Salient Predictions is a Boston-based startup that built its company around being able to predict the weather well into the future, successfully raising over $5 million in funding from a seed round. It intends to provide weather information for the energy, agriculture, and insurance industries.
The startup claims to have discovered a way to create what it calls sub-seasonal forecasts, which will enable its technology to be “twice as accurate as rival companies and government forecasts.”
Salient boasts the ability to predict weather anywhere from two to 52 weeks in advance. With its technology, the company intends to help many industries and supply chains the world over.
The startup says it will be able to predict where a blizzard, hurricane, or other bad storms may hit and give this information to companies well in advance. Disseminating this information early could potentially save lives.
As Salient staffs up, it has added Ken Westrick to the team. Westrick has an extensive background in energy solutions and climate risk assessment.
“We’re now focusing on value-add solutions that localize our forecasts to the project level, translate weather forecast information to power production or financial metrics, and provide highly relevant visualizations and analytics,” Westrick said.
“From utilities to power generators and purchasers to the financial industry,” Westrick explained that Salients tools will allow companies “to make more proactive and efficient operational, financial, risk-based decisions.”
This way of looking into the future can also help save lives. If a large storm can be seen weeks or even months in advance, cities can better prepare and warn residents.
Westrick said Salient is “helping businesses make more effective decisions that improve the efficiencies of power generation and integration.”
When it comes to saving lives, CEO Matt Stein noted, “The more we can inform global challenges like feeding the next billion or uncovering early signals for events like last year’s Texas freeze, the catastrophic floods in Europe, or California’s perennial wildfires, the better prepared communities and businesses can be.”
Salient has been in the works since 2017 and is on a mission to become the standard for all weather predictions globally.