WindBorne Systems, a Redwood City-based startup specializing in autonomous weather balloons, has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force valued at up to $49 million. The contract enables the Air Force to purchase atmospheric sensor data collected by WindBorne’s fleet, which currently includes around 700 balloons deployed worldwide.
The balloons gather empirical weather data that feeds into WindBorne’s AI-powered forecasting model, WeatherMesh 6, which the company claims offers improved accuracy compared to traditional physics-based models like those from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). This contract represents the largest single engagement WindBorne has had with the U.S. government, which includes prior collaborations with the National Weather Service and the Navy.
Under the terms of the contract, the Air Force can order data on an as-needed basis for specific regions and times, having so far placed orders totaling $1.7 million. WindBorne co-founder and CTO Andrey Sushko noted that the contract, awarded without competitive bidding, reflects the government’s recognition that WindBorne’s capabilities uniquely meet their operational requirements for global atmospheric data collection.
The funding will support the growth of WindBorne’s balloon constellation and ongoing research and development to enhance balloon hardware and performance. The company recently closed a $37 million Series B funding round to scale its operations further.
WindBorne’s approach leverages deep-learning models trained on extensive weather datasets, enabling faster and potentially more accurate forecasts than traditional supercomputer simulations. The company made headlines in August by deploying unpowered balloons into the eye of a typhoon, navigating them by adjusting altitude and ballast to harness prevailing winds—a novel operational use of AI weather models.
This contract underscores the growing role of AI-driven atmospheric data collection and forecasting in defense and meteorological applications, highlighting WindBorne’s position at the forefront of integrating autonomous hardware with advanced machine learning models.