Rainmaker Technology Corporation has raised $100 million in Series B funding to expand its cloud seeding operations. The El Segundo-based company uses weather-resistant drones to release silver iodide particles into winter storm clouds, inducing precipitation in drought-affected areas. Investors include NOA VC, Upfront Ventures, DCVC, Lowercarbon Capital, and Dream Ventures. Rainmaker claims to be the first private company to accurately measure cloud seeding impact, recording 82 instances of enhanced precipitation over four months, generating over 145 million gallons of freshwater. The funding will support research into optimising water production and expand operations beyond current markets in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, California, and Colorado. The company projects its costs will fall below traditional desalination methods, with operations planned for November 2026 to April 2027.

Results from Rainmaker's Alaska research campaign. Today, Rainmaker is excited to share initial results from Rainmaker's Alaska R+D campaign: 19 million gallons of net-new water generated in just three hours. August 23, 2026 - Rainmaker Team Earlier this year, Rainmaker became the first private company in history to unambiguously prove Rainmaker could modify the weather and generate rain, snow, and freshwater at scale via glaciogenic cloud seeding. Rainmaker produced over 145 million verified gallons of precipitation - nearly 1,800 annual American households' water demand - over the course of a four month period. This summer, Rainmaker launched a research and development campaign in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula to further develop its flight platform, weather targeting capabilities, and validation techniques. Today, Rainmaker is excited to share some initial results from its research: Over the course of 10 drone flights on August 23, Rainmaker generated a mean of 57 acre-feet of rain (IQR: 45-65 acre-feet), distinct from natural precipitation. That's approximately 19 million gallons of water generated in a three hour period. The continued iteration and improvement of Rainmaker's cloud seeding capabilities will allow Rainmaker to more effectively bring new water to regions suffering from drought, like the Great Salt Lake and Colorado River basin. Glaciogenic cloud seeding. Cloud seeding is an American technology that aims to increase precipitation from existing clouds. The most common type of cloud seeding is glaciogenic cloud seeding, which targets cold conditions, usually below -5°C. ("Glaciogenic" here means "ice-creating".) Glaciogenic cloud seeding works by introducing ice-attracting particles into subfreezing clouds, triggering the formation of ice crystals that precipitate as snow or rain. Silver iodide (AgI) is the most commonly used seeding material. Rainmaker's drone-based platform. Rainmaker integrates established cloud seeding methods with modern advancements in drone and sensor technologies. Its approach is built on three pillars: (1) targeting optimal conditions, (2) seeding with precision, and (3) validation of results. These capabilities are supported by two proprietary products: * Elijah - The world's first sub-55 lb. UAV capable of autonomous and sustained high-altitude flight through severe icing conditions. Onboard sensors collect and deliver high-fidelity atmospheric data. * Stratus - An advanced software platform that forecasts viable seeding opportunities, monitors live mission progress, estimates precipitation yield, and validates the results of seeding operations. Stratus integrates both radar and satellite data for validation. Results from the Kenai Peninsula. Rainmaker has operated in the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska since June. The region was chosen for a high incidence of summertime seeding conditions along the Chugach and Kenai coastal ranges, enabling Rainmaker to conduct flight testing and validation research. On August 23, Rainmaker made 10 seeding flights between 6:30am and 9:23am UTC, igniting AgI flares into clouds between 3,500 and 4,200 meters MSL. Using methodology established by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the 2017 SNOWIE campaign (Tessendorf, 2019; Friedrich, 2020), Rainmaker calculates that this three-hour operational window produced about 57 acre-feet of rain, distinct from natural precipitation. Why it matters. Cloud seeding operators have historically struggled to validate, or prove, the impact of their operations. This year, Rainmaker became the first private company to clear this hurdle, producing validated results from operations in Utah, Idaho, and Oregon. Its customers and partners no longer have to wonder whether its technology works - nor whether it can help to solve the looming drought crisis in the American West. Over the next several months, Rainmaker will continue to release material on its research, methodologies, and technological advancements in the field of weather modification.