“Drone flies to the Diamant” was the headline in the St.Galler Tagblatt newspaper in June 2015. The startup Meteomatics had developed a world first in weather forecasting with its meteodrone and won the coveted St.Gallen “Startfeld Diamant” prize for young entrepreneurs. The jury assessed the market potential for the forecasts and products as “enormous” – and they were right. This was not to be the last time Meteomatics made headlines.
Startfeld as a launchpad
The success story began back in 2012, when Martin Fengler, founder and CEO of Meteomatics, was surprised by turbulence during his flight training – contrary to the weather forecast. He landed the aircraft unharmed with a clear goal in mind: he wanted to greatly improve the accuracy of forecasts using hyperlocal weather data. Which he did. Soon afterwards, he founded Meteomatics in St.Gallen, where he was supported by the Startfeld Foundation with the highest possible startup capital.
The best in the world
The startup developed rapidly and impressively. Numerous major international partnerships and financing rounds later – including from Lockheed Martin Ventures and under the leadership of Armira Growth – Meteomatics has positioned itself as the world’s leading provider of weather information. Martin Fengler and his team are on a mission to provide the most accurate weather data – at any time and for anywhere in the world. The high-resolution weather models EURO1k and US1k provide forecasts that are detailed enough to capture even the smallest meteorological phenomena across entire continents.
Get to know Martin Fengler and Meteomatics.
170+
employees from 30+ countries
A small core team working on meteodrones developed into an international company with over 170 employees, including data scientists, meteorologists, technologists, hydrologists, physicists, drone engineers and electrical engineers. Its customers include over 600 international companies from various sectors, including big names such as Tesla, CVS Health, Swiss Re, McCain, NASA, Honda, Airbus, Stellantis and Axpo Power.
In 2025, Martin Fengler’s achievements were recognised with the “EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025” award in the Visionary Entrepreneurs category. The jury described Martin Fengler as an example of how a clear personal vision can lead to a company of international importance. It emphasised the synergy between scientific passion and entrepreneurial spirit that defines both Martin Fengler and Meteomatics.
Rooted in St.Gallen
Meteomatics’ drones are still assembled by hand at the company’s headquarters in the heart of the city of St.Gallen. This is where research and development, weather modelling and software development are based. In 2022, Fengler’s team moved into the new premises as their offices at Startfeld were reaching capacity. The company currently has offices in Berlin, Barcelona, Oslo, New York City and the UK. The company is rooted in its home town of St.Gallen, where it grew and developed at Startfeld.
“St.Gallen stands out for how close everything is. The atmosphere is very familiar – people know each other and exchange ideas, which makes collaboration easy.”
Martin Fengler, founder and CEO of Meteomatics
