Michelle You

Michelle You co-founded Supercritical in London in 2021 with Aaron Randall, its chief technology officer, and is its chief executive. The pair had previously built Songkick, the concert discovery service that reached 20 million monthly users before Warner Music Group acquired it. Supercritical helps companies buy carbon removal: it sources and vets projects, structures multi-year purchases and manages the risk that tonnes are not delivered.

Vetting as the product

Supercritical’s scientific vetting, led by director of climate science Dr Mai Bui, rejects 88% of the projects it assesses, the company says. It works across biochar, enhanced rock weathering, direct air capture, mineralization and bioenergy with carbon capture, and tracks more than 600 suppliers covering 80% of the global durable carbon removal market. Its science team advises the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) on carbon removal standards.

By May 2026 Supercritical had facilitated nearly 2 million tonnes of carbon removal for more than 200 buyers. That total includes a 10-year offtake of 1 million tonnes of biochar, which the company describes as the largest US biochar deal to date. Customers named on its website include Microsoft, Virgin Atlantic, The Economist Group, Rothschild & Co, XTX Markets and Tide.

Building supply, not just buying it

In May 2026 Supercritical announced new funding led by Greencode Ventures, with Lightspeed, RTP Global and LocalGlobe following. It did not disclose the amount. The money is for project development and commercialization: taking early-stage producers from engineering design and lifecycle assessments through to signed deals, and helping them raise the finance to build.

“The gap between a promising project idea and a signed deal is wide,” You said when the round was announced. Supercritical’s answer is to do that work itself, through exclusive partnerships with producers, so its buyers have supply to contract years ahead.

Why it matters to UK buyers

UK companies with net zero targets face growing scrutiny of the credits they buy, and removals that fail an audit carry both a reputational and a financial cost. Supercritical gives finance, procurement and sustainability teams a vetted route into a market with hundreds of suppliers of uneven quality, through multi-year programs rather than one-off purchases. Its move into project development means buyers may also be able to secure supply before it exists.

You has turned carbon removal buying from one-off credit purchases into managed programs with a science team behind them. With nearly 2 million tonnes facilitated, Supercritical is now large enough to influence which projects get built.