Australia boosts weather forecasting with AI technology partnership

This online article originally appeared in the online edition of the Australian, 13 May, 2024

Aeeris (ASX:AER), the parent company of Early Warning Network (EWN), has entered into a groundbreaking partnership with one of the world’s leading companies in weather resilience solutions – Tomorrow.io

EWN counts Australia’s largest insurers, councils, and private businesses among its customers. With a round-the-clock monitoring team underpinned by proprietary technology, the company harnesses data from remote corners of the country, integrating various models, including those from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

It then creates for its clients tailored weather forecasting and alerts which are verified by its expert team as part of the most granular “real world” weather prediction technology in the country.

Tomorrow.io, a global leader in hyperlocal weather forecasting, leverages artificial intelligence and the world’s first commercially built weather-radar satellites to deliver unparalleled insights.

Despite their compact size, Tomorrow.io’s satellites have demonstrated remarkable accuracy, rivalling even NASA’s larger counterparts.

This builds on the company’s already impressive track record, with a 2021 case study with US airline JetBlue finding that Tomorrow.io’s ability to predict storm patterns helped the airline save up to $US50,000 per month per hub by minimising unnecessary delays and cancellations.

The company’s clients include major US airlines, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and the US Air Force.

Tomorrow.io’s technology will be integrated with Aeeris’s to provide clients with the most detailed weather data available globally, giving granular insights into exactly where and when weather events will occur in real-time and alerts about the likelihood of threats.

This strategic alliance is already showing signs of success, with the signing of its first customer, indicating robust demand for advanced weather intelligence solutions in Australia.

Aeeris founder and CEO Kerry Plowright said the landmark alliance would set a new standard for weather forecasting and risk mitigation in Australia.

Aeeris will be positioned as a distributor of Tomorrow.io’s revolutionary technology in this market.

“That tomorrow.io selected Aeeris as a distributor in the Asia Pacific Region speaks to our proven track record of innovation and excellence in weather analytics,” Plowright said.

“The partnership represents a transformative leap in predictive capabilities, ensuring that businesses and communities across Australia can act with unprecedented foresight in weather-related decisions.”

Aeeris’s recent robust results underscore Australia’s burgeoning demand for advanced weather intelligence solutions. The company reported a notable increase in sales and marketing activities, fuelled by enhanced regulatory reporting requirements and heightened risk awareness, boosting demand for its offering.

The quarter was Aeeris’s most successful, with a 40 per cent surge in cash flow and customer receipts compared to last year’s corresponding period.

Customer receipts climbed to $931,581, driven by robust new customer acquisitions and increased transactions from existing accounts.

Nearly half of Aeeris’s new revenue was generated by its Hail product suite, which experienced a spike in demand following an early hail season and significant hail events in December, making it a record month for hail alerts.