Climate risk firm Jupiter Intel announces financing and expansion

Jupiter Intelligence, an extreme weather and climate risk management firm, announced Tuesday it is picking up a major new Japanese investor, venture capital fund MPower Partners, to jump-start an Asian expansion.

The big picture: The total investment is not yet disclosed, but Jupiter’s co-founder and CEO, Rich Sorkin, told Axios it is "substantially more" than the total investments used to build up Jupiter so far, which puts it above $40 million.

Details: The venture investor is Japan’s first ESG-focused global VC firm, and according to Jupiter's press release, the first female-led VC firm in Japan. Along with Clearvision Ventures, MPower is leading a new funding round in Jupiter that will be announced in the coming weeks, the company stated.

• Jupiter, which has already been doing business in Japan, will be opening a regional office there.

Context: Jupiter is also seeking to deepen its work with MS&AD Insurance Group, which is both a Jupiter customer and investor, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., one of Japan’s largest banks.

Between the lines: Jupiter's competitors in the risk analysis and resilience space include Demex, Cervest, Tomorrow.io and The Climate Service. Moody’s has also been moving into this space.