Climate change is an undeniable reality that is destroying food production, infrastructure, depleting water resources, and taking lives. The need to predict weather or climate and protect against its impacts is more crucial than ever, making ClimateAi’s platform and other climate prediction tech startups increasingly important and attractive to venture capital investors. These startups are using AI and data to predict weather, and their number is growing rapidly. Venture capitalists believe that these startups can significantly help communities and businesses adapt to climate change.
Extreme weather events are likely to become more frequent or intense as the planet heats up. Climate tech startups offer both consumers and companies weather prediction services, from predicting chances of rain for a planned vacation to possible flood or fire incidence of constructing properties. They use AI and data points from satellites to provide real-time weather and climate determinations. As the effects of climate change worsen, the data that these VC-backed startups produce and manage keep on growing, and so does the amount of VC funding they receive. According to Crunchbase data, investments into weather and climate prediction startups went up from over $145 million in 2017 to over $541 million in 2021. At least 23 startups focusing on climate prediction have secured funding, including ClimateAi, which raised $22 million last month in its Series B funding round led by Four Rivers Group.
ClimateAi’s total funding now stands at $38 million. Since its oversubscribed Series A fundraising, the climate tech startup has grown its annual revenue by a factor of 5 and increased its customer base 4x. ClimateAi’s unique platform, ClimateLens™, uses AI technologies to produce actionable weather and climate-related insights for businesses worldwide. The startup works with companies across industries to build climate resilience, from research and development to operations and supply chain. These include agriculture, food and beverages, manufacturing, finance, apparel, retail, energy, and government and NGOs.
ClimateAi’s technology can identify locations for climate-smart expansions for certain crops and manufacturing sites. Their data can also help manufacturers adjust shipment or delivery schedules to maximize efficiency at times of good weather. It could help wineries as well to learn which places will have more rainfall to plant crops next season. ClimateAi’s climate resilience platform also helps companies and governments in the aspects of climate risk management, asset diligence and portfolio management, demand planning, sales and marketing, and sustainability and TCFD reporting. The proceeds from the latest funding round will be for expanding into new territories such as India and low-income countries where climate adaptation is urgent. The funds will also help the climate tech startup grow its team for continued AI-backed innovations in climate resilience.
Climate prediction technologies are increasing and widening as climate change issues seep through all sectors. These technologies are also scalable, which is why venture capital investors are pouring money into this growing sector. Many of the startups operating in this market are using the platform-as-a-service model. This allows them to use the same climate data for various purposes and offer them to different entities. Weather and climate tech startups have found their way into almost every sector, expanding from the agriculture and energy industries. ClimateAi’s CEO, Himanshu Gupta, asserts that: “Tomorrow there’s going to be every company on this planet Earth whose operations and supply chains will be impacted by climate change… And if they act on it, it will lead to not only increased profits for these companies but also improved resilience for the communities they serve.”
Venture funding into climate-risk startups favors the areas of property, travel, and insurance since 2017. Another climate-focused startup, One Concern, closed over $22 million to help real estate developers understand climate risks to their properties. The climate resilience tech firm enables companies to focus on their adaptation strategies through its resilience analytics. Tomorrow.io, a SaaS weather intelligence platform that provides real-time weather forecasts, has raised $20 million to help retail and sporting businesses cut down energy expenses using climate analytics. As more and more sectors bear the brunt of the climate crisis, climate prediction startups will also see more investors backing up their innovations.
