ACTUAL

Founded in 2018 by Rajesh Chandran (CEO), Dr. Karthik Balakrishnan (President), and Dr. Derek Lyons (CTO), Actual is a software company headquartered in Oakland, California, that has developed a sustainability transformation platform. The founding team combines extensive experience from previous ventures; Chandran co-founded Heighten, Balakrishnan was the co-founder and CTO of Coin, and Lyons served as a software engineering manager at LinkedIn. Lyons' background merges machine learning, AI, and cognitive psychology, including a Ph.D. from Yale and roles at MIT and Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

The company's core offering is an AI-driven platform that functions as a sophisticated modeling and planning tool, often likened to a scaled-up "SimCity" for enterprise sustainability. It enables organizations to create, visualize, and analyze the impact of large-scale capital projects and operational changes on their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. By building digital twins of physical assets, supply chains, and infrastructure, the software allows clients to simulate the effects of various decisions—such as changing energy sources, electrifying transportation, or altering supply chains—before committing capital. This provides a clear, data-driven approach to turning ambitious sustainability pledges into actionable and fundable plans.

Actual targets a diverse client base that includes corporations, governments, and other large organizations aiming to implement significant sustainability initiatives. As of early 2022, its customer roster included well-known brands like Allbirds, icebreaker, and Smartwool. The business model centers on providing this platform to help clients navigate the complexities of ESG transformation, from planning and modeling to implementation and reporting. The platform serves as a central system for stakeholders to collaborate and track progress over the long term.

Since its inception, the company has secured $9 million in funding through two seed rounds. A notable achievement for Actual was being named one of TIME's 100 Best Inventions of 2022.

Keywords: ESG transformation, sustainability planning software, digital twin technology, capital project modeling, climate technology, corporate sustainability, environmental impact assessment, supply chain optimization, infrastructure planning, ESG data visualization, decarbonization strategy, sustainability reporting, ESG compliance, risk management, real-time analytics, investment modeling, smart cities, renewable energy projects, sustainable infrastructure, climate action platform