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Forerunner, an adaptation software startup, raised $39 million across Series A and B rounds to move beyond floodplain management. 

Why it matters: Communities are facing increased risks from climate change as the Federal Emergency Management Agency pulls back support. 

Zoom in: Forerunner says it closed a $26.3 million Series B led by Wellington Management as well as a previously unannounced $12.7 million Series A led by Union Square Ventures.

Gutter Capital, Bright Ventures, SE Ventures and Citi Impact Fund also participated in the rounds.

Forerunner plans to use the funds to scale its product for local governments and expand to include code enforcement and infrastructure management.

What they're saying: "When there is a disaster and FEMA doesn't show up, [local governments] can take on that responsibility with a better set of tooling," explains Forerunner co-founder and CEO JT White.

How it works: Forerunner, which has offices in Portland, Maine and San Francisco, has built floodplain management software that uses geospatial data. Local governments use it to manage building new structures and to clean up buildings affected by flood disasters. 

The company, founded in 2019, says it's already working with close to 200 local governments across states, from the cities of Tampa and Miami, to the states of California and Maine. 

Follow the money: VCs have been showing increasing interest in resilience and adaptation tech as floods, wildfires and intense storms have become more common. 

"It's pretty clear that we're in an environment where extreme weather is getting worse and worse. Society has to deal with that," says Greg Wasserman, head of private climate investing at Wellington Management. 

Software — with its higher margins, quicker timelines and lower capex — is also an area that climate tech investors are particularly looking to back as big energy projects and hardware plays can be capital-intensive and slow-moving. 

As White puts it: "It's not like we have to go out and raise like $500 million to build a battery factory."

The bottom line: Local governments need better tools for adapting to climate change, and investors are backing those efforts.

Exclusive: Forerunner raises $39M for resilience tech

Wellington Management led the B round for the adaptation software startup.

Illustration of a flooded street sign surrounded by shapes and grids

Forerunner, an adaptation software startup, raised $39 million across Series A and B rounds to move beyond floodplain management. Why it matters: Communities are facing increased risks from climate change as the Federal Emergency Management Agency <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="pulls back support" data-vars-click-url="https://www.governing.com/resilience/emergency-managers-regroup-as-fema-pulls-back-support" data-vars-content-id="273de969-374d-45c6-9347-271608c548cf" data-vars-headline="Exclusive: Forerunner raises $39M for resilience tech" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.governing.com/resilience/emergency-managers-regroup-as-fema-pulls-back-support" target="_blank">pulls back support</a>.

Exclusive: Forerunner raises $39M for resilience tech

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