Earthmover, the climate tech startup founded by Ryan Abernathey and Joe Hamman, has successfully pivoted from long-term climate modeling to real-time weather analytics, positioning itself as the potential Snowflake of geospatial data. The company recently secured a $7.2 million seed round while attracting more than 10 paying customers by focusing on rapidly changing weather data rather than static climate outputs.
Why Earthmover Shifted to Real-Time Geospatial Data
Initially focused on climate technology, Earthmover’s founders quickly recognized a critical market gap. Consequently, they discovered that climate data, while important, lacked the urgency that drives business decisions. “What makes a compelling use case for our platform? Data that change frequently,” explained CEO Ryan Abernathey. “That’s where there’s more urgency around solutions.”
The company’s strategic pivot addresses several key market needs:
- Frequency matters: Weather data updates constantly versus climate data’s multi-year cycles
- Business urgency: Companies need immediate insights for operational decisions
- Broader applications: Weather affects industries from insurance to energy trading
Earthmover’s Powerful Geospatial Data Infrastructure
At its core, Earthmover maintains its sophisticated data structure designed specifically for complex geospatial data. The platform handles what experts call “rasters” in geospatial terms or “tensors” in AI terminology. Essentially, these are multidimensional arrays that can scale to petabyte-level datasets.
The company built its platform using open-source tools including:
- Xarray: For working with labeled multidimensional arrays
- Pangeo: A community platform for big data geoscience
- Icechunk: For efficient data chunking and processing
$7.2M Funding Round Validates Geospatial Data Strategy
Earthmover’s recent $7.2 million seed funding, led by Lowercarbon Capital with participation from Costanoa Ventures and Preston-Werner Ventures, demonstrates investor confidence in their revised approach. The funding will accelerate development of new analytical tools atop their existing storage platform.
Notably, the company’s open-source foundation provides significant advantages:
- Risk mitigation: Customers retain control of their data
- Cloud flexibility: Runs on AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and on-premise
- Enterprise confidence: Reduces dependency on startup longevity
Real-World Applications of Earthmover’s Geospatial Platform
Earthmover already serves diverse customers including insurance startup Kettle, which uses the platform for wildfire risk assessment, and German energy giant RWE. Renewable energy companies particularly benefit from weather forecasting capabilities that help predict supply and demand fluctuations.
CTO Joe Hamman emphasizes accessibility: “If you’re a trading desk, you want to see the latest forecast on a dashboard. You don’t want to run Python scripts.” This user-friendly approach distinguishes Earthmover from more technical competitors.
The Future of Geospatial Data Analytics
Earthmover’s pivot represents a broader trend in data analytics: the move from static historical analysis to dynamic, real-time insights. As climate change increases weather volatility, the demand for sophisticated geospatial data platforms will likely grow exponentially.
The company’s success hinges on making complex weather and satellite data accessible to non-technical users while maintaining the robustness required by enterprise customers. Their open-source approach provides both flexibility and security in an increasingly data-driven world.
Frequently Asked Questions
What problem does Earthmover solve?
Earthmover makes massive geospatial and weather datasets accessible and actionable for businesses, transforming complex data into practical insights for decision-making.
How does Earthmover differ from traditional climate data companies?
Unlike climate-focused companies that work with static, long-term data, Earthmover specializes in frequently updating weather information that drives immediate business decisions.
What industries benefit most from Earthmover’s platform?
Insurance, energy, agriculture, and transportation sectors gain significant advantages from real-time weather analytics and geospatial data processing.
Why did Earthmover choose an open-source foundation?
The open-source approach reduces customer risk, ensures data portability, and leverages established tools specifically designed for geospatial data challenges.
How large are typical Earthmover datasets?
Customers typically manage between tens to hundreds of terabytes of geospatial data, though the platform can scale to petabyte-level requirements.
What makes Earthmover’s platform user-friendly?
The platform provides dashboard-based visualization tools that eliminate the need for programming skills, making advanced geospatial analytics accessible to business users.
