Terrafuse AI launches new wildfire risk platform with Azure

Terrafuse AI announced the launch of Wildfire AI, a climate intelligence and predictive modeling offering for Californians to assess and mitigate the risk of property damage from wildfires.

The offering relies on machine learning models informed by 50 different types of environmental data validated with over one billion dollars of insurance claim data, the company says.

The iniative is part of a partnership with Microsoft AI for Earth, the US Air Force, National Science Foundation, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The company based its offering on recent data indicating a 30 percent increase in wildfires and up to $17 billion in annual damage.

"I experienced firsthand the devastating impacts of wildfires when, a few years ago, my entire neighborhood in California was evacuated and much of it burned down,” stated Hunter Connell, co-founder and CEO of Terrafuse AI. "We also know that without more accurate insights about property risk, homeowners, businesses, and governments are facing impossible odds to plan for, mitigate, and escape these catastrophes in time."

"Innovation in climate risk assessment is needed now more than ever to keep up with the volatile nature of climate change. Terrafuse AI is able to bring incredible speed and accuracy to climate risk analytics and chose to use Azure to accelerate the scaling of their solution,” said Bonnie Lei, Head of Global Strategic Partnerships for Microsoft AI for Earth, in a statement.