BREAKING: Rainmaker Reveals AI Cloud Seeding Plan for Superintelligent Weather
Augustus Doricko, CEO of Rainmaker x Alex Levy, CEO of Atmo
AGI for the Clouds
In an exclusive interview, Augustus Doricko, Founder & CEO of Rainmaker, & Alex Levy, CEO of Atmo, join Sourcery to share their recent strategic alliance to transform weather modification with AI-powered precision cloud seeding. This partnership combines radar-driven robotic cloud seeding with ultra-precise AI meteorology to fight water shortages worldwide.
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This is one of the more controversial, hotly contested, yet visionary, interviews we’ve done to date (*ehem Nucleus & Cluely*). It’s about reshaping the weather to protect our future & advance civilization.
Topics we cover:
How cloud seeding actually works (and what myths to ignore)
The U.S.–China race for weather control & engineered rainfall
Why Atmo’s AI systems outperform NOAA’s current forecasting tools
Rainmaker’s role in America’s reindustrialization: from cooling chip fabs to powering hydro dams
Public perception challenges after the Texas floods & how the narrative is changing
This conversation is part of Sourcery’s “Made in America” Mini-Series recorded at the Reindustrialize 2025 Summit.
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Timestamps
(00:00) Why water is as critical as energy in AI and industrial growth
(02:00) What Rainmaker actually does: Cloud seeding 2.0
(03:00) Atmo’s AI meteorology: 100x more precise, 45,000x faster
(04:40) How cloud seeding works: science behind artificial rain
(06:00) Why Rainmaker + Atmo is a game-changing partnership
(07:45) Attribution: Proving man-made precipitation with radar & models
(09:15) Why the U.S. is falling behind in weather innovation
(11:00) China’s lead in drones, materials, and the weather tech race
(13:00) Rainmaker’s drone: the only NATO UAV that flies in icing
(14:45) Facing public backlash: Texas floods, chemtrails, and trust
(16:30) Making cloud seeding safe — how Rainmaker differs from China
(19:00) Cloud seeding for reindustrialization: water as industrial input
(21:00) Use cases: hydro, chips, data centers, and agriculture
(27:00) Atmo as a U.S. export: modern meteorology for the world
(34:00) How AI models simulate physics and save lives
Rainmaker & Atmo’s Plan For Superintelligent Weather
Augustus Doricko, CEO of Rainmaker, & Alex Levy, CEO of Atmo, unveil a strategic partnership that could redefine how the world approaches climate resilience and water scarcity. Fusing Rainmaker’s radar-validated cloud seeding with Atmo’s ultra-fast, AI-powered weather modeling, the two partner to create the most advanced weather modification platform on Earth.
Breakdown of the key themes, technologies, & implications discussed.
The Global Water Crisis: An Urgent Problem
Freshwater scarcity is no longer a distant concern, it’s a present and growing threat. Global consumption is accelerating, extreme weather is increasing, and existing infrastructure can’t keep pace. As Doricko puts it,
“Water is as critical as energy or steel. Whether for agriculture, reindustrialization, or AI data centers. And right now, we simply don’t have enough.”
From the Central Valley’s farms to semiconductor fabs in Arizona, water is foundational. Yet ecosystems are strained, reservoirs are drying up, and insurance payouts for drought have skyrocketed globally.. rising over 400% in the U.S. alone between 1995 and 2020.
The Partnership: Rainmaker x Atmo
Announced in July 2025, the Rainmaker–Atmo strategic alliance is designed to deliver a new full-stack solution to combat water scarcity: from AI-driven forecasts to verified rainfall on the ground.
Combining precision weather modeling with dynamically targeted cloud seeding, they’re providing verifiable attribution of rainfall, so customers know exactly what water they’re paying for.
What Rainmaker Does:
In addition to having one of the most beautiful websites & brand design.. Rainmaker is leading the next generation of cloud seeding. The company provides reliable freshwater for farms, watersheds, and ecosystems. Fortifying economic growth while stewarding the natural world.
Unlike legacy operators, Rainmaker has developed the only sub-55 lb drone capable of flying in severe icing conditions, allowing targeted seeding precisely where supercooled liquid water forms in the atmosphere. Each mission is backed by Rainmaker’s proprietary radar system, which measures precipitation in real time and verifies the impact of every operation.
With over $30M in funding, Rainmaker has recently raised a $25M Series A from strategic partners to help pioneer the future of our atmosphere. Lowercarbon Capital led the round with participation from Naval Ravikant, Acequia Capital, Drover Ventures, Sovereigns Cap, Starship Ventures, 1517 Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, and Garry Tan. Additional investors from their $6.3M seed round include Day One Ventures, Tamarack Global, Champion Hill Ventures, and former Andreessen Horowitz partner Balaji Srinivasan.
Rainmakers’s modern precipitation enhancement platform:
Radar validation
Weather-resistant drones
Sustainable cloud seeding materials
+AI-powered scenario modeling from Atmo
This system is the only immediate and scalable solution to create abundant, safe freshwater.
What Atmo Does:
Meanwhile, Atmo has built the world’s leading AI meteorology company, providing forecasts up to 100x more detailed and 45,000x faster than conventional supercomputer models. Enabling real-time decisions across climate mitigation, energy infrastructure, and national security.. their systems are already used by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Philippines, Tuvalu, and the United Nations, and were recently named a TIME Best Invention.
Three Breakthrough Capabilities
1. Radically Improved Targeting
Atmo’s ensemble neural networks allow Rainmaker to pinpoint the exact locations and moments where seeding will have the highest impact, optimizing for geography, cloud structure, and temperature in real-time.
“Now, for the first time, we can combine AI meteorology with radar-validated seeding ops to deliver measurable precipitation with extreme precision.” Augustus Doricko
2. Scenario Modeling at Scale
The system simulates thousands of potential seeding strategies, enabling Rainmaker to make informed decisions on where water will have the most ecological or economic impact. Whether it’s topping mountain snowpacks for extended melt-off or directing rain toward key watersheds, the platform maximizes yield per mission.
3. Verifiable Attribution
Using Rainmaker’s onboard radar and Atmo’s continuous monitoring, the platform can prove which precipitation was man-made. This attribution layer enables customers, governments, agriculture departments, and utilities, to see exactly what they’re paying for, down to the cubic meter.
Use Cases: From Chips to Crops
The applications are wide-ranging:
Hydropower: Cloud seeding boosts water supplies for dams powering U.S. industry.
Semiconductor fabs: Facilities like TSMC’s in Arizona require massive amounts of water for cooling and cleaning.
Agriculture: Cloud seeding can prevent billions in drought-related crop losses.
Data Centers: AI infrastructure needs stable water input for thermal regulation.
“We’re not just selling to a farmer,” Doricko says. “We’re supplying water to entire economies, urban centers, power grids, and food systems alike.”
Geopolitical Stakes: The U.S.–China Weather Race
The conversation also touched on national competitiveness. While cloud seeding is not new, few do it with precision. China’s Weather Modification Office has invested heavily in autonomous UAVs and advanced nucleation materials. Rainmaker believes the U.S. must catch up—and fast.
“China’s using their equivalent of MQ-9 Reapers to seed clouds. They’re years ahead in engineered nanoparticles. But we’re catching up—and our materials are safer.” — Doricko
Public Perception & Trust
After fake media controversies surrounding the Texas floods, and continued backlash from conspiracy theorists, Rainmaker has consistently found strong support after engaging transparently.
“People want proof and safety,” Doricko explained. “And that’s what we’re delivering.”
Atmo’s AI modeling and Rainmaker’s radar-backed data provide the kind of evidence needed to make weather intervention a trusted public good, not a black box.
→ READ: They Want Him Dead. Augustus Doricko Just Wants to Make It Rain. Blake Dodge, Pirate Wires.
An exclusive look at rainmaker’s bid to replenish the great salt lake — and prove cloud seeding is a force for good
Market Expansion & Global Impact
Rainmaker recently raised $25M to expand operations and drive down costs (currently ~$50 per flight hour). Atmo, already operating globally, brings institutional credibility and scale. Their combined offering will launch first in North America and the Pacific, with plans to expand into regions like Africa and the Middle East as regulatory frameworks evolve.
“Governments no longer have to choose between knowing the weather and influencing it. They can do both.” Alex Levy
Weather Prediction Markets
IMO one of the more fun things to put money on.. & maybe the next big strategic alliance for Rainmaker & Atmo?
Shoutout to “Weather Shan”
Final Thought
Rainmaker & Atmo’s mission isn’t just about fixing the weather.. it’s about building the most intelligent infrastructure for the Earth. What Atmo and Rainmaker are calling a “stack for water,” akin to how energy or compute stacks power modern economies.
Rainmaker & Atmo aren’t just predicting the weather, they’re advancing it, one cloud at a time.
"This alliance represents the future of weather technology," said Alex Levy, CEO of Atmo. "Atmo's AI will identify optimal conditions for cloud seeding with unprecedented precision, while Rainmaker's drones can act on those insights immediately. Together, we'll ensure no opportunity is missed to restore water supplies worldwide."
"We're deploying an end-to-end solution from forecast to rainfall," said Augustus Doricko, CEO of Rainmaker. "For the first time, we can combine AI meteorology with radar-validated cloud seeding operations to deliver measurable precipitation enhancement with extreme accuracy and cost-effectiveness.
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Sounds like the plot of a bad movie from the '80s, with an autistic but highly proficient poker player that observes but also predicts, correlates and beats the other players by making the strategy work on-the-go.