just for this in the Climate Bill — yet it’s often confusing for the average consumer. With Arbor, switching energy suppliers becomes simple and advantageous for users.

Reshaping the energy market

Arbor’s strategic approach to consumer engagement sets them apart in the deregulated energy market. By tapping into the majority of consumers who are not typically interested in switching providers, Arbor has expanded the total addressable market for new entrants.

And switching to lower-cost, lower-carbon energy is just the beginning. Arbor’s long-term vision is to create a comprehensive platform for whole-home decarbonization. This commitment to creating an easy, safe, holistic energy advisor for users’ electrified lives resonated with us at Obvious. The platform aims to monitor user bills, track savings, and offers personalized recommendations on energy products, translating into significant annual savings for consumers.

Arbor is led by Andrew Meyer and his team of repeat leaders from companies like Inspire, Arcadia, and Nextera. Their backgrounds are great representations of today’s climate leaders — people who have proven their ability to effectively connect with customers and build what they need now as well as for tomorrow.

The ability of Arbor’s platform to aggregate users, manage energy demand, and deliver significant savings is reshaping how consumers approach their energy usage and will lead us into a greener and more efficient future.