Understory built and deployed a network of ground-level weather stations called Dot that measure wind, rain, hail, temperature, pressure and humidity at high frequency to create a detailed on-the-ground weather dataset. Using that dataset the company built global catastrophe models validated by reinsurance partners and sells data and software-as-a-service products. The founders then expanded into insurance, offering parametric products such as a Dealers Open Lot solution that now protects nearly 1,000 U.S. dealer locations. Understory says it has driven hundreds of millions of dollars in avoided damage for customers and reported 500% year-over-year growth over the past year. The company is launching a product focused on the renewable energy sector, targeting solar farms with models that can provide roughly 45 minutes of notice to mitigate hail damage and cut repair costs by about 50%. Its technology is being positioned to reduce large losses (examples cited include turning $10 million losses into $5 million or similar reductions) by enabling operational responses ahead of severe weather. Understory builds and operates a network of ground-based weather stations that funnel 125,000 measurements a second into an AI core to measure hail, rainfall, temperature, humidity, wind, solar radiation, and air quality. The company sells granular, real-time and historical weather datasets and analytics for agriculture, insurance, government, broadcasting, forecasting, and environmental markets. Understory has deployed more than 600 stations across five major U.S. metropolitan areas and on multiple continents, and it recently expanded into South America. The company announced Project Atmosphere to bring its Atmosphere technology to 10 new cities globally. Recent funding will be used to support international expansion of the sensor network, increase employee headcount, and expand into a new headquarters facility. Understory emphasizes hyperlocal monitoring to optimize decision-making for irrigation, harvest timing, air-quality tracking, risk mitigation, and other use cases. Understory builds and operates a network of ground-level weather sensors and analytics to generate hyper-local, real-time weather datasets and actionable information. Its patented sensor technology measures rainfall, temperature, humidity, evapotranspiration and growing degree units that radar and satellite cannot reliably capture. The company has deployed more than 500 stations across five major U.S. metropolitan areas and plans to expand nationally to 5,000 sensors by the end of 2019. Understory has kicked off an international presence through a partnership with Bayer (formerly Monsanto) to deploy stations in South America for agricultural use. Its data products target insurance, agriculture, forecasting, utilities, broadcasting and academic customers. The company has received recognition from Forbes as one of the 25 Most Innovative AgTech Startups (2018), and a company co-founder/VP of Engineering was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Manufacturing. Understory builds proprietary weather stations that generate dense surface observations and operate with no external moving parts. Its platform analyzes and processes collected information to create real-time datasets, views and actionable insights from historical, current and forecasted weather events. The data is sold for use cases including broadcasting, insurance, agriculture, forecasting and risk mitigation. The company has deployed weather-sensing networks in Kansas City, Boston and Dallas, with additional cities to be announced. Understory is relocating its headquarters to Madison while maintaining a significant presence in Boston. In February 2016 the company raised Series A funding to support its expansion. Understory builds and deploys ground-level, hyper-local weather stations that measure rain, hail, wind, humidity, ambient light and other metrics. Its hardware uses a solid-state sensor that senses wind, rain and hail in three dimensions, including updrafts and downdrafts, allowing analysis of storm energy exchange and short-term severe-weather risk. The company sells granular ground-level data to businesses that need real-time local conditions; its first customer is American Family Insurance. Understory is beginning deployment of its first network in the Kansas City area to support that customer. Potential future uses include improving weather models and forecasts and helping clients (insurers, broadcasters, etc.) anticipate and respond to severe weather. The startup recently closed a $1.9M seed round to fund deployment of its network.

Total raised

$37M

Funding rounds

5

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Jun 2024