STATE COLLEGE, Pa.—AccuWeather has announced it has acquired Paris-based environmental technology company Plume Labs and that the company has been integrated into its operations.
Plume Labs is best known for its air quality maps and data, its AI/ML air pollution forecasts and its Flow device, a personal air pollution sensor.
Plume Labs will continue to operate within the AccuWeather group as its center for climate and environmental data and will work on scaling up its ambitions to save lives by bringing its air quality forecasts to the 1.5 billion people AccuWeather reaches around the world.
As a result of the deal Plume Labs will also expand its focus beyond air quality by applying Plume Labs' AI technology to a broader range of environmental risks, from climate to wildfires, AccuWeather said.
The deal will also accelerate AccuWeather's investments in AI for weather predictions, a critical area of research to make forecasts ever more accurate for a changing climate, the companies said.
AccuWeather and Plume Labs began working together in January 2020 by integrating Plume's air pollution data into AccuWeather forecasts to make air pollution information and insights for AccuWeather's growing digital audience.
At the time, AccuWeather announced it held a part ownership stake in Plume Labs.
"The integration of Plume Labs' data and insights into AccuWeather's digital properties marked an important moment for the AccuWeather user base and community, introducing an enhanced layer of relevant everyday insights as another data point to help people make the best health and wellness decisions possible, alongside the superior accuracy of AccuWeather forecasts," said Steven R. Smith, AccuWeather president. "Plume Labs has been a valued partner over the last several years, and we are thrilled to merge our respective core competencies in what we know will be a major step forward for innovation within our industry resulting in more healthful choices for people."
"Air quality plays an intrinsic role in AccuWeather's mission of saving lives and helping people prosper, and this acquisition will help us provide users and customers with an even more personalized experience as well as a 360-degree understanding of the impact of weather on their wellness,” Smith added. “Our exclusive alliance delivered on the promise to help put our users in greater control of their health, and we are committed to that goal even more firmly with this new strategic direction.”
“Seven years ago, David Lissmyr and I launched Plume Labs to make air quality information accessible to everyone," said Romain Lacombe, founder and CEO of Plume Labs. "Since then, our work has helped galvanize the fight for clean air by making the health impact of climate change personal. Joining forces with AccuWeather now is an extraordinary opportunity to amplify our impact at planetary scale and help 1.5 billion people avoid air pollution around the world."
