Mission-minded Spotlight: FortyGuard
By Liza Vilnits | Founder & CEO
Welcome to the August edition of ✨“Mission-minded: Building for Tomorrow" ✨
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Our planet is heating up faster than expected, according to the scientists who first “sounded the alarm” on the climate crisis in the 80’s (https://cnn.it/3yzGNj5). FortyGuard, a pioneering urban temperature intelligence company, is trying to solve this global phenomenon. Their advanced AI-driven Temperature Operating System (tOS) is transforming granular temperature data into actionable insights for a diverse range of stakeholders.
😱 1) Why care? Did you know that heat kills more people annually in the USA than hurricanes, tornados, and floods combined? And that’s a startling 95% more than the last decade. Climate Central also recently cited that about 80% of the US population, who live in cities, face higher heat risks. Urban heat effects so much of the world, and it’s one of the biggest hurdles for sustainable development.
🔥 2) What makes the co. credible? FortyGuard was established in 2020 after founder Jay Sadiq visited Los Angeles in 2019 and saw firsthand the measures the city was doing to cool it down. The company started out as a material science company developing climate-conscious asphalt but later pivoted to build a measuring tool that caters to a wide business sector such as urban planners, engineers, and construction companies. Since then, FortyGuard has been backed by Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 tech ecosystem, and joined Techstars Miami to bring its solutions to the US. Additionally, they have partnerships with academic institutions such as New York University Abu Dhabi and University of Wollongong in Dubai. Most recently, they won an Innovation Award at NVIDIA GTC, and Jay gave a TED Talk at Global Sustainability Forum on the deadly impact of urban heat.
💓 3) What I love about their story? Cooling cities is a passion for Jay because he’s been diagnosed with asthma since he was a child. But, he’s also a visionary for making FortyGuard more accessible in Europe, Asia, Africa and beyond. He even told Channel News Asia that he wanted FortyGuard, “... to become the Google of temperature.” He recognizes that the urban heat problem is not a fad or a trend, but rather something we all need to take on to solve globally!
The more we as a society start paying attention to climate change, the more successful companies like FortyGuard can be in making a difference in our communities. I encourage all to read more about the impact of urban heat and to follow FortyGuard’s developments!
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In case you missed it, ✨“Mission-minded: Building for tomorrow" ✨is a monthly series where I highlight an under-the-radar founder or company that’s building something that has the power to enact real change in our world. From my personal perspective and understanding, I’ll tell you why you should care about what they’re building, what makes them credible, and what I love about their story. Here are the companies we’ve spotlighted so far this year:
💊July: Tip a ScRxipt, a controlled-expense debit card platform that enables government, healthcare providers, health plans, foundations, and community organizations to provide “payment assistance with guard rails.”
💻June: Pyrra, an intelligence platform that protects people, assets and brands from disinformation, physical violence and hate speech.
🤱May: Canopie, an app dedicated to providing mothers, including pregnant women, with mental health resources.
🧠April: Wayhaven, an adaptive, chat-based mental wellness app to support the unique challenges faced by college students - available 24/7.
💧March: Varuna, a company that enables the delivery of clean water efficiently by providing water system operators with actionable data and insights to identify blindspots.
✊🏿February: Acclinate, increasing health equity by making research more inclusive by helping pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations access and engage communities of color.
♀️ January: Mission-Driven Tech, a company that's building innovative solutions that normalize and modernize Cervical Health, a historically underfunded and misunderstood field of medicine.