WindBorne's AI Weather Balloons Win $50 Million Air Force Contract

A startup using autonomous weather balloons and artificial intelligence has secured a contract potentially worth up to $49 million from the U.S. Air Force, cementing the role of novel data-collection methods in modernizing weather forecasting. WindBorne Systems, a Redwood City-based company founded in 2019, received the non-competitive award to support constellation growth and continued development of its balloon hardware and AI forecast models. The company currently operates roughly 700 high-altitude balloons globally and plans to expand to 10,000 concurrent units by 2028.