Climate AI: TIME’s Best Invention + First Prediction Engine for Earth

Bellwether uses AI to predict climate disasters, analyze Earth observation data, and help governments & organizations respond faster while building resilient systems.Bellwether is a climate prediction tool that uses AI to analyze Earth observation data and anticipate changes to the planet. It's used by the public and private sectors to help with disaster preparation and recovery. How Bellwether works: Uses simulation techniques to analyze Earth observation dataPredicts the likelihood of severe weather, like wildfires and floodsIdentifies damage to critical infrastructure after a disasterHelps deliver aid more quickly after a disasterDr. Sarah Russell is a startup founder, tech executive, and physician working at the intersection of business, planetary health, and machine learning. In addition to her role as CEO of Bellwether, she is a Managing Director at X, the Moonshot Factory at Alphabet. Previously, she held leadership roles at Venrock, the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, and Google, applying her expertise in healthcare, technology, and regulatory strategy. In addition to her entrepreneurial and executive pursuits, she serves as an Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, where she remains dedicated to mentoring and advancing innovation in medicine and sustainability.Here are some topics we covered:How to navigate personal growth and identity shifts after selling a businessWhat is the significance of absolute risk scores in disaster preparedness and how they differ from relative risk scoresWhy AI models are advantageous over traditional physics-based models in climate and weather event predictionsWhen to consider expanding a business model to offer comprehensive solutions, including vertical integration and AI-enabled servicesHow to maintain focus and remember that just because you can doesn’t mean you shouldWhy you should surround yourself with people way smarter than you and do the ego work to deal with that reality🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:Sarah - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahrussellmdBellwether - https://x.company/projects/bellwether📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 100 CEO Fellows and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $40B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠📣 EFI’S NEWSLETTER:I share lessons learned from working with 300 climate tech CEOs and investors, meditating for 25 years, teaching 90,000 students, and reading 50 books per year. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🤔 PODCAST HOST:Dr. Chris Wedding is the CEO of EFI (climate CEO peer groups and executive coaching), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (clean energy investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, and super humble human being (as evidenced by this long bio).