WindBorne Systems – a startup from a team of Stanford graduates, recently made waves by announcing its record-breaking accuracy in weather forecasting. The young innovators made use of a fleet of budget-approved weather balloons, combined with the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning, to gather granular data that can predict the weather with unprecedented precision.

The startup’s WeatherMesh system took advantage of the continuing evolution of AI algorithms and the sharp decrease in the cost and size of computer hardware and wireless equipment. The weather balloons, as affordable as sewing a common mobile phone together, can circumnavigate Earth for weeks, with AI closely monitoring their paths.

Perhaps most importantly, WindBorne Systems was successful in surpassing Google’s DeepMind – the ongoing leader in AI-powered weather prediction, in crucial benchmarks established by U.S. and European government weather models. According to a report by Semafor, the startup, backed by Khosla Ventures and Footwork, used around 100 inexpensive, hand-made weather balloons to gather data.

This data was then analyzed with AI techniques, the same technology that powers other AI discourse models, like ChatGPT. The firm touts itself as employing the world’s largest group of weather balloons, and their plan is to step up their fleet tenfold, moving from 100 to 10,000 balloons. This would give the small startup as big a view of the Earth’s weather system as any well-funded government agency.

The implications of this leap forward in weather prediction are enormous. From knowing days in advance exactly where a hurricane will make landfall to predicting the specifics of the wind’s strength and the amount of expected rainfall, the innovation promises to revolutionize the way we interact with the weather.

Source: Startup’s AI breaks global weather forecasting accuracy record }}.