Metro Weather Raises 850 Million Yen to Accelerate Commercialization of Ultra-Compact Doppler Lidar “Wind Guardian”
Kyoto-based startup MetroWeather Inc., a spinout from Kyoto University, announced that it has raised 850 million yen (approx. USD 5.9 million) through a third-party allotment of shares to five institutional investors.
MetroWeather specializes in the development and production of Doppler LiDAR systems that use infrared lasers to observe wind conditions in real time. By combining decades of expertise in remote sensing with proprietary signal processing algorithms, the company has succeeded in delivering high-precision and wide-range wind profiling.
Its flagship product, “Wind Guardian,” is an ultra-compact, high-performance Doppler LiDAR system that stands out globally for its unparalleled size, functionality, and cost-effectiveness—all without compromising on measurement accuracy. It is designed to function as a next-generation infrastructure for the skies, capable of detecting wind direction and speed at remote locations simultaneously using infrared laser beams. Compared to existing systems with similar performance, Wind Guardian provides significant advantages in terms of form factor, price, and deployment flexibility.
In addition, MetroWeather also offers “Wind Foresight,” a high-resolution, wide-area wind forecasting system capable of delivering real-time predictions from minutes to days in advance.
As the company moves toward mass production and commercialization, it is focusing on building a dual-use supply chain to meet both civil and defense sector demands. The newly raised funds will be used to drive these commercialization efforts and to further MetroWeather’s mission to enhance global safety and security through its cutting-edge Doppler LiDAR technologies.
[Source]
https://www.metroweather.jp/en/news
