Press Release
$8M Raised to Scale Lightning Wildfire Prevention
February 12, 2026
Vancouver, B.C. — February 12, 2026 — Skyward Wildfire, the world’s first company dedicated to preventing lightning-caused wildfires, today announced the close of a $7.9 million CAD Seed Extension round led by Climate Innovation Capital (CIC), with participation from existing investors including Diagram Ventures and Active Impact Investments.
The funding follows Skyward’s first full operational season in 2025, during which the company worked with wildfire agencies to deploy AI-powered lightning forecasting and prevention systems across high wildfire risk geographies. Skyward’s proprietary technology enables government agencies and asset owners to identify where lightning is most likely to ignite fires and take preventative action before ignitions occur — reducing risk to communities, ecosystems, and critical infrastructure.
With the new capital, Skyward will expand product development and scale deployments across additional wildfire-prone regions, supporting government agencies, utilities, insurers, and land managers facing growing exposure to wildfire risk.
“Lightning-caused wildfires are one of the most costly and difficult risks for governments and infrastructure operators to manage,” said Sam Goldman, CEO of Skyward Wildfire. “Our first season demonstrated that prevention is possible at scale. This funding allows us to expand into new regions and support partners who need reliable, operational tools to reduce wildfire risk before emergencies begin.”
Climate Innovation Capital led the round based on Skyward’s upstream, prevention-focused approach to wildfire risk addressing the problem before suppression and recovery efforts are required.
"Mitigating the exponentially increasing risk of wildfires can only happen if we shift from reactive suppression to proactive prevention," said Kevin Kimsa, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Climate Innovation Capital. "We see tremendous opportunity for Skyward’s technology-driven platform to neutralize lightning-driven ignitions, the primary driver of area burned in North America, unlocking critical resilience for communities and delivering outsized value to governments, insurers, critical infrastructure owners, and the climate."
Existing investors Diagram Ventures Climate Fund and Active Impact Investments also participated in the round, reaffirming their support for Skyward’s mission and long-term potential.As wildfire seasons intensify and expand geographically, Skyward is positioning lightning prevention as a core layer of modern wildfire management to complement suppression, response, and recovery efforts with proactive risk reduction.
Founded in 2024, Skyward Wildfire is the world’s first lightning-ignited fire prevention company. Skyward works with governments, utilities, and land managers to forecast lightning ignition risk and prevent catastrophic wildfires before they start, protecting communities, ecosystems, and critical infrastructure.
ClimateIC is a venture fund whose purpose is to deliver superior financial returns while decarbonizing and building a more resilient economy. We identify and invest in cost-competitive, commercial climate tech innovations that solve pervasive, large-scale economic challenges and inefficiencies, and can be adopted and scaled rapidly. ClimateIC leverages our strong network and extensive experience as operators, climate advisors, and investment professionals to source attractive opportunities and enhance the growth prospects of our portfolio companies. Learn more at www.climateic.com.
