Building Climate Resilience: Innovative Technologies & Investments for Disaster Adaptation
Severe weather events are occurring with increasing frequency, severity, and economic impact. In 2024 alone, natural disasters worldwide caused an estimated $368 billion in damages, with around 60% of those losses uninsured, underscoring a significant gap in protection (Insurance Business). Looking forward, the World Economic Forum’s 2024 report projects that climate-driven disasters could result in $12.5 trillion in global economic losses by 2050 (World Economic Forum).
Meanwhile, companies’ exposure to climate-related risks is expected to triple by mid-century, threatening over $1.14 trillion in market value among firms traded on major global stock exchanges (Axios).
Yet, this challenge also presents a tremendous business opportunity. According to a 2025 analysis by FIC and Bain & Company, revenues from climate adaptation technologies are predicted to increase from $1 trillion today to $4 trillion by 2050. Investment prospects could expand even more dramatically, from $2 trillion to $9 trillion (GIC, 2025).
These numbers reveal a promising investment frontier for private sector engagement. Impact-driven venture capital can play a pivotal role in accelerating innovation that safeguards lives, protects assets, and drives economic growth.
Harnessing the Potential of Adaptation and Resilience Technologies
The Cisco Foundation is actively responding to this need through its Regenerative Future Fund and nonprofit grants. Their strategic investments support innovative solutions aimed at helping communities better prepare for, respond to, and reduce the effects of extreme weather events.
By leveraging patient, catalytic capital combined with blended finance strategies, the Regenerative Future Fund fosters an ecosystem where companies can scale transformative adaptation technologies, even when immediate profits are uncertain.
Below are examples of five startups and organizations supported by the Foundation that are enhancing community resilience.
Real-Time Flood Monitoring with Hohonu
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was among the most devastating, generating around $200 billion in damages with 20 named storms affecting the U.S. (New York Post/Fox Weather). Neighborhood-level water data in real time is vital for life-saving decisions. As hurricanes grow more intense and unpredictable, even small differences in water levels can mean the difference between flooding and safety.
For instance, during storms like Hurricane Helene in 2024, many communities lacked timely, localized water data, resulting in delayed warnings and responses that worsened damage.
Hohonu addresses this need by providing affordable, smart flood-monitoring sensors that offer hyperlocal water level data for coastal and inland communities. This real-time visibility enables quicker, more informed choices regarding evacuations, infrastructure protection, and emergency management. Tracking water levels on a very localized scale can cut emergency response times by up to 30% and improve flood readiness by over 40%.
Supported by the Cisco Foundation Regenerative Future Fund, Hohonu is expanding rapidly, partnering with governments and commercial entities to deliver real-time monitoring to vulnerable areas. As COO Kevin Mukai states, the Foundation’s focus on resilient communities aligns perfectly with Cisco’s expertise in networking and digital transformation.
By 2025, Hohonu had installed more than 160 monitoring stations across 16 states, producing millions of hours of publicly accessible water data. This transparent data-sharing empowers communities to build stronger awareness and self-reliance against increasing weather risks.
Vibrant Planet’s AI for Wildfire Management
The 2023–2024 wildfire seasons were among the worst in recent U.S. history, with over 8.5 million acres burned in 2024 alone (National Interagency Fire Center). In Los Angeles County, multiple fires worsened by drought and fuel accumulation displaced thousands and caused billions in insured losses. Post-fire analysis by Vibrant Planet suggests that a $9 million investment in fuel reduction near urban areas could have significantly reduced damages.
Vibrant Planet’s platform offers a pioneering decision-support system that helps fire agencies and utilities assess wildfire risk and ecosystem health, prioritize mitigation treatments, and simulate their impacts. This includes interventions such as creating defensible spaces, thinning forests, and controlled burns. The system also enables coordination across jurisdictions and budget planning.
In Placer County, California—the state’s most wildfire-vulnerable area—local officials used Vibrant Planet to plan risk reduction treatments over 20,000 acres, producing a community-backed strategy that not only lowers fire risk but also boosts water security, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. This plan was approved within 14 weeks, compared to the usual multi-year timeline.
Currently, Vibrant Planet serves eight western states, managing 73 million acres, including 30 million acres in California. Its technology dramatically shortens forest management planning and fosters public support by clearly forecasting treatment outcomes.
Cisco Foundation funding has helped expand Vibrant Planet’s reach and develop new features like slope stabilization and ecosystem recovery tools, making it a vital asset as wildfire threats grow.
Rain: Autonomous Firefighting Aircraft
Supported indirectly through Azolla Ventures, Cisco Foundation backs Rain, a startup revolutionizing wildfire response with AI-powered autonomous helicopters. Based on the Sikorsky Black Hawk and MATRIX autonomy platform, Rain’s system allows aircraft to detect, analyze, and combat fires autonomously, reducing response times and enhancing firefighter safety.
This technology enables firefighting in hazardous conditions such as nighttime or difficult terrain where human efforts are limited, cutting crucial response time and reducing risk to crews.
Earth Force’s Advanced Forest Management
Earth Force employs remote-controlled machinery combined with real-time digital monitoring to modernize forest management. This approach improves wildfire prevention by enabling safer and more efficient vegetation clearing.
By automating hazardous tasks, Earth Force protects workers and addresses labor shortages, supporting economic resilience through technology-driven forestry jobs.
The Cisco Foundation’s Regenerative Future Fund supports Earth Force via an investment in Third Sphere, an early-stage fund focused on AI-driven climate technologies.
Community Empowerment through Open Future Coalition
The Open Future Coalition partners with communities to co-create adaptable workflows and foster networks across regenerative agriculture, watershed restoration, and Indigenous land stewardship. Their impact in Western North Carolina includes flood response, citizen science, and biocultural mapping, contributing to comprehensive disaster recovery and resilience.
The Cisco Foundation-backed Regional Resilience Fellowship helped develop tools applied in over 35 projects, building a “living library” of community resources, templates, and curricula. This common infrastructure enables communities from Appalachia to the Amazon to scale impact and mobilize resources for resilience.
Towards a More Resilient Tomorrow
The Cisco Foundation’s Regenerative Future Fund and related grants are key components of Cisco’s broader environmental sustainability initiative, Plan for Possible, alongside ongoing disaster response efforts. From employee-driven fundraising and nonprofit grants supporting immediate disaster relief, to Cisco Crisis Response technology deployments and long-term resilience programs, the Foundation leverages its resources to empower communities worldwide.
Click here to know more about how the Cisco Foundation supports resiliency.
Meanwhile, companies’ exposure to climate-related risks is expected to triple by mid-century, threatening over $1.14 trillion in market value among firms traded on major global stock exchanges (Axios).
Yet, this challenge also presents a tremendous business opportunity. According to a 2025 analysis by FIC and Bain & Company, revenues from climate adaptation technologies are predicted to increase from $1 trillion today to $4 trillion by 2050. Investment prospects could expand even more dramatically, from $2 trillion to $9 trillion (GIC, 2025).
These numbers reveal a promising investment frontier for private sector engagement. Impact-driven venture capital can play a pivotal role in accelerating innovation that safeguards lives, protects assets, and drives economic growth.
Harnessing the Potential of Adaptation and Resilience Technologies
The Cisco Foundation is actively responding to this need through its Regenerative Future Fund and nonprofit grants. Their strategic investments support innovative solutions aimed at helping communities better prepare for, respond to, and reduce the effects of extreme weather events.
By leveraging patient, catalytic capital combined with blended finance strategies, the Regenerative Future Fund fosters an ecosystem where companies can scale transformative adaptation technologies, even when immediate profits are uncertain.
Below are examples of five startups and organizations supported by the Foundation that are enhancing community resilience.
Real-Time Flood Monitoring with Hohonu
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was among the most devastating, generating around $200 billion in damages with 20 named storms affecting the U.S. (New York Post/Fox Weather). Neighborhood-level water data in real time is vital for life-saving decisions. As hurricanes grow more intense and unpredictable, even small differences in water levels can mean the difference between flooding and safety.
For instance, during storms like Hurricane Helene in 2024, many communities lacked timely, localized water data, resulting in delayed warnings and responses that worsened damage.
Hohonu addresses this need by providing affordable, smart flood-monitoring sensors that offer hyperlocal water level data for coastal and inland communities. This real-time visibility enables quicker, more informed choices regarding evacuations, infrastructure protection, and emergency management. Tracking water levels on a very localized scale can cut emergency response times by up to 30% and improve flood readiness by over 40%.
Supported by the Cisco Foundation Regenerative Future Fund, Hohonu is expanding rapidly, partnering with governments and commercial entities to deliver real-time monitoring to vulnerable areas. As COO Kevin Mukai states, the Foundation’s focus on resilient communities aligns perfectly with Cisco’s expertise in networking and digital transformation.
By 2025, Hohonu had installed more than 160 monitoring stations across 16 states, producing millions of hours of publicly accessible water data. This transparent data-sharing empowers communities to build stronger awareness and self-reliance against increasing weather risks.
Vibrant Planet’s AI for Wildfire Management
The 2023–2024 wildfire seasons were among the worst in recent U.S. history, with over 8.5 million acres burned in 2024 alone (National Interagency Fire Center). In Los Angeles County, multiple fires worsened by drought and fuel accumulation displaced thousands and caused billions in insured losses. Post-fire analysis by Vibrant Planet suggests that a $9 million investment in fuel reduction near urban areas could have significantly reduced damages.
Vibrant Planet’s platform offers a pioneering decision-support system that helps fire agencies and utilities assess wildfire risk and ecosystem health, prioritize mitigation treatments, and simulate their impacts. This includes interventions such as creating defensible spaces, thinning forests, and controlled burns. The system also enables coordination across jurisdictions and budget planning.
In Placer County, California—the state’s most wildfire-vulnerable area—local officials used Vibrant Planet to plan risk reduction treatments over 20,000 acres, producing a community-backed strategy that not only lowers fire risk but also boosts water security, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. This plan was approved within 14 weeks, compared to the usual multi-year timeline.
Currently, Vibrant Planet serves eight western states, managing 73 million acres, including 30 million acres in California. Its technology dramatically shortens forest management planning and fosters public support by clearly forecasting treatment outcomes.
Cisco Foundation funding has helped expand Vibrant Planet’s reach and develop new features like slope stabilization and ecosystem recovery tools, making it a vital asset as wildfire threats grow.
Rain: Autonomous Firefighting Aircraft
Supported indirectly through Azolla Ventures, Cisco Foundation backs Rain, a startup revolutionizing wildfire response with AI-powered autonomous helicopters. Based on the Sikorsky Black Hawk and MATRIX autonomy platform, Rain’s system allows aircraft to detect, analyze, and combat fires autonomously, reducing response times and enhancing firefighter safety.
This technology enables firefighting in hazardous conditions such as nighttime or difficult terrain where human efforts are limited, cutting crucial response time and reducing risk to crews.
Earth Force’s Advanced Forest Management
Earth Force employs remote-controlled machinery combined with real-time digital monitoring to modernize forest management. This approach improves wildfire prevention by enabling safer and more efficient vegetation clearing.
By automating hazardous tasks, Earth Force protects workers and addresses labor shortages, supporting economic resilience through technology-driven forestry jobs.
The Cisco Foundation’s Regenerative Future Fund supports Earth Force via an investment in Third Sphere, an early-stage fund focused on AI-driven climate technologies.
Community Empowerment through Open Future Coalition
The Open Future Coalition partners with communities to co-create adaptable workflows and foster networks across regenerative agriculture, watershed restoration, and Indigenous land stewardship. Their impact in Western North Carolina includes flood response, citizen science, and biocultural mapping, contributing to comprehensive disaster recovery and resilience.
The Cisco Foundation-backed Regional Resilience Fellowship helped develop tools applied in over 35 projects, building a “living library” of community resources, templates, and curricula. This common infrastructure enables communities from Appalachia to the Amazon to scale impact and mobilize resources for resilience.
Towards a More Resilient Tomorrow
The Cisco Foundation’s Regenerative Future Fund and related grants are key components of Cisco’s broader environmental sustainability initiative, Plan for Possible, alongside ongoing disaster response efforts. From employee-driven fundraising and nonprofit grants supporting immediate disaster relief, to Cisco Crisis Response technology deployments and long-term resilience programs, the Foundation leverages its resources to empower communities worldwide.
Click here to know more about how the Cisco Foundation supports resiliency.
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