Silurian

High-Level Overview

Silurian is a frontier AI company developing foundation models to simulate Earth’s physical systems, beginning with weather. Their flagship product, the Generative Forecasting Transformer (GFT), delivers highly accurate, high-resolution weather forecasts up to 14 days ahead, outperforming traditional numerical weather prediction systems by up to 30%. Silurian’s models serve critical sectors such as energy, insurance, agriculture, defense, and logistics by improving decision-making around natural disasters, energy grid management, and climate risk. Their infrastructure layer enables customers to integrate advanced Earth system simulations via an API, enhancing operational resilience and planning.

For an investment firm, Silurian represents a cutting-edge AI startup focused on climate tech and geospatial simulation, leveraging deep expertise in large-scale AI and atmospheric science. Their mission is to upgrade Earth simulation infrastructure with scalable, data-driven models that unlock new efficiencies and risk insights. This positions Silurian at the intersection of AI, climate resilience, and infrastructure optimization, a rapidly growing and impactful sector in the startup ecosystem.

Origin Story

Silurian was founded by a team of scientists and engineers with backgrounds at Microsoft Research and Google Brain, specializing in large-scale AI simulations of weather and atmospheric chemistry. Their work culminated in the Aurora foundation model, the first AI system to unify weather, air quality, atmospheric chemistry, wave risk, and hurricane tracking into a single model, published in *Nature* in 2025. This breakthrough demonstrated superior accuracy and computational efficiency compared to traditional models. Building on Aurora, Silurian developed GFT, launching it commercially to serve real-world clients in energy and disaster response. The company’s evolution reflects a shift from academic research to practical, scalable AI solutions for Earth system forecasting.

Core Differentiators

• Product Differentiators: Silurian’s models unify multiple Earth system components (weather, air quality, waves, hurricanes) in one foundation model, unlike traditional siloed numerical simulations.
• Developer Experience: Their Artificial Planetary Intelligence API allows easy integration and querying of high-resolution forecasts globally.
• Speed and Accuracy: GFT outperforms NOAA and ECMWF models by up to 30% in accuracy while running at a fraction of the computational cost.
• Community Ecosystem: Silurian collaborates with utilities (e.g., Hydro-Québec) and energy firms to tailor models for asset-level risk management and disaster preparedness.
• Scientific Rigor: Their work is peer-reviewed and published in top journals, underscoring credibility and innovation.

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Silurian rides the wave of foundation models and AI-driven simulation trends, applying them to the complex, data-rich domain of Earth system science. The timing is critical as climate change intensifies the need for precise, scalable forecasting tools that can inform infrastructure resilience, disaster mitigation, and energy management. Market forces such as increasing climate risk, regulatory pressure on emissions, and the digitization of physical assets favor Silurian’s approach. By democratizing access to high-fidelity Earth simulations, Silurian influences sectors beyond climate tech, including insurance underwriting, logistics, and defense, fostering a new ecosystem of AI-powered environmental intelligence.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Silurian is poised to expand its foundation model capabilities beyond weather to encompass broader Earth system components, enhancing predictive power and domain specialization. Trends such as renewable energy integration, climate adaptation, and AI democratization will shape their trajectory. As their models become more accessible and tailored, Silurian’s influence will grow in enabling proactive, data-driven decisions across critical infrastructure and environmental sectors. Their vision of an “infrastructure layer for our planet” suggests a future where AI simulations underpin global resilience and sustainability efforts, making Silurian a key player in the climate tech frontier.