Accurate weather forecasts are essential for industries like agriculture and crucial for mitigating the impact of inclement weather events or natural disasters. However, achieving precise forecasts is notoriously challenging. Recognizing this, the founders of WeatherXM have dedicated the past 12 years to enhancing weather forecast accuracy.
In 2012, Manolis Nikiforakis, Stratos Theodorou, and Nikos Tsiligaridis launched an app enabling community members to provide local weather updates. They then transitioned to consulting for enterprise customers, such as the Athens airport, operating in weather-sensitive sectors. Now, they are developing WeatherXM, a network of community-monitored weather stations that collect and share local weather data using blockchain technology.
Nikiforakis, WeatherXM’s CEO, shared that the startup has already deployed 5,000 weather stations in over 80 countries. These stations gather local ground weather information, monitored by volunteers who are compensated with WeatherXM’s own crypto token, $WXM. The collected data is accessible to anyone for personal use at no cost, with paid options available for enterprises that require commercial usage.
“We are strong advocates of open source,” Nikiforakis stated. “Our mission is meaningful only with collaboration from diverse people and expertise. We are making all this data openly available. You can see in real-time what every weather station is reporting.”
Recently, WeatherXM secured $7.7 million in a Series A round led by Faction, an early-stage blockchain-focused fund associated with Lightspeed, with contributions from Borderless Capital, Alumni Ventures, Red Beard Ventures, and other investors. The startup plans to use the funds to expand its team and begin monetizing its commercial users.
Tim Khoury, a partner at Faction, was attracted to the investment due to the project’s compelling community-driven blockchain application and the high demand for accurate weather data. “The success of many deep networks hinges on demand,” Khoury noted. “Without demand for the generated product, the network cannot sustain itself over time.”
As someone who has experienced flooding during inaccurately predicted storms, this deal immediately caught my interest. However, the blockchain and crypto token aspect of WeatherXM’s strategy initially puzzled me.
Nikiforakis explained that the crypto incentive structure is crucial for the network’s scalability. Paying each person who oversees a weather station would be too costly and complex. Their previous app demonstrated that people are willing to provide weather data for free, so WeatherXM’s structure incentivizes users modestly.
“[Using crypto] also helps ensure that weather stations are deployed in the areas we care about most, like developing and rural regions,” Nikiforakis added. “The crypto rewards act as a coordination tool and a governance mechanism, allowing users to vote on project-related decisions.”
While I’m generally skeptical about blockchain and crypto, their application here seems sensible. It complements WeatherXM’s focus on open-source data, which benefits from blockchain technology.
During a recent panel discussion on community preparedness for climate emergencies, the need for open-source data was frequently emphasized. WeatherXM’s commitment to making data from underserved or rural areas publicly available could significantly benefit communities facing climate challenges with limited budgets and resources.
The mission is compelling, but whether blockchain-based weather forecasting will generate sufficient demand to make a substantial impact remains to be seen.
“We aim to create an ecosystem around our technology and ideas to advance the industry and improve meteorology,” Nikiforakis said. “We oppose the old way of siloed operations that restrict access to credentialed or paying individuals. We are opening the data to everyone.”
