WindBorne Secures $37 Million to Expand AI-Driven Weather Forecasting

WindBorne Systems announced a $37 million Series B financing that brings its post-money valuation to $250 million. Led by Khosla Ventures and Galvanize, the round also saw contributions from TransLink Capital, Lux Capital and prior investors. Founded in 2019, the startup uses low-cost sensors attached to long-duration balloons to collect atmospheric data, feeding a deep-learning model that can run on modest hardware rather than supercomputers.

With roughly 20 launch sites and 600 balloons aloft at any time, the firm supplies data to the U.S. National Weather Service and partners with the U.S. Air Force and Navy on ship-board forecasting tools. The new capital will fund expansion of its commercial sales force, development of ocean-deployed sensor buoys, and a transition to a mesh radio network for balloon communications. Executives say AI now makes integrating high-resolution forecasts into business decisions more affordable, opening opportunities with commodity traders and other private-sector clients.