Satellite climate tech company RainbirdGeo announced on the 6th that it has advanced to the finals of the global startup competition Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge (HTGC).
The HTGC Secretariat in Paris, France, selected 850 teams in the first round out of over 4,000 applicants worldwide, and after a second round of evaluation, chose 80 teams including RainbirdGeo as finalists across 10 categories.
RainbirdGeo is one of eight teams in the Environment & Biodiversity category. A total of 80 teams from 23 countries worldwide advanced to the finals, including 15 teams from the United States, 11 from France, 10 from Germany, and 9 from the United Kingdom. Asia is represented by four teams: two from Korea, one from Japan, and one from Vietnam.
The other nine categories are ▲ Aerospace ▲ Advanced Computing & Electronics ▲ Digital Health & Medical Devices ▲ Energy ▲ Food & Agriculture ▲ Biotech & New Materials ▲ Industry & Machinery ▲ Medical Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals ▲ Sustainable Construction & Infrastructure.
Arnaud de la Tour, CEO of Hello Tomorrow, which is hosting its 10th competition this year, said, “Seeing the outstanding 80 finalists this year reminded me why we do this work. We are proud to support their journeys.” He added, “This year again, we have proven that solutions truly exist, such as climate resilience technologies, wastewater treatment using machine learning, and innovations that improve access to drinking water. Our goal is to help these technologies reach the market and make a real impact.”
HTGC, launched in 2014, is an international startup competition designed for early-stage deep tech startups. It provides entrepreneurs in the science and technology fields with the right tools to take their technological innovations out of the lab and spread them worldwide.
This year’s HTGC finals will be held in Paris on March 13-14. The grand prize winner will receive 100,000 euros, second place 25,000 euros, and the pre-VC award 25,000 euros. Finalist teams will have opportunities for meetings with global investors, briefings, and showcases to connect with potential partners and customers.
RainbirdGeo was established in 2017 as the first faculty startup from Ewha Womans University College of Engineering. The company builds and operates an early warning system for climate risks in the Asia-Pacific region through satellite weather analysis. By providing disaster and hazard content created by the Ewha Climate Environment Change Prediction Center directly to residents of the respective countries via the RainbirdGeo app, it maximizes the efficiency of disaster prediction and prevention.
RainbirdGeo is currently establishing early warning systems in disaster-prone areas such as Nepal, Palau, Cambodia, and Indonesia. In Nepal, supported by the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI), it runs a project that predicts landslides in real time and alerts users through a mobile app.
In five Pacific island countries including Palau and Tuvalu, early warning systems are being built with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), contributing to disaster prevention through mutual communication via mobile apps. This process utilizes analysis data from the Korean Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GK2A), launched in 2018 with a budget of 670 billion KRW, orbiting at an altitude of 36,000 km with a lifespan of 10 years.
With support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), RainbirdGeo provides customized weather alerts via mobile apps to vulnerable groups such as women in Cambodia exposed to heatwaves. After the pilot service ends in October this year, the service will be expanded across the Asia-Pacific region. In Bandung, Indonesia, an early warning system is being established with support from the global NGO Save the Children. In this area, emergency information on tropical heavy rains and wildfires is provided through an app used by residents and disaster management officials, who also participate in real-time disaster response. The system offers precise analysis of Korean geostationary meteorological satellite data, and after a 1-2 year pilot service, it will be expanded nationwide in Indonesia.
Choi Yong-sang, CEO of RainbirdGeo and professor in the Department of Climate Energy Systems Engineering at Ewha Womans University, completed his undergraduate studies at Seoul National University and earned a Ph.D. in Earth Environmental Science (Atmospheric Science). After working as a researcher at MIT, he was appointed professor at Ewha Womans University in March 2010. From 2016, he served as a visiting professor at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for two years.
He is currently a member of geophysical societies in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, as well as a full member of the Korean Meteorological Society. To date, he has published 120 papers including SCI journal articles, authored four books, and holds 32 patents.
RainbirdGeo’s innovative business idea was recognized with the grand prize in the idea category at the 2019 Samsung Tomorrow Solutions competition, and in December 2022, it received investment from SoPoong Ventures. Last year, it was also selected as one of the 2024 APAC Cleantech 25 companies at a competition held in Singapore. This award is given to the top venture companies with the potential to make a significant impact in the climate tech market within the next 5-10 years.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
