Excarta

Excarta, founded in 2022 by CEO Vivek Ramavajjala, is a company focused on commercializing AI for business-targeted weather forecasting. The founding team's background includes over 15 years of combined experience in AI and climate modeling at institutions like Google Research, DeepMind, and Xerox PARC. This expertise was leveraged to transition AI weather forecasting from a research concept to a commercial application with measurable returns for businesses.

The company operates a cloud-based platform that utilizes artificial intelligence to generate high-resolution, accurate weather forecasts. Unlike traditional models that are often complex and costly, Excarta's AI-driven approach learns to emulate the physics of conventional weather models, providing forecasts more quickly and at a lower expense. The platform can produce hourly forecasts for up to 14 days, a significant extension from the typical three to five days offered by conventional methods. A key feature is the generation of ensemble forecasts, which not only predict the most likely weather outcome but also quantify the uncertainty within those predictions.

Excarta serves a diverse client base across multiple industries, including energy, agriculture technology (AgTech), supply chain management, and insurance. For the energy sector, its forecasts aid in optimizing energy sources, improving trading strategies, and ensuring the safe operation of electrical grids. In AgTech, the platform assists with planning operations like fertilizer spraying and pest prediction. Supply chain clients use the service for route optimization and contingency planning. The insurance industry leverages the platform for risk mitigation, particularly in preventing hail-related losses by providing advance warnings. The business model allows customers to either use Excarta's models to create their own tailored forecasts or access ready-made forecasts directly through the platform's APIs without needing in-house weather expertise.

In December 2023, Excarta announced the completion of a $2.5 million seed funding round. This round was led by Village Global and included participation from Ubiquity Ventures, Converge VC, and several angel investors. The seed round was preceded by a $500,000 inception-stage SAFE round. These funds are intended to support the commercialization of its platform and expand business operations.

Keywords: AI weather forecasting, business weather intelligence, high-resolution forecasts, ensemble forecasts, climate modeling, risk mitigation, energy trading, AgTech solutions, supply chain optimization, insurance weather risk, catastrophic weather prediction, hail loss prevention, renewable energy forecasting, grid load planning, agricultural planning, route optimization, climate resilience, weather API, hyperlocal forecasting, predictive analytics