A British real estate manager, overseeing around 26 billion euros in assets, sought assistance from Climate X, a London-based data analytics firm, to assess climate-related risks to its properties. Using an AI risk modeling tool informed by U. S. scientific data, Climate X helped Savills Investment Management estimate potential damages to 300 assets in Europe and Asia due to weather disruptions. Savills intends to use Climate X’s analytics for assessing hundreds more properties.
The context for this need arises from cuts to U. S. funding for scientific services during a time of increasing demand for climate analytics due to extreme weather. This has resulted in a boom for private data companies like Climate X, which provide risk assessments for various climate challenges. Gartner predicts revenues in the earth intelligence sector will grow at least 10% to reach $4.2 billion by 2030, indicating significant market potential.
The World Economic Forum anticipates that earth intelligence could create $3.8 trillion in economic value by 2030, up from $266 billion today, benefiting risk management, job creation, and opportunity growth. However, the rise of private data solutions raises concerns about access and accuracy, especially for those unable to pay. Officials from numerous companies mention that private firms rely heavily on baseline data from government agencies like NOAA.
Climate X’s COO, Kamil Kluza, expressed that without government data, validating their models would be challenging. As U. S. datasets for climate-related information may become unavailable to the public, Climate X plans to utilize alternatives from the EU, Japan, and the UK Met Office.
Gartner estimates that private companies will soon dominate global spending on data services, reflecting both enthusiasm from the private sector and reduced U. S. support for scientific research. In terms of funding, earth intelligence firms raised $3.2 billion across 57 rounds by late November 2025, a significant increase from previous years. GHGSat, a leader in methane data, recently raised $47 million and aims to expand its satellite network.
Companies in private satellite monitoring are increasing, with 666 commercial satellites currently focused on earth observation compared to just seven in 2005. These companies assist governments and energy firms in monitoring infrastructure for methane emissions.
Planet Labs, a public company, has seen a 190% share increase this year. Fugro, a geospatial data company, has entered marine surveys and expanded offshore, reporting annual revenues above $2.2 billion. However, Fugro faced challenges, experiencing a revenue decline partly due to decreased offshore wind support in the U. S. Fugro is actively trying to share marine data for public benefit through partnerships and initiatives aimed at climate adaptation for vulnerable nations.
With information from Reuters