Rainbow Weather Raises $5.5M to Enhance Real-Time Forecasts
▼ Summary
– Rainbow Weather, a Warsaw-based startup, has raised $5.5 million in seed funding to develop hyperlocal, minute-by-minute weather forecasts focused on the next few hours.
– Its core mobile app provides four-hour precipitation forecasts, updated every 10 minutes and mapped to a one-square-kilometre grid, which it claims surpasses mainstream providers.
– The company uses machine learning to fuse high-resolution data from multiple sources, positioning itself between simplistic and overly cumbersome traditional forecasting methods.
– The funding will be used to extend the forecast window to 24 hours, add more weather parameters, and grow its B2B offerings for industries requiring precise, near-term data.
– The founding team has a strong track record in applied AI, and the company also runs an open-source project to transparently benchmark the accuracy of major weather forecast providers.
A Warsaw-based climate technology company has secured a significant $5.5 million seed investment to advance its mission of delivering ultra-precise, short-term weather predictions. Rainbow Weather specializes in hyperlocal forecasting, providing minute-by-minute updates for the immediate hours ahead rather than focusing on conditions days in the future. This funding round attracted notable backers, including Yuri Gurski, the founder of the prominent European consumer tech firm Flo Health.
The startup’s primary offering is a mobile application that generates a unique four-hour precipitation forecast starting from the exact second a user opens the app. If you check it at 10:17 am, for instance, you receive a detailed outlook through 2:17 pm. This forecast updates every ten minutes and is mapped to an exceptionally detailed one-square-kilometre grid. This combination of high temporal and spatial resolution is what the company argues distinguishes it from conventional weather services.
According to Rainbow Weather, most established providers use methods that fall short for rapidly changing conditions. Some rely on optical flow techniques, which track cloud movement as simple shapes without accounting for atmospheric physics. Others utilize large-scale numerical models that, while physically based, are too slow to process real-time data effectively. Alexander Matveenko, a co-founder of the company, explains that both approaches struggle with the dynamism of immediate weather shifts.
The startup’s solution sits between these two extremes. It employs machine learning algorithms to integrate and analyze diverse data streams, including radar, satellite imagery, ground station reports, and even anonymized barometer readings from smartphones. By fusing these sources, the system can correct for individual dataset errors and produce forecasts more rapidly than traditional models allow.
While initially centered on short-term rain predictions, the app has broadened its scope to include tracking for wildfires and hurricanes, a capability added following the Palisades fire in Los Angeles. This move signals an ambition to evolve into a comprehensive real-time risk awareness platform. The newly acquired capital will fuel efforts to extend the forecast window from four to twenty-four hours, incorporate additional weather parameters like wind and temperature, and expand its business-to-business services.
The market for commercial weather intelligence is poised for steady growth, driven by sectors where operational decisions hinge on accurate, near-term forecasts. Industries such as logistics, precision agriculture, aviation, and drone operations represent key customers. Rainbow Weather reports it has already surpassed one million app installs and has launched application programming interfaces (APIs) tailored for businesses where weather mistakes are costly. A partnership with an undisclosed long-range forecasting firm also allows the company to supply its near-term data to improve broader climate models.
The founding team brings considerable experience in applied artificial intelligence. CEO Yuriy Melnichek previously founded AIMatter, which was acquired by Google, and developed consumer apps later purchased by Pinterest and Farfetch. Co-founder Alexander Matveenko sold his mapping startup, MapData, to Mapbox.
In a notable move for an industry not known for transparency, the team also operates an open-source project called weatherindex.ai. This platform evaluates the real-time accuracy of short-term precipitation forecasts from major providers by comparing them against verified airport weather data. For Rainbow Weather, this commitment to open benchmarking is a core part of its value proposition. The company is wagering that as climate volatility increases, the demand for trustworthy, immediate forecasts will surge, shifting focus from what’s happening next week to what’s developing in the next hour.
(Source: The Next Web)
