Recently, Google acquired Israeli startup BreezoMeter for an estimated $200-250 million. Cofounded in 2014 by Technion alumni CEO Ran Korber, CMO Ziv Lautman, and CTO Emil Fisher, BreezoMeter aims to monitor air quality and improve individuals’ health through atmospheric data collected by sensing stations and AI trained to detect different pollutants. Google already has activity in environmental technology systems, including Google Earth Engine, Explorer, and the Air View project, so BreezoMeter will be a welcome addition.

BreezoMeter’s technology provides users with hyperlocal air quality data through machine learning and advanced algorithms. The information it shares currently includes environmental data and insights from more than 11 million sources to 400 million users worldwide. It also collects data about traffic congestion and is able to detect a wide range of atmospheric pollutants, such as those from wildfires, power plant emissions, and more. As air sensors are generally spread far apart or are only available in major cities, this technology fills a gap for those in rural areas or those who live between areas with air sensors.

Many large companies currently use BreezoMeter’s Air Pollution, Pollen, and Fire application programming interfaces (APIs) to send air quality recommendations to users in their mobile apps, smart home IoT devices, cars, and other linked appliances. The list includes AstraZeneca, Bosch, Dyson, Verizon Media, L’Oréal, and hundreds more.