AI-Powered Weather? Climate Tech Firms Bet Big on NVIDIA Earth-2

NVIDIA Unveils Omniverse Blueprint for Earth-2 to Advance AI-Powered Weather Forecasting

NVIDIA has introduced the Omniverse Blueprint for Earth-2 weather analytics, designed to enhance the accuracy of weather forecasting and help organizations better manage climate-related risks.

Over the past decade, climate-related weather events have cost the global economy an estimated $2 trillion. The new Omniverse Blueprint equips businesses and institutions with cutting-edge technologies to improve disaster preparedness and risk mitigation.

This comprehensive blueprint includes reference workflows powered by NVIDIA GPU acceleration libraries, physics-AI frameworks, development tools, and microservices, enabling enterprises to transition from prototyping to full-scale deployment of advanced weather prediction models.

As part of this solution, NVIDIA NIM™ microservices for Earth-2 are available, including CorrDiff for downscaling and FourCastNet for predicting atmospheric conditions. These technologies are already being utilized by weather-focused companies, researchers, and government agencies to generate insights and anticipate extreme weather events.

"With the rise of extreme weather and natural disasters, the need for advanced forecasting tools has never been greater," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "The Omniverse Blueprint for Earth-2 will help industries worldwide prepare for and mitigate the impact of climate change and severe weather events."

Industry Adoption and Ecosystem Support

Leading climate tech companies, including G42, JBA Risk Management, and Spire, are leveraging the Omniverse Blueprint to build AI-driven weather forecasting solutions.

By integrating proprietary enterprise data within the $20 billion climate tech industry, the NVIDIA Earth-2 platform enables faster, more responsive forecasting, reducing prediction times from minutes or hours to just seconds compared to traditional CPU-based models.

G42, a leading AI company, is incorporating elements of the Omniverse Blueprint with its own AI-powered forecasting models for Earth-2. The company is partnering with the UAE’s National Center of Meteorology to enhance weather prediction and disaster management.

"G42 is revolutionizing AI-driven forecasting to help governments and businesses become more resilient against extreme weather," said Andrew Jackson, CEO of Inception, a G42 company. "With high-resolution weather and climate modeling, we enable organizations to respond to severe conditions with precision and speed. By leveraging NVIDIA’s CorrDiff model, we’ve built a custom AI-powered system that refines coarse weather data into hyper-local forecasts—delivering faster predictions at an unprecedented scale. Combined with the Earth-2 Blueprint, this technology empowers decision-makers with real-time intelligence to safeguard infrastructure, protect communities, and plan for a more resilient future."

Spire Global has utilized AI components from the Omniverse Blueprint to create new AI products that integrate proprietary satellite data, providing medium-range and sub-seasonal forecasts up to 45 days in advance. Powered by NVIDIA GPUs and the Earth-2 Blueprint, Spire’s models operate 1,000 times faster than conventional physics-based models, allowing for large-scale ensemble forecasts that capture a broad spectrum of potential weather scenarios.

Organizations adopting or exploring Earth-2 include Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, The Weather Company, 3D mapping specialist Ecopia, geospatial analytics firm Esri, green energy provider GCL Power, flood risk management leader JBA Risk Management, aerospace firm OroraTech, and Tomorrow.io, a resilience platform powered by proprietary space data and weather intelligence.

Revolutionizing Climate Tech With Generative AI

The Earth-2 platform delivers cutting-edge AI weather models, tools, and microservices for high-fidelity climate visualization and simulation.

One of its key technologies, CorrDiff, available as an NVIDIA NIM microservice, offers significant performance advantages—500x faster processing and 10,000x greater energy efficiency compared to CPU-based numerical weather prediction methods.

By leveraging the Omniverse Blueprint, independent software vendors (ISVs) can develop and deploy AI-enhanced solutions, integrating observational data to refine forecasting accuracy and speed.

Esri, a geospatial technology leader, is working with NVIDIA to integrate its ArcGIS platform with Earth-2 through the Omniverse Blueprint. OroraTech is also exploring ways to connect its data platform to Earth-2.

Tomorrow.io has contributed its proprietary near-real-time satellite data to aid in creating an NVIDIA-powered digital twin of Earth, aimed at training next-generation AI models for climate forecasting and simulation.

At the core of this initiative is NVIDIA Omniverse™, a platform designed for building OpenUSD-based 3D workflows and applications. The Omniverse Blueprint for Earth-2 demonstrates how developers can leverage Omniverse SDKs and microservices to construct NVIDIA RTX™-accelerated visualization pipelines for rendering geospatial and meteorological data.

Supercharged Compute Power With NVIDIA DGX Cloud

The Omniverse Blueprint for Earth-2 utilizes NVIDIA DGX™ Cloud, demonstrating end-to-end acceleration for AI-powered weather forecasting. Running on NVIDIA DGX GB200, NVIDIA HGX™ B200, and NVIDIA OVX™ supercomputers, the blueprint facilitates climate simulations with exceptional speed and scale.

Equator Reaches $55M Final Close for Climate Tech Fund in Africa

Equator, a venture capital firm specializing in climate tech investments across sub-Saharan Africa, has successfully closed its first fund at $55 million (€50 million), following recent commitments from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and France’s Proparco.

The fund had an initial close of $40 million in 2023, with early investors including British International Investment, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), and the Shell Foundation. Also participating was DOEN Participaties, the investment arm of the Doen Foundation, backed by the Dutch postcode lottery.

Equator focuses on funding technology-driven seed and Series A companies in sectors such as energy, agriculture, and mobility, providing crucial capital and support that can be difficult to access in a region heavily affected by climate change. The firm operates from London, Nairobi, Lagos, and Colorado, where it collaborates closely with Factor E, a sister organization that assists with deal sourcing, due diligence, and scaling up portfolio companies.

Bridging Africa’s Climate Tech Funding Gap

According to Nijhad Jamal, Managing Partner at Equator, climate tech has evolved into a more investable asset class over the past 10-15 years, driven by increasing investor and governmental focus on climate change solutions. However, early-stage venture funding in Africa remains critically low, especially amid the current economic challenges and fundraising difficulties on the continent.

In 2024, Africa accounted for just 0.6% of global equity funding, the lowest level since 2020, as reported by database firm Africa: The Big Deal. Of this, only a third was allocated to climate tech.

Jamal noted that global economic challenges over the past two years, along with aid reductions from key donor nations such as the US and UK, have further complicated fundraising efforts. Despite these obstacles, he remains optimistic about the continent’s climate tech opportunities, citing the rise of tech-savvy young entrepreneurs and consumers, along with declining costs and increased efficiency in solar energy, batteries, and AI-driven solutions.

Strategic Investments and Global Support

The IFC announced a $5 million investment in Equator’s fund in October 2024, backed by a $1.5 million guarantee from South Korea’s Green Resilient and Innovative Development (GRID) program, a $30 million initiative aimed at supporting emissions reduction and climate mitigation. This marks IFC’s first venture capital investment focused entirely on climate innovation in Africa.

According to Farid Fezoua, IFC’s Global Director for Disruptive Technologies, Services, and Funds, Equator stands out as one of the few early-stage funds in sub-Saharan Africa dedicated to green solutions. Its focus on energy, agriculture, and mobility makes it a strong choice for development financing.

"Equator bridges the funding gap between pre-seed and growth-stage capital—especially for African startups in their seed and Series A rounds," Fezoua stated. He also emphasized Equator’s hands-on approach in helping portfolio companies expand regionally, secure funding, and receive technical support, which he sees as a key factor in building a sustainable and impactful ecosystem.

Proparco, the French development finance institution, contributed $5 million through its FISEA+ facility, which was launched in 2021 by the Agence Française de Développement to invest in high-impact funds supporting digital innovation and private-sector growth in fragile economies.

Investments in Cutting-Edge Climate Tech Startups

Equator plans to make 15-18 investments from the fund.

Since the first close, the firm has backed Downforce Technologies, a startup specializing in digital measurement, reporting, and verification for soil organic carbon assessment. According to Downforce’s Chief Product Officer, Geoff Horrell, the company’s technology helps businesses enhance regenerative agriculture and biodiversity programs.

Other notable investments include:

• Ibisa – A platform offering rapid insurance payouts for businesses and smallholder farmers affected by climate events.

• Leta – A logistics startup that uses technology to optimize goods transportation, reducing costs and environmental impact.

• Shyft Power Solutions – A smart energy management platform that enables smart metering and detects electricity theft in Nigeria.

• Roam Electric – A Kenyan manufacturer of electric motorbikes and buses. In February 2024, Roam secured $14 million in Series A funding, led by Equator, alongside At One Ventures, TES Ventures, and others. Additionally, the US Development Finance Corporation committed up to $10 million in debt financing for the company.

Looking Ahead

With its successful fund close, Equator aims to continue driving investment into climate-focused African startups, fostering innovation, and strengthening resilience against climate change in the region.

Summit Nanotech Secures $25.5M to Advance Sustainable Lithium Extraction

Summit Nanotech, a company specializing in sustainable lithium extraction technology, has raised $25.5 million (C$36.51 million) in funding to support the commercialization of its direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.

The funding round was led by Evok Innovations and BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund, with additional participation from Xora Innovation, Capricorn Investment Group, Mitsui Kinzoku – SBI Material Innovation Fund, and LG Technology Ventures.

Innovative DLE Technology: denaLi

Summit Nanotech’s proprietary denaLi technology integrates water recycling, data analytics, and AI-driven process control to enhance lithium extraction efficiency. This approach helps:

✅ Reduce water consumption
✅ Extend the lifespan of sorbents
✅ Maximize lithium recovery
✅ Ensure high on-stream reliability
✅ Lower the overall cost of lithium production

According to CEO and founder Amanda Hall, the funding comes at a crucial moment as the company moves from demonstration to full-scale commercial deployment.

"We are now in a position to offer our cutting-edge solution to lithium mining companies looking to balance economic performance with environmental responsibility," Hall stated.

Strengthening Global Lithium Supply Chains

Summit Nanotech’s technology is set to enhance international supply chains by making lithium extraction more economical and sustainable.

Mitsui Kinzoku general manager Nobuyoshi Sogabe highlighted the company’s commitment to developing a lithium supply chain from brine, leveraging advanced material synthesis and processing technologies in collaboration with Summit’s denaLi system to support a more sustainable future.

Key Milestones and Industry Recognition

In the past six months, Summit Nanotech has achieved major milestones, including:
🔹 Commissioning a demonstration plant in northern Chile
🔹 Successful sorbent qualification with a leading lithium mining company
🔹 Launching its proprietary data analytics platform

Cheri Corbett, partner at BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund, emphasized that demand for electric vehicles is projected to outpace lithium supply growth, making Summit’s technology a critical solution for optimizing lithium extraction from brine to produce high-quality lithium at a lower cost.

Additionally, in December 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy invested $17 million across 14 projects in 11 states to accelerate critical materials innovation, with Summit Nanotech USA among the recipients.

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