{"id":3491971,"date":"2026-09-28T19:21:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T19:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/28\/the-ai-surge-dominated-climate-week-and-not-everyone-is-pleased-about-it\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T19:21:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T19:21:59","slug":"the-ai-surge-dominated-climate-week-and-not-everyone-is-pleased-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/28\/the-ai-surge-dominated-climate-week-and-not-everyone-is-pleased-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The AI surge dominated Climate Week, and not everyone is pleased about it."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
\n

It was the pinnacle of times, it was the nadir of times \u2026 I\u2019ll omit the rest, but the well-worn Dickens phrase truly encapsulates this year\u2019s New York Climate Week.<\/p>\n

Much of the climate technology sector \u2014 similar to the broader U.S. economy \u2014 is enthusiastically surfing the AI wave. Some express concerns over the vast number of natural gas power stations being constructed to support AI data facilities. However, since numerous climate tech startups are focused on energy or closely related to it, the expansion has been welcomed as a chance to propel companies through the challenging phase of growth.<\/p>\n

This singular emphasis also implies that some encouraging areas may be in danger of being overlooked.<\/p>\n

It reflects a continuation of a trend that has surfaced over the past year. As climate tech firms faced challenges in securing funding \u2014 either due to withdrawn federal grants or investor apprehension \u2014 those capable of pivoting their approach to align with the AI frenzy did so.<\/p>\n

This shift has enabled numerous climate tech startups to secure new investments from backers. Overall venture deal value has increased for four straight quarters, surpassing the $14 billion level in the initial quarter of this year, based on the latest data from PitchBook. It represents the most favorable fundraising climate for climate tech in recent years, with much of the deal value fueled by sectors enhanced by data center development, including the built environment, grid infrastructure, and responsive energy that can be activated or deactivated as needed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an opportunity that few are willing to overlook.<\/p>\n

One exchange during a session at New York Climate Week highlighted the sentiment: Two founders, when queried whether they preferred the AI expansion to proceed at its current rate or at a more environmentally-conscious pace, replied instantly that faster was preferable. Not surprisingly, both of their startups were in the energy field.<\/p>\n

And yet, not everyone shares this view.<\/p>\n

I heard from numerous founders who believed that the data center surge was drawing attention away from other viable segments of climate tech, including those achieving their goals without dependence on AI hype.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies are still invested in climate,\u201d one founder shared with me. The distinction now is that large firms are reluctant to boast about it, largely due to concerns over provoking the Trump administration\u2019s backlash.<\/p>\n

There were indications as well that the excitement surrounding AI was beginning to fade for some. For many startups, funding for scaling was difficult to secure three years prior, even if they were demonstrating promising outcomes. Now, clients are desperately seeking to engage in demonstrations. \u201cWhere was this funding three years ago?\u201d I queried multiple individuals. I received several knowing eye rolls in response.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the reality they inhabit nowadays, they conceded. The astute entrepreneurs are all discovering avenues to connect with customers where they are.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the underlying theme at New York Climate Week was that the data center boom won\u2019t persist indefinitely, but it may last long enough to assist startups in establishing sustainable enterprises. Once that is achieved, they can return their focus to the carbon-reduction objectives they were originally founded to advance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you make purchases through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t influence our editorial objectivity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/div>\n
\n

It was the pinnacle of times, it was the nadir of times \u2026 I\u2019ll omit the rest, but the well-worn Dickens phrase truly encapsulates this year\u2019s New York Climate Week.<\/p>\n

Much of the climate technology sector \u2014 similar to the broader U.S. economy \u2014 is enthusiastically surfing the AI wave. Some express concerns over the vast number of natural gas power stations being constructed to support AI data facilities. However, since numerous climate tech startups are focused on energy or closely related to it, the expansion has been welcomed as a chance to propel companies through the challenging phase of growth.<\/p>\n

This singular emphasis also implies that some encouraging areas may be in danger of being overlooked.<\/p>\n

It reflects a continuation of a trend that has surfaced over the past year. As climate tech firms faced challenges in securing funding \u2014 either due to withdrawn federal grants or investor apprehension \u2014 those capable of pivoting their approach to align with the AI frenzy did so.<\/p>\n

This shift has enabled numerous climate tech startups to secure new investments from backers. Overall venture deal value has increased for four straight quarters, surpassing the $14 billion level in the initial quarter of this year, based on the latest data from PitchBook. It represents the most favorable fundraising climate for climate tech in recent years, with much of the deal value fueled by sectors enhanced by data center development, including the built environment, grid infrastructure, and responsive energy that can be activated or deactivated as needed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an opportunity that few are willing to overlook.<\/p>\n

One exchange during a session at New York Climate Week highlighted the sentiment: Two founders, when queried whether they preferred the AI expansion to proceed at its current rate or at a more environmentally-conscious pace, replied instantly that faster was preferable. Not surprisingly, both of their startups were in the energy field.<\/p>\n

And yet, not everyone shares this view.<\/p>\n

I heard from numerous founders who believed that the data center surge was drawing attention away from other viable segments of climate tech, including those achieving their goals without dependence on AI hype.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies are still invested in climate,\u201d one founder shared with me. The distinction now is that large firms are reluctant to boast about it, largely due to concerns over provoking the Trump administration\u2019s backlash.<\/p>\n

There were indications as well that the excitement surrounding AI was beginning to fade for some. For many startups, funding for scaling was difficult to secure three years prior, even if they were demonstrating promising outcomes. Now, clients are desperately seeking to engage in demonstrations. \u201cWhere was this funding three years ago?\u201d I queried multiple individuals. I received several knowing eye rolls in response.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the reality they inhabit nowadays, they conceded. The astute entrepreneurs are all discovering avenues to connect with customers where they are.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the underlying theme at New York Climate Week was that the data center boom won\u2019t persist indefinitely, but it may last long enough to assist startups in establishing sustainable enterprises. Once that is achieved, they can return their focus to the carbon-reduction objectives they were originally founded to advance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you make purchases through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t influence our editorial objectivity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3491972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3491971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3491971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3491972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3491971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3491971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3491971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}