Aether’s cofounder and CEO Ryan Shearman believes the growth of the lab-grown diamonds has outpaced even the most aggressive forecasts from when they started, which is gratifying in a sense. Building a sustainable business while also addressing climate change is the direction they wish to going in, and they have no plans to retreat.
Ryan Shearman, the CEO and co-founder of Aether, recently spoke to JCK about the progress his company has made in securing funding and engaging with the industry. Shearman, an alumnus of David Yurman, noted the significant growth of the lab-grown diamond sector, which he believes is the direction the industry is heading towards. In a statement, Henry Elkus, the CEO of Helena, expressed his firm’s interest in Aether as part of a larger campaign to create commercial use cases for captured carbon. He praised Aether’s direct air carbon capture technology, which has enabled the company to create an entirely new category of diamonds that not only supports an industry critical to the climate crisis but also addresses multiple problems in the diamond space.Shearman highlighted the progress Aether has made in ramping up diamond capacity, with the company now having multiple reactors in the process of being brought online. He also mentioned the upcoming launch of their first non-bridal collection, which diversifies their product line beyond mostly bridal work and custom operations.
The Series A round in traditional venture parlance is the first round of institutional financing. Not friends and family or angel investors who make investments out of their personal accounts, but rather larger investors who come in and write much larger checks. Helena is going to serve as our champion to address societal elements. We’re a mission with a company—everything we do serves the mission, and that comes down to removing as much carbon from our atmosphere as we possibly can. The sub-points are addressing negative externalities that are environmental or societal in nature.
