Munich Startup: What does Ark Climate do? What problem are you solving?
Ruth Bosse, founder and CEO of Ark Climate: We build modern software for climate protection in cities. Cities are central players in the climate transition. They are responsible for over 100 megatons of CO₂ in Germany alone and must drive climate protection locally due to regulatory requirements and public pressure. Their biggest problem is that they don’t have enough people: the climate protection department in small cities is often just one person, in larger cities maybe five or ten people. But getting an entire city to be climate-neutral is of course a huge task. You have to work with so many stakeholders – and cities simply don’t have enough staff for that. On top of that, climate protection is a completely new task for cities, and they lack experience and reliable data in this area. That’s why we often hear questions like “which measure actually brings the most benefit, what should we focus on?”.
What we do with Ark Climate: We offer a modern software platform that simplifies processes and enables data-driven decision-making. Climate protection managers are relieved of all central tasks. Whether it’s having all information now in the software platform instead of on the desktop, in various emails, or printed in folders, or whether reports and communication materials can be easily created through AI. On the other hand, the software also brings knowledge into cities, for example by showing which measure enables how many emission reductions.
“Getting an entire city to be climate-neutral is a huge task”
Munich Startup: But that already exists!
Ruth Bosse: Well, of course there is software for administrations. However, it’s usually extremely outdated and doesn’t have the ability to integrate new technologies like AI. It’s also rarely cross-departmental. That’s why data constantly has to be transferred from one tool to another. Plus, the whole climate issue is a completely new topic for town halls, and there’s relatively little software in this area.
Munich Startup: What’s your founding story?
Ruth Bosse: I personally have a background in municipal climate protection. I’ve been doing municipal politics for 17 years, did my PhD on political climate protection measures, and before founding Ark Climate I advised cities on climate protection and adaptation at McKinsey, where I helped develop Stuttgart’s climate roadmap in 2022, among other things. That’s where my expertise and network in this area come from. On the other hand, my co-founder Michi is a software developer with a strong focus on user-centric, easy-to-use software, which is great for the target audience of administrations.
We know that the whole topic of climate protection in cities is complex both in strategic questions and in operational implementation. That’s exactly where our software comes in. It brings structure to processes, provides content support, and relieves the burden on climate protection departments.
Current biggest challenge: risk aversion
Munich Startup: What were your biggest challenges so far?
Ruth Bosse: Our current biggest challenge is risk aversion in the public sector. We can see that many town halls are hesitant to work with young companies. In tenders, for example, they often expect you to provide revenue figures from three years ago, or that you have ten or 20 employees in your company. That will help us in the long run once we’ve earned the trust of cities and made a name for ourselves. What we’re already seeing: once you’ve convinced a customer, they want to work with you again and recommend you further. But that certainly makes market entry harder. To address this, we often cooperate with established partners like regional climate protection consultancies or engineering firms.
Munich Startup: How’s business going?
Ruth Bosse: Currently we have five customers. These are the cities of Kassel, the Freising district here in the Munich area, the Calw district, and the cities of Quedlinburg and Überlingen. Combined, we have a turnover of approximately 300,000 euros.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Ruth Bosse: You can tell there’s very strong networking between universities and the startup ecosystem, for example through UnternehmerTUM or CDTM, where my co-founder also studied.
Especially in the climate sector, a lot is happening in Munich. There are relatively many deep-tech startups with incredibly exciting products and generally many spin-offs from academia.
Ark Climate: Contributing to better policy and more change
Munich Startup: Hidden champion or shooting star?
Ruth Bosse: Oh, definitely shooting star! Outdated, user-unfriendly software is not only a problem for municipal climate protection departments, but generally in the public sector. That’s why we want to develop modern software for governments beyond climate protection in the long term. This includes, for example, citizen services like online passport applications or tools for tax and budget management for the treasurer’s office. Our vision is to build an operating system for governments worldwide. We want to enable politicians and administrative staff to work more effectively, make better decisions, and be closer to citizens. Personally, I also hope to contribute to better policy and more change.
