Overstory Raises $14M Series A to Help Solve Climate and Biodiversity Crises
Company to expand AI-based product that reduces risks of wildfires and power outages
AMSTERDAM–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Overstory, a climate tech startup that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to mitigate wildfires, protect biodiversity, and help industries make smarter decisions about natural resources, announced today that it has raised $14 million in Series A financing. The round was led by B Capital, with participation from The Nature Conservancy, among other top climate-minded investors. The latest raise brings Overstory’s total funding to $25 million.
The new investment will accelerate the company’s development of its global vegetation intelligence platform, which provides insights about the location, size, health, and species of any tree on Earth. Improperly maintained vegetation is a major contributor to both power outages and some of the most devastating wildfires. Overstory’s initial focus is to provide electric utility companies with visibility, risk analysis, and optimization recommendations for vegetation management by applying artificial intelligence to satellite imagery.
“Because the specialized AI that we developed integrates with existing data and workflows, our utility customers can immediately spot the areas along their power lines where there are risks of wildfires and outages,” said Indra den Bakker, CEO and Co-founder, Overstory. “We are grateful for the partnership with our investors and look forward to furthering our mission to combat the climate crisis.”
With July 2023 being the world’s hottest month on record and damaging wildfires raging from Maui to Greece, Overstory’s mission is more important than ever before.
“Utility companies now have an acute problem with the confluence of catastrophic wildfires, extreme weather, power outages and a changing climate. This has forced these providers to adjust the way they work and ultimately take a more data-driven approach,” said Karen Page, General Partner at B Capital. “We are proud to partner with the incredible team at Overstory and support their work to leverage AI and create a safer, more reliable grid.”
Founded just over five years ago, Overstory is a world leader in the field of AI-based solutions for utilities, counting three of the top five utilities in the US as customers, including PG&E in California, as well as top utilities in Canada, Brazil and Europe. The company’s algorithms have been developed in partnership with arborists and forestry professionals.
About Overstory
Amsterdam-based Overstory’s mission is to help solve the climate crisis by providing tree-level insights about the planet’s vegetation. The company is building technology that mitigates wildfires, protects biodiversity, and helps people make smarter decisions about our natural resources. In just over five years, Overstory has actively monitored about 2 million acres, and protected $6 billion of utility assets.
Overstory’s 42-person team works remotely from nine different countries. Twelve nationalities are represented and 13 languages are spoken amongst the diverse team. Four out of the eight leaders in the company are female or non-white males, 24% of the team are people of color and 10% are LGBTQIA+. Overstory is looking for people to join its critically important mission. Learn more at https://www.overstory.com/.
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