The effects of climate change have increased in intensity in recent years. In 2020, there were 22 natural disasters in the U.S. alone — a record-breaking number that caused $100.2 billion in damages, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This year, the U.S. has seen just 18 natural disasters, but the cost of the damage has increased to $104.8 billion.
For many businesses, the effects of climate change make it difficult to plan for financial risks like weather-related fluctuations in revenue, operating costs and asset damages. The Demex Group, which just raised $9 million in Series A funding, offers businesses insights and solutions to predict and prepare for climate-related risks.
Demex’s climate resistance platform integrates weather data, cash flow models and insurance partners to design customized coverage for companies based on their geographical location and unique risks. Using historical data and current weather patterns, Demex helps businesses analyze, price and transfer climate-linked risks at scale.
Take a snow removal company, for example. Since climate change has made snowfall in certain regions less predictable, a snow removal company would have difficulty predicting revenue and expenses from year to year. Through weather forecasting and analyzing the snow removal company’s operational costs, Demex can develop a revenue protection insurance plan for when snowfall is low and give financial insights into what minimum revenue the company should expect.
“Property owners, tenants and managers are typically overlooked by the incumbent weather risk marketplace that focuses on agriculture and energy,” Demex founder and CEO Ed Byrns said in a statement. “Recent advances in cloud computing, big data and blockchain have enabled us to deliver a simple, secure and scalable platform that’s specifically designed for climate resiliency.”
D.C.-based Demex also recently launched its Climate Indicator as a free public resource for researching how climate affects businesses. With 650,000 unique climate assessments, anyone can look up how historic and predicted weather changes might affect local businesses given variables like summer heat, winter chill, rainfall and snowfall. This tool makes researching climate risks free and easy for a company looking to up its existing coverage or prepare for new risks in a continually changing world.
Demex isn’t the only D.C.-area climate tech company receiving venture capital for climate change preparation. Just last month, thermal infrared data analytics company Hydrosat raised $10 million to launch its first satellite to assess climate change-related threats.
