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Arbol
Sid Jha founded Arbol in 2018 to price climate risk through data science, not claims adjusters. The New York firm structures parametric weather contracts.
Arbol
Sid Jha founded Arbol in 2018 after a stint at a commodities hedge fund convinced him the traditional insurance model fails to address climate volatility. The New York-based firm constructs parametric weather contracts that pay out automatically when an objective data trigger is hit — no adjuster, no dispute. Arbol's origin sits at the intersection of big data, climate science, and structured finance, not within the insurance establishment. Arbol structures weather-linked financial instruments for producers exposed to temperature, precipitation, and wind variability. The firm works across agriculture, energy, and supply-chain logistics, offering protection through a proprietary platform that ingests satellite and sensor data. Confirmed counterparties include grain elevators in the US Midwest and wind-farm operators in Europe. Arbol operates both an insurance entity and an SEC-registered swap execution facility, letting clients choose the regulatory wrapper that fits their capital strategy. In May 2024, Arbol secured $60 million in Series B funding co-led by Giant Ventures and Opera Tech Ventures to scale its parametric insurance marketplace (per Arbol, May 2024). The firm also operates the Arbol Climate Analytics platform, which serves institutional clients looking to stress-test portfolios against climate scenarios. Jha has publicly stated an ambition to build a public-company-grade data infrastructure for climate risk transfer, though team size and total deployment remain undisclosed. Arbol's structural differentiator is its dual-track regulatory architecture: an admitted insurance carrier domiciled in the US alongside a CFTC-regulated swap facility. This lets a single climate-risk trade be booked as either an insurance contract or a financial derivative, a flexibility almost no competitor offers. The firm competes less with traditional re/insurers and more with the opaque over-the-counter weather-derivative desks at large banks, using automated pricing and a digital distribution layer those incumbents lack.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2018
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Sid Jha
Founder & CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does Arbol's parametric insurance model differ from traditional crop insurance?
Traditional crop insurance requires a claims adjuster to visit a farm and assess damage after a loss event. Arbol's parametric contracts pay out automatically when an agreed-upon data trigger is met — such as rainfall below a defined threshold over a specific period at a specific weather station. This removes the adjustment lag and the potential for disputes, though it introduces basis risk: a farmer can suffer a loss without the data trigger firing. The tradeoff is speed and transparency for a less precise hedge.
What regulatory structure does Arbol use to offer weather protection?
Arbol operates through two regulated entities. Arbol Insurance Services distributes parametric insurance products through an admitted carrier, while Arbol's SEC-registered swap execution facility allows institutional clients to trade weather derivatives as financial instruments. This dual structure means the same economic exposure can be packaged as an insurance contract for a corporate buyer or as a derivative for a hedge fund or bank, giving the firm a flexibility that pure insurers lack.
Who invests alongside Arbol?
Arbol's disclosed institutional backers include Giant Ventures, a London- and Los Angeles-based venture firm focused on purpose-driven technology companies, and Opera Tech Ventures, the venture arm of BNP Paribas. Both co-led the firm's $60 million Series B round announced in May 2024. The presence of a major European bank's venture unit on the cap table suggests strategic interest from financial institutions seeking exposure to climate-risk infrastructure.
What industries does Arbol serve with its weather products?
Arbol designs weather-linked contracts for agriculture, energy, and supply-chain operators. In agriculture, the firm covers row-crop farmers exposed to drought and excessive rain during growing seasons. In energy, Arbol structures wind and temperature hedges for renewable-power producers whose revenue fluctuates with weather patterns. The firm has publicly cited counterparties including grain elevators in the US and wind-farm operators in Europe.
Where does Arbol source the underlying weather data for its contracts?
Arbol ingests data from a network of satellite feeds, ground-based weather stations, and remote sensors. The firm's platform correlates this data against contract triggers defined by objective, third-party-verified indices — such as NOAA temperature records or grid-level precipitation measurements. By relying on publicly available or independently verifiable data sources, Arbol reduces the counterparty risk that bespoke index construction would introduce.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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