Meet the first-ever winner of Orlando Inno Madness: a weather technology company that just landed a deal with The Walt Disney Co.
WeatherFlow-Tempest Inc. came out on top in the final round of voting for Orlando Inno Madness, a bracket-style competition between startups and innovative companies. WeatherFlow captured 53% of the vote, beating out Beep Inc.
The 2-year-old firm’s data and artificial intelligence-powered modeling provides customers with accurate weather information. One of its flagship products is the Tempest Weather System, a home system that provides weather data to a user’s mobile app.
The goal of Inno Madness is to give a snapshot of some of the most-promising tech companies in Central Florida. It is by no means a complete list of the area's best startups. It's also not just a list of the eight most-funded startups in the region.
However, WeatherFlow, which is based in California but maintains operations in Daytona Beach, is plenty busy.
For starters, the company is raising up to $2.5 million through a crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine. WeatherFlow raised $1.8 million as of March 22, and the money will enable the firm to hire marketing professionals, expand its sales operations outside North America and improve its products, CEO Buck Lyons told Orlando Inno.
Meanwhile, WeatherFlow’s new deal with Disney (NYSE: DIS), announced March 21, means WeatherFlow and Disney will co-develop products that deliver more sophisticated weather intelligence for use in planning at outdoor venues. That includes Disney properties.
This partnership is an example of the types of collaborations WeatherFlow plans to pursue throughout the year, Lyons said. “Our plans for 2022 include accelerating our growth by giving customers more utility and value.”
Plus, the company is in the middle of integrations that will allow Tempest Weather System users to use their data with other smart home products. For example, a user would be able to integrate his or her weather data with smart sprinklers.
WeatherFlow was one of eight companies that participated in Orlando Inno Madness. Each week, businesses went head-to-head, with the winners advancing to the next round. The competition drew 2,363 votes across three rounds.
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