C.Scale, a pioneering climate design and technology startup, has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding to accelerate its mission of helping architects and developers design climate-adaptive, low-carbon buildings. The round was led by Active Impact Investments and Wireframe Ventures, with participation from leading sustainability-focused backers.

The company, co-founded by Jack Rusk, Brad Jacobson, and FAIA, is developing software tools that integrate climate science into the architectural design process — helping the built environment prepare for a rapidly changing planet.

Designing for a Hotter, Harder World

At its core, C.Scale aims to give architects, engineers, and planners something they’ve never truly had: a clear way to measure and visualize how future climate conditions will affect building performance.

By merging climate modeling with design intelligence, C.Scale enables professionals to simulate long-term temperature shifts, flood risks, wind patterns, and other environmental variables directly into their design workflows. The platform helps design teams make early, evidence-based decisions that reduce emissions, improve resilience, and lower lifecycle costs.

The founders, both experienced architects, launched C.Scale after witnessing the growing disconnect between climate data and design reality. Buildings are responsible for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, yet most design tools today are based on historical weather data, not future climate scenarios. C.Scale closes that gap — allowing the built environment to finally design for what’s coming, not what’s already passed.

A Sector in Urgent Transformation

The need for innovation in sustainable building design has never been clearer. The global green building materials and technology market surpassed $470 billion in 2023 and is expected to exceed $890 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of over 7%. Similarly, the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) software market is forecasted to reach $15 billion by 2030, driven by AI-powered modeling and climate adaptation tools.

At the same time, the built environment faces staggering challenges. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, 70% of global urban infrastructure by 2050 has yet to be built — meaning the design decisions made in the next 25 years will shape the climate trajectory for generations.

C.Scale’s platform enters the market at this exact inflection point, where design meets responsibility.

Why C.Scale Matters Now

As global temperatures rise and extreme weather events increase, architecture is undergoing a historic shift from aesthetic design to climate performance. Governments and developers alike are demanding more rigorous environmental modeling to meet emerging regulations like carbon disclosure mandates and resilient infrastructure requirements.

C.Scale’s innovation lies in how it simplifies this complexity. Instead of requiring specialists to interpret climate models, the software embeds future scenario data directly into the familiar tools architects already use. This allows design firms — even smaller ones — to quickly evaluate trade-offs and resilience strategies without requiring advanced climate expertise.

But what truly sets C.Scale apart is how it’s redefining the role of architecture itself. The founders understand that the next frontier of design isn’t about materials or form — it’s about forecasting. The architects of tomorrow won’t just design buildings; they’ll design for uncertainty.

And this shift reveals a deeper lesson for founders everywhere.

In emerging industries, the fastest-growing startups aren’t those that simply digitize existing workflows — they anticipate the next constraint. C.Scale’s approach shows that success comes not from chasing what the market currently values, but from building what the next decade will depend on.

That’s the quiet superpower of visionary startups: they don’t just make work easier — they make the future clearer.

Founders can take note of C.Scale’s strategic foresight. The team recognized that as environmental volatility increases, decision-making itself becomes the new bottleneck. So instead of targeting construction or material efficiency, they targeted decision efficiency — arming every architect with clarity in a time of chaos.

When a startup becomes the layer that helps an entire profession think more intelligently, it doesn’t just scale — it reshapes the standard.

Backed by Visionary Climate Investors

C.Scale’s pre-seed backers — Active Impact Investments and Wireframe Ventures — are both renowned for their commitment to sustainability-driven innovation. Active Impact Investments focuses exclusively on climate tech ventures that generate measurable environmental and social returns, while Wireframe Ventures has built a strong reputation for backing early-stage founders building in the intersection of data, design, and planetary health.

Their support validates C.Scale’s thesis: that the intersection of climate modeling and human design will define the next era of infrastructure innovation.

The Market Outlook: Designing the Future, Responsibly

The global climate tech sector is projected to exceed $1.4 trillion by 2033, growing at an annual rate of nearly 24%. Within that, climate-data intelligence tools — the space C.Scale operates in — are gaining extraordinary traction as industries race to meet sustainability and ESG standards.

Governments, too, are tightening regulations. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the U.S. and the EU Green Deal have both accelerated funding for sustainable infrastructure, making climate data integration a top priority for architecture and engineering firms.

At the same time, urban resilience spending is estimated to surpass $300 billion annually by 2030, as cities adapt to flooding, heat stress, and resource scarcity. By helping designers visualize long-term climate performance, C.Scale is positioning itself at the heart of that transformation.

Vision and Leadership

Founders Jack Rusk and Brad Jacobson, both seasoned architects and sustainability advocates, bring decades of combined experience in designing energy-efficient and climate-adaptive buildings. Their work has spanned award-winning sustainable campuses, net-zero energy projects, and green infrastructure planning.

With C.Scale, they’re scaling that expertise into software — turning climate intelligence from a niche consulting specialty into a universal design standard.

What’s Next for C.Scale

With $2 million in new funding, C.Scale plans to expand its engineering and data science teams, deepen its climate-modeling capabilities, and roll out pilot programs with leading architecture firms and urban design studios.

The company’s long-term goal is to become the default climate integration layer for every building designed worldwide — ensuring that resilience and performance are built into the blueprint, not bolted on later.

As cities brace for rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns, C.Scale stands at the intersection of innovation and necessity. Its work embodies a truth that extends beyond architecture: the future will belong to those who design for it before it arrives.