Metro Weather raises $5.7M to advance Doppler LiDAR tech

Japan’s Metro Weather has raised 850 million yen (about USD 5.7 million) in a Pre-Series B round through a third-party allotment of shares to five corporate investors.

This round included participation from existing corporate investors Yanmar Ventures, MOL PLUS and Kanetsu Co. Two new shareholders, Furukawa Electric and TOKYO KEIKI, also joined the effort. 

The funds raised will be used to continue the development of Doppler LiDAR technology and to accelerate commercialization efforts aimed at expanding into defense and civilian sectors, Metro Weather said in a media release.

Metro Weather, a Kyoto-based startup, develops and manufactures Doppler LiDAR systems that use infrared lasers to observe wind conditions in real time. In addition, Metro Weather is developing UX/UI solutions tailored to various needs for visualizing wind data, with the goal of providing integrated solutions across a wide range of industries. 

Metro Weather is also working on object detection technologies using Doppler LiDAR. It is accelerating efforts to build a dual-use supply chain that meets both defense and civilian needs, aiming for broad business deployment, the media release said.  

“Furukawa Electric has entered into a capital and business alliance with Metro Weather, recognizing the company’s advanced Doppler LiDAR technology and its promising future,” said Kazutaka Nara, General Manager, Social Design & New Business Development and Global Marketing Sales Division. “Technical co-creation has already begun, leveraging Furukawa Electric’s core photonics technologies to enhance the evolution of Doppler LiDAR.”

“In addition to wind condition observation, we believe that the object detection technology currently under development using Doppler LiDAR will become a critical solution in addressing the growing threat posed by drones in recent years,” said Tsuyoshi Ando, Representative Director, President and CEO, TOKYO KEIKI.  

“Metro Weather has shown strong execution in developing and deploying Doppler lidar technology since its founding, despite many challenges,” said Haru Noda, Senior Capitalist, Yanmar Ventures.  

“Within the shipping industry, there is significant potential to create new businesses from both the perspectives of safe transportation and the utilization of wind energy,” said Takuya Sakamoto, CEO, MOL PLUS. “Toward the broader societal adoption of Doppler LiDAR technology, we will contribute as an end user in the shipping and logistics fields—core business areas of the MOL Group—by exploring applications for wind measurement and forecasting solutions and expanding their use.”

“As societal demands for safety and security in the skies continue to rise, we have high expectations that the mass production and commercialization of Doppler LiDAR systems will accelerate, leading to widespread social implementation across various sectors, including both defense and civilian fields,” said Hiroki Matsui, President and CEO, KANETSU.”