The Montauk Climate-Incubated DePIN Startup Utilizes Blockchain Technology to Build a Network of Distributed Weather, Atmospheric, and Ground Based Sensors
Raad Labs, a pioneering blockchain climate tech company emerging from the Montauk Climate incubator, today announced that it has raised a $2.25 million financing round led by CoinFund with participation from Tribe, EV3, and Protagonist. Raad Labs improves climate data measurement and forecasting by deploying a distributed network of sensors through a DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) model. The blockchain-enabled network monitors weather patterns, greenhouse gas emissions, wildfire risk, soil degradation, and more. By leveraging web3 technology, Raad effectively incentivizes sensor operators to generate the high-quality data needed for high-accuracy environmental management.
T.J. Ragsdale is announced as Raad Labs CEO and co-founder, bringing extensive experience and vision to lead the company in its mission to enhance global weather data density and accuracy. Prior to Raad, T.J. co-founded Entheos Network, a battery storage DePIN protocol.
“There is a significant, unmet need for high-quality weather, air quality, and soil data that can equip businesses, utilities, insurers, and governments with the necessary information to prevent climate disasters cost-effectively, rather than responding to them at a high expense,” said T.J. Ragsdale, CEO of Raad Labs. “In the U.S., wildfires are a major climate disaster category, causing billions of dollars in economic and human damage annually. Raad’s distributed soil moisture and acidity sensors in high-risk zones can substantially improve wildfire risk modeling, arming utilities and insurers with access to structured, localized soil data, enabling them to take more effective preventative measures.”
Created by Montauk Climate and co-founded by its principals Philip Krim, Evan Caron, and Sharo Atmeh, Raad Labs is one of the first companies to emerge from the climate tech incubator. Montauk Climate develops companies in-house that focus on building a sustainable future and brings in experienced founders and operators to run them.
“Raad Labs is at the forefront of an exciting transformation in how earth observation data is collected and utilized,” said Philip Krim, Co-Founder and CEO of Montauk Climate. “With this funding, we are poised to develop groundbreaking technology that will benefit a wide range of industries while also empowering individuals to contribute to and profit from the Raad Labs network.”
The global forecasting market, valued at $1.76 billion in 2022, is expected to reach $4.18 billion by 2030. Weather data is crucial for numerous sectors, including financial services, insurance, agriculture, and utilities, which rely on accurate monitoring, observation, modeling, and forecasting. Additionally, there is a projected $711 billion in economic losses due to extreme weather events over the next five years, underscoring the importance of improved weather data.
Current applications of Raad Labs' technology include monitoring and observation, modeling and forecasting, and utility service delivery. Future opportunities extend to providing data sets for large language models (LLMs), AI applications, and methane detection.
The DePIN model incentivizes the collection of more weather data by offering high-fidelity, low-cost data to governments and industries and supporting suppliers with passive income through its blockchain. Despite the presence of over 250,000 privately held weather stations in the U.S., significant gaps in weather data remain, posing risks to weather-dependent businesses. Raad Labs aims to bridge these gaps by leveraging the WEENie (Weather Enthusiast) community and expanding its supply base of weather sensors through reward-based tokenized initiatives.
“We are thrilled to support Raad Labs in their innovative approach to weather data collection and to satisfy the significant unmet demand for additional weather and atmospheric data,” said David Pakman, Managing Partner, CoinFund. “We believe this team and approach can create the leading decentralized atmospheric data collection network in the world.”
Raad Labs is backed by an advisory board of experts, including Osho Jha, CEO of dClimate and Chief Data Scientist at Arbol; Jason Badeaux, CEO of Daylight; and Matt Vitebsky, Former Head of Product at Accuweather.
For more information, please visit https://raad.com/.
About Raad Labs
Raad Labs is dedicated to revolutionizing the collection and utilization of weather data through a decentralized network of sensors. By leveraging web3 and blockchain technology and a DePIN model, Raad Labs aims to provide high-quality, cost-effective weather data to various industries while offering income opportunities for sensor installers.
About Montauk Climate
Montauk Climate is an incubator dedicated to creating technology companies that are at the forefront of climate, infrastructure, and energy transitions. Co-founded by industry veterans with deep expertise in finance, energy, and technology, Montauk Climate is bringing world-class operators and established builders to architect the next wave of technology companies that are building a sustainable, electrified, and digitized future. Montauk Climate leverages its vast network of advisors and industry insiders to boost idea generation, deal execution, and talent sourcing. For more information, visit https://montaukclimate.com/.
About CoinFund
CoinFund is one of the world's first cryptonative investment firms and a registered investment adviser founded in 2015. The firm champions the leaders of the new internet, powered by foresight as active investors to achieve extraordinary outcomes. CoinFund invests in seed, venture, and liquid opportunities within the blockchain sector with a focus on digital assets, decentralization technologies, and key enabling infrastructure. For more information, visit www.coinfund.io, LinkedIn or join us on X.
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