On September 28, 2026, the impact of artificial intelligence investments on climate technologies was the prominent topic at New York Climate Week. Like the rest of the US economy, a significant part of the climate technology community is also benefiting from the artificial intelligence wave. However, the construction of numerous natural gas power plants to meet the energy needs of artificial intelligence data centers is causing concern in some circles.
As climate technology startups struggled to secure funding due to the cancellation of federal grants and investor caution, some of them adapted their pitches to the artificial intelligence trend. This change helped many startups secure new investment. According to PitchBook’s latest data, the total value of startup investments increased for four consecutive quarters, surpassing 14 billion dollars in the first quarter of this year.
While climate technologies are experiencing the most favorable funding environment in recent years, much of the deal value came from areas benefiting from data center construction:
- Built environment
- Grid infrastructure
- Dispatchable energy
At a panel at New York Climate Week, when two energy startup founders were asked to choose between allowing artificial intelligence infrastructure to advance at its current pace and pursuing a more climate-responsible pace, they supported moving faster.
By contrast, some entrepreneurs said the data center boom was causing other areas of climate technology that could achieve their goals without relying on artificial intelligence to be overlooked. It was reported that large companies are still interested in climate issues but do not want to state this publicly in order to avoid provoking the Trump administration.
Although some entrepreneurs think interest in artificial intelligence is beginning to weaken, customers appear to be making intensive efforts to access product demos. Entrepreneurs are surprised that demand is increasing today, when finding funding to scale was difficult three years ago. It is considered possible that the data center-focused movement may not be permanent, but could last long enough for startups to build resilient businesses and then refocus on their carbon reduction goals.
Why it matters
Capital flowing into artificial intelligence is reshaping priorities within climate technology, putting infrastructure areas that support the expansion of data centers in the spotlight. This could make it more difficult for startups that are not directly connected to artificial intelligence and focus on carbon reduction to attract investors’ interest. At the same time, rising demand could give some companies the time they need to improve their products and strengthen their operations. However, it remains unclear whether this flow of funding will extend across climate technology as a whole or remain limited to data center investments. The central unanswered question is how growth in artificial intelligence infrastructure, which is increasing energy demand, will be balanced with climate goals, and under what conditions startups will be able to continue operating if interest weakens.
Background
Week is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we published a news article mentioning this name in the past 90 days; that article was dated September 5, 2026.
Term: data center
A data center is a facility where servers are housed along with cooling systems and uninterrupted electricity; discussions about the electricity and water consumption of artificial intelligence investments take place through these facilities.