ClimaSens is an AI driven physical climate risk intelligence software company with a strong technology pedigree and the loftiest ambitions. Working with organisations like Google and global giant Nvidia, the Melbourne-based ClimaSens is fast becoming the software of choice for both businesses and cities that need high resolution climate change risk analysis.
Clients include the City of Melbourne, the City of Yarra, the Australian Red Cross, and KPMG. These are now evolving into the banking, insurance and climate consultancy sectors as the need for physical climate risk data becomes more important for mandatory climate risk disclosure.
Late last year, the company, together with its research partner Urban Systems Lab, won the coveted Google.org Impact challenge on climate innovation, securing a $7.5 million grant. This led ClimaSens to present its technology in the Extreme Tech Challenge at Nvidia’s GTC conference, known as the tech world’s “Woodstock”.
“We were working with Nvidia to use advanced AI-based weather forecasts to assess probabilistic flood forecasts,” Joe Glesta, the company’s chief executive, says.
“This gave us the ability to find out further in advance when floods would take place.
“Simultaneously, we’re working with our partners and Google to build out the technology and foundational models to help us better predict our climate’s future.
“Nvidia has used AI to come up with synthetic materials … they’re using AI to cure ailments we could have never thought possible. Now, we’re using AI to drive the next generation of models to help us understand what climate change will do to us in the future!”
Joe’s a New Yorker by background and moved to Melbourne in 2014 where he did a master’s degree in climate change policy. He later met his co-founders, Dr Timon Mcphearson, director of Urban Systems Lab, Daniel Sauter, Associate Director of Urban Systems Lab and Shaun Burriss, while researching the implications of green infrastructure policy and technological interventions.
