Understory – a weather network and analytics startup interested in insurance customers – has raised $5.25 million in new financings. Plans call for using the cash infusion to accelerate global expansion in multiple markets.

True Ventures led the round, with participation from 4490 Ventures and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. Including the latest financing, Understory has raised nearly $22.3 million.

“Our commitment to disrupt outdated methods for dynamic weather analysis is the primary focus for this next stage of growth,” said Alex Kubicek, Co-founder and CEO of Understory. “We are excited to work with our investors who are supporting our mission of creating a higher standard for hyperlocal weather monitoring.”

Understory raised $7.5 million November 2018 and recently expanded into South America. Its new financing will help the company expand its weather sensing network across multiple industries including agriculture, insurance, and air quality. Plans also call for using the new capital to hire more employees and expand into a new, larger headquarters.

Understory is based in Madison, WI.

Understory’s weather stations funnel 125,000 measurements a second into an artificial intelligence (AI) core that measures precise hail, rainfall, temperature, humidity, wind and solar radiation, and air quality. The AI core analyzes the data to provide critical atmospheric, climate, and weather data to optimize decision-making across agriculture, insurance, government and environmental markets.

Understory said its weather network has been used in several industries including agriculture to determine irrigation and optimal harvest dates and times. With stations in metropolitan areas across the country, municipal leaders can leverage Understory sensors to track air quality and determine the impact of air pollution reduction strategies in urban environments. Understory has deployed more than 600 stations within five major metropolitan areas and on multiple continents, with plans to further increase globally in 2019.

Source: Understory