CTT's innovation fund invests in a startup that automates the calculation of the carbon footprint of ZeroPact products.

ZeroPact has developed the first AI platform capable of calculating Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), enabling the processing of complete portfolios in minutes at affordable prices. ZeroPact's technology focuses on solving the central issue of sustainability: the automated collection and processing of data, eliminating reliance on costly and highly complex manual processes.

The 1520 Innovation Fund is fully funded by the CTT Group and its management has been entrusted to Iberis Capital, which has a solid track record in managing investment funds and a diverse range of companies, from start-ups to SMEs.

“ZeroPact solves a real problem for CTT and e-commerce: accurately measuring and offsetting carbon footprint. It presents a solid AI-based technology, an experienced and multifaceted team, and a proven track record of execution,” says Nuno Matos, Director of Digital, New Channels and Innovation at CTT. “We invested with conviction and a desire to play a significant role in ZeroPact's growth, not only as investors, but also as a key client and partner. This investment clearly reflects CTT's commitment to innovation and sustainability.”

João Morgado, Co-founder & CEO of ZeroPact, says that "the entry of CTT, through its fund managed by Iberis Capital, is a strategic validation of our technology and, above all, of our vision. Having the largest national logistics operator on our cap table , which is simultaneously the reference partner for the e-commerce ecosystem and a standard for distribution players, confirms that our solution solves real pain points across the entire value chain. This investment allows us to accelerate technological development and scale our commercial presence, with the clear ambition of becoming the global benchmark in the market for calculating Product Carbon Footprints."

This investment reinforces CTT's close relationship with the start-up ecosystem in areas where the CTT Group operates. This is yet another start-up in which the 1520 fund is investing, and its operation and monitoring will, as usual, be carried out through CTT's start-up interaction program, the 1520 StartuProgram .

The 1520 Fund, with an endowment of €8 million, reinforced at the end of last year, aims to invest in start-ups (seed, series A and growth) and small and medium-sized enterprises, prioritizing activity in sectors aligned with CTT's Innovation Agenda, namely e-commerce, operations & logistics, communications, fintech, retail, advertising and sustainability. The possibility of co-investment is also foreseen, with the openness to potential partnerships with investor networks to promote the sharing of investment opportunities.

The CTT 1520 StartuProgram develops and supports national startups and simultaneously contributes to the development of its own ecosystem. The startup interaction program aims to open CTT's doors to the startup ecosystem, seeking projects that fit its business, fostering areas of joint collaboration and the resulting reciprocal benefits. Since its creation, the program has mapped over 2000 companies, with 21 projects currently underway: 6 in commercial partnerships, 15 in co-creation projects, 1 acquisition, and 9 investments via the innovation fund: KIT-AR, Sensefinity, Habit, Fraudio, Paynest, Ubirider, Neuralshift, GoFact, and now ZeroPact.

Source: CTT Portugal Post