Madison startup Understory has raised a new round of funding from some well-known investors.
Understory, a startup that analyzes and processes weather data, announced Tuesday that it has raised $7.5 million in a new funding round led by previous backer 4490 Ventures. Also in the round was Revolution's Rise of the Rest fund, a VC fund led by AOL co-founder Steve Case that has garnered national attention for its focus on backing startups outside of Silicon Valley.
Understory said in a news release that it will use the funds to expand its presence in the international agriculture market. The company previously raised a $7.5 million round in 2016 after relocating to Madison from Somerville, Mass.
“Understory is powering innovation in weather data infrastructure with its sensor networks and on-the-ground insights,” Case said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing how Understory continues to leverage regional expertise and talent to redefine real-time weather information for insurance, agriculture, academics, utility companies, and more."
Founded in 2012, Understory makes solar-powered weather stations that collect weather data to help a range of industries detect risk and make better business decisions. Understory said its weather tech can be used by broadcasting, agriculture, forecasting, and risk mitigation companies.
Understory has deployed more than 500 stations throughout the U.S., and it plans to expand to 5,000 by the end of 2019. It has also partnered with companies such as Monsanto and Bayer to deploy weather stations in South America to measure rainfall, temperature, and other weather data.
The goal, Understory says, is to provide agriculture businesses with better weather information than radar, satellites and other current technologies.
“It has taken a number of years and a lot of dedication from our team, but Understory is now positioned to truly enable a fundamental shift in how the insurance and agriculture industries utilize data to make informed weather-related decisions," CEO Alex Kubicek said in a statement.
