ClimaCell

ClimaCell is an American weather technology company that repurposes wireless communication networks for advanced weather forecasting.[3][4]

ClimaCell
Private
Founded2015
Founder
  • Shimon Elkabetz
  • Itai Zlotnik
  • Rei Goffer
Headquarters
Boston, Massachusetts
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Shimon Elkabetz (CEO)
Products
  • Hypercast
  • Microweather API
Number of employees
100 (March 2019)[1][2]
Websitewww.climacell.co

Using re-purposed wireless communication networks as weather sensors, ClimaCell delivers real-time forecasts to critical industries such as municipalities, sports, and transportation.[5] The company launched publicly with its HyperCast dashboard in April 2017.[6] It has raised over $70M in VC funding.[7][8] SoftBank invested $7 million in April 2019.[9]

Technology
Hypercast Software

Traditional weather forecasts rely on public data from government entities.[10] ClimaCell pioneered techniques using existing wireless communication infrastructure and IoT devices to collect real-time weather data.[11] Their observations report conditions closer to the ground than satellite and higher resolution than Doppler weather radar techniques.[12][1]

The aggregated data from the virtual sources ClimaCell uses is processed through their proprietary models, including CBAM [13][13] (long term) and Nowcasting (short term).[14] It includes measurements on temperature, wind profiler, and precipitation data. After two years of development with their in-house engineering and meteorological team, ClimaCell’s Hypercast was publicly launched in April 2017.[10] Their processed data and minutely forecasts are available to app developers via their micro-weather API.[15]

Business model

Since Climacell's infrastructure uses existing wireless communication networks, Inc. Magazine commented that “Unencumbered by manufacturing and hardware deployment … ClimaCell could launch their product almost immediately.”[16] The company’s software solutions provide information and insights to aviation,[17] drone flight,[18] construction sites, insurance, sports and outdoor events, and utility services.[19][20] Clients include JetBlue Airways, Delta, and the New England Patriots.[21]

Social Responsibility

ClimaCell established ClimaCell.org, a new, independent non-profit organization to tackle one of the root causes of global poverty: lack of access to reliable localized weather information[22]. ClimaCell.org's sole focus will be to save and transform lives by bringing MicroWeather Solutions to areas currently underserved by traditional means but need it the most. Beginning in East Africa and working together with local governments, NGOs, and local communities, ClimaCell’s initiative aims to facilitate the rapid and collaborative implementation of novel technological approaches and the adoption of critical weather warnings and insights. To save lives, the initiative’s impact areas will focus on zero hunger, infectious disease eradication, and early warnings.

ClimaCell began a roll-out in India as it launched in the United States. The company uses wireless networks to source weather data and predict weather. With no capital investment, ClimaCell’s data analysis and imaging service give consumers access to forecast updates and localized weather maps. The solution may enable farmers, business, and governments to make informed decisions.[23]

gollark: Well, you'll have to stop needing that.
gollark: But it does, I checked on esolangs.org this morning.
gollark: What of Macron?
gollark: My entire infrastructure is random python scripts.
gollark: Specifically, it just runs borgbackup over a bunch of folders with some exclude rules, and appends timestamps to things, then runs borgbackup over a postgres dump.

References
  1. de Wolff, Daniel (February 1, 2019). "ClimaCell: Doing weather differently—from observation to forecasting with virtual sensors". MIT Industrial Liaison Program. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  2. Stoler, Tofi (January 14, 2019). "Weather Forecasting Startup ClimaCell to Set International Operations Center in Tel Aviv". CTech by Calcalist. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  3. Winn, Zach (December 14, 2018). "Weather Monitoring from the Ground Up". MIT News. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  4. Martin, Dylan (April 7, 2017). "How Near-Death Experiences in the Israeli Air Force Inspired This New Startup". American Inno. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  5. Primack, Dan (October 4, 2018). "ClimaCell raises $45 million for short-term weather forecasting data". Axios. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  6. Martin, Dylan (April 7, 2017). "How Near-Death Experiences in the Israeli Air Force Inspired This New Startup". Americaninno. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  7. Rosen, Andy (November 27, 2019). "Startup promises a weather report just for your block". Boston Globe. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  8. Georgina, Flatter (March 11, 2019). "How Entrepreneurs Can Help Developing Countries Hard Hit by Climate Change". Entrepreneur. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  9. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-08/softbank-backs-startup-pioneering-hyper-accurate-weather-reports?srnd=markets-vp
  10. Kontzer, Tony (October 17, 2017). "Extreme Weather: GPUs Help Startup Provide Hyperlocal, High-Resolution 'Nowcasting'". NVIDIA. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  11. "ClimaCell Weather Data Comes from Cellular Networks". nanalyze. October 8, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  12. Zazulia, Nick (July 19, 2018). "JetBlue Tracks Microweather with New ClimaCell Software". Aviation Today. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  13. CBAM
  14. Cáceres, Marcelo (January 23, 2019). "Fix This: How Two Boston-Based Startups Are Forecasting Flight Delays". Apex Aero. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  15. Winn, Zach (December 14, 2018). "Weather Monitoring from the Ground Up". MIT News. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  16. Tredgold, Gordon (5 May 2017). "Why Faster, Better, Cheaper is no Longer Good Enough". Inc. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  17. Reed, Ted (Jul 18, 2018). "JetBlue Invests In New Weather Forecasting Technology That Cuts De-Icing Costs". Forbes. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  18. Shieber, Jonathan (November 11, 2017). "Weather tracking tech developer ClimaCell raises $15 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  19. Coker, Ashley (October 8, 2018). "Weather technology company ClimaCell closes $45 million Series B on mission to expand globally". Freight Waves. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  20. Engel, Jeff (October 4, 2018). "ClimaCell Grabs $45M for Weather Data for Airlines, Driverless Cars". Xconomy. Retrieved March 11, 2019. Ford sees “high-definition, micro-weather information” as one of the keys to driverless vehicle route planning, among other activities.
  21. "Counting raindrops using mobile-phone towers". Economist. September 30, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  22. Freedman, Andrew (December 3, 2019). "Private Weather Company Climacell Spin-off Nonprofit To Tackle Weather-Forecasting in Africa". Washington Post. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  23. "Legatum Center of MIT". MIT's Legatum Center.
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