Can cloud seeding fight drought? Startup Rainmaker just raised $100 million to find out
Rainmaker, the weather modification startup focused on generating rain and snow through cloud seeding, announced today that it has raised $100 million in Series B funding. Investors including NOA VC, Upfront Ventures, DCVC, Lowercarbon Capital, and Dream Ventures participated in the round. Rainmaker declined to share an updated valuation as part of the news. Prior to this round, the company had…
Weather modification startup Rainmaker has secured $100 million in Series B funding to investigate the potential of cloud seeding to combat drought. The round, led by investors such as NOA VC, Upfront Ventures, DCVC, Lowercarbon Capital, and Dream Ventures, builds upon Rainmaker's $50.3 million raised in the previous funding round.
The company, founded in 2023, specializes in deploying custom drones that release silver iodide into clouds to trigger precipitation. Rainmaker's drones navigate specific flight paths to differentiate their induced rainfall from natural occurrences, with recent tests in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula generating 19 million gallons of rain in three hours.
The influx of capital will bolster Rainmaker's research team, focusing on radar meteorology, machine learning, and aerosol chemistry. As climate change exacerbates issues like drought and extreme weather, Rainmaker is preparing to test biodegradable seeding agents and potentially intervene in severe weather events, aiming to enhance Earth's habitability.
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