BNPP AM Alts leads $31m Series B fundraise in Rize, funding its ambition to cut emissions from the world's most-consumed and most carbon-intensive crop
BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts (BNPP AM Alts), the largest alternatives asset manager in Europe and a global leader with c.€300 billion ($341) of assets under management, announces an equity investment in Rize, a leading sustainable rice platform in Southeast Asia. The investment is part of Rize’s $20m Series B equity raise, with the company also raising $11m of additional debt. This funding will accelerate the company’s mission to transform the world's most consumed staple into one of agriculture's most scalable climate solutions.
Rice is the largest crop market in the world, with an annual market size of over $300bn. However, it also represents 12% of global methane emissions – a greenhouse gas which is 25x more potent than CO2 over a 100-year period and 80x over a 20-year period.
Rize tackles this critical challenge by combining solutions required to make sustainable rice farming work at scale, including agronomic practice and field-level data, carbon measurement and verification, market access and export, all within a single platform. This aligns the incentives of farmers, buyers, carbon markets, and ecosystem partners around the same outcome.
Rize has built Southeast Asia’s leading sustainable rice platform and in the first two years since its Series A has scaled operations more than tenfold.
BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts’ Natural Capital and Impact investments strategy, which totals over $560M AUM, deploys capital into nature-based projects and the associated ecosystem, aiming to deliver tangible results through carbon or other greenhouse gas reduction and sequestration alongside the protection and preservation of biodiversity.
Alexandre Martin-Min, Head of Natural Capital & Impact Investments, BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts, commented: “We see our investment in Rize as reflective of our conviction that capital deployed into high-impact, durable platforms in underserved markets can help deliver meaningful and measurable environmental outcomes to help address climate challenges. Rize has positioned itself at the intersection of sustainable agriculture, carbon finance, and consumer preferences for food traceability; very much aligned to our strategy to protect, restore, and sustainably manage natural ecosystems while aiming to deliver competitive financial returns for investors."
Capital at risk. The value of investments may fall as well as rise and you may not get back the full amount invested. The investment identified does not represent all of the investments purchased, sold, or recommended for the strategy. There is no guarantee that the investment we make were or will be profitable. Developments of the past offer no guarantee and are no indicator for any future returns or trends.
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Notes to editors
Based on BNPP AM internal data analysis.
About BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts
BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts (BNPP AM Alts) is the alternative investments platform of BNP Paribas Asset Management. It is the largest alternatives asset manager in Europe and a global leader, with approximately €300 billion in assets under management across Real Estate, Infrastructure, Alternative Credit and Private Equity. With more than 30-year track record, BNPP AM Alts has built a reputation as a pioneering and innovative asset manager, combining an entrepreneurial investment culture with strategic discipline.
BNPP AM Alts finances the real economy by providing equity and debt to help companies to expand by developing, managing and financing infrastructure and buildings essential to economic growth.
Sustainability is at the core of our investment decision-making processes, with a particular focus on decarbonization.
About BNP Paribas Asset Management
BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) is the asset manager of BNP Paribas, a leading banking group in Europe with international reach. Among the top three asset managers in Europe1, the firm manages over €1.6 trillion2 in assets for institutional, corporate, retail, and wealth clients worldwide. BNPP AM has a global network of local experts in 35 countries2, combining global reach with local expertise.
BNPP AM’s expertise spans liquid and alternative investments, with a leadership position in long-term savings management for insurers and pension funds3 (€850 billion in assets under management).
BNPP AM’s alternatives platform, backed by over 30 years of experience, is the largest in Europe and a global leader4, managing approximately €300 billion across real estate, infrastructure, alternative credit and private equity.
BNPP AM offers a broad range of liquid investment solutions, including fixed income, high-conviction active strategies, and a fast-growing ETF offering, totaling over €1 trillion in assets2.
Sustainable and thematic investment capabilities are embedded across the business, supporting clients’ long-term objectives.
BNPP AM aims to set a new standard in asset management by harnessing scale, deep expertise, and long-term capital access to deliver sustainable and resilient outcomes for clients and the economy.
1 Source: IPE 2025 and companies’ financial communication as of 31/12/2025.
2 Source: BNPP AM, as of 31 March 2026. Assets under management including assets under advisory.
3 Source: ranking based on assets under management (AuM) as of 31 December 2024 for internal and external insurers and external pension funds (global AuM for European asset managers; European AuM for non-European asset managers).
4 Source: BCG, based on Assets under Management as of 31 December 2024.
Disclaimer
The investment identified does not represent all of the investments purchased, sold, or recommended for the strategy. There is no guarantee that the investment we make were or will be profitable. Developments of the past offer no guarantee and are no indicator for any future returns or trends.
Private assets are investment opportunities that are unavailable through public markets such as stock exchanges. They enable investors to directly profit from long-term investment themes and can provide access to specialist sectors or industries, such as infrastructure, real estate, private equity and other alternatives that are difficult to access through traditional means. Private assets do, however, require careful consideration, as they tend to have high minimum investment levels and may be complex and illiquid.
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AXA IM and BNPP AM are progressively merging
AXA IM and BNPP AM are progressively merging and streamlining our legal entities to create a unified structure
AXA Investment Managers joined BNP Paribas Group in July 2025. Following the merger of AXA Investment Managers Paris and BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Europe and their respective holding companies on December 31, 2025, the combined company now operates under the BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Europe name.