WindBorne Systems has raised a $37 million Series B round co-led by Khosla Ventures and Galvanize, valuing the company at $250 million. The startup collects weather data using the world's longest-flying weather balloons and feeds it into an AI-powered forecasting model. Founded in 2019, WindBorne has 20 launch sites and approximately 600 balloons in the air at any given time, collecting data from hard-to-reach locations like typhoon eyes, and is deploying aerial sensors that become floating ocean buoys after landing in water.
The company ingests this proprietary data alongside government weather agency data to power its forecasting model. CEO John Dean stated that adding balloons to forecasts improves accuracy and provides stronger value per data point compared to satellites. Current customers include the U.S. National Weather Service and U.S. military branches through research partnerships, including efforts to develop onboard forecasting for ships with intermittent connectivity.
WindBorne plans to use the funding to expand into commercial markets, particularly investment funds that use weather data to predict commodity prices. The company will also invest in compute, replace balloon satellite communications with mesh radio networks, and build out its go-to-market team to grow its private sector customer base.