Luxembourg environmental data analytics firm Databourg has secured $1M in seed funding, boosted by investments from Asian Development Bank (ADB) Ventures.
The cash injection will help the startup expand its weather monitoring operations into more countries in Asia.
Databourg was founded in 2017 as a spinoff from the University of Luxembourg. It builds on the findings of co-founder and CEO Ahmad Gharanjik’s PhD research project examining the impact of rain on satellite communication networks.
He found a correlation between rain intensity and satellite signal quality. By looking at the signal quality, he was able to extract data to map rainfall in real-time. Databourg sells this intelligence for weather forecasting, agriculture, transportation, and even insurance applications. The company’s innovative technology is based on repurposing existing telecom infrastructure for weather monitoring by leveraging AI using its proprietary algorithms and earth observation data.
Databourg Systems Wants To Establish Itself As ‘The Rain Company’
“The use of existing infrastructure and transforming them to weather sensors at an affordable price will have a profound impact on developing Asia. We are proud to be part of Databourg’s journey from the very beginning and look forward to them becoming an important regional player in the coming years,” said ADB Ventures Investment Specialist Jieying Shi.
Databourg’s weather monitoring system is currently up and running in the Philippines. Expansion into Asia will aid in protecting the livelihoods of millions of people which are threatened by severe flooding, drought, and storm surges, by offering comprehensive weather monitoring infrastructure, essential for early warnings and effective risk management against extreme weather events and climate change impacts.
