Overstory, the Amsterdam-based vegetation intelligence platform that helps utility companies prevent and mitigate wildfire risk, has successfully closed a $43 million Series B funding round led by European climate-tech growth equity firm Blume Equity.
Founded in 2018, Overstory specializes in satellite-powered vegetation intelligence, helping utility companies understand and manage wildfire risks linked to power lines. Its proprietary Fuel Detection Model helps identify dangerous vegetation patches that could ignite fires and provide precise insights as it is able to scan at 10,000 times the resolution of traditional methods like the publicly available fire maps.
The $43 million funding will accelerate Overstory’s mission to help utilities prevent wildfires and power outages through satellite-based artificial intelligence (AI). Key priorities include advancing its proprietary Fuel Detection Model, accelerating and rolling-out advanced AI-based risk models that maintain accuracy under shifting climate conditions, and to further scale its operations globally.
The Series B round was led by Blume Equity, with participation from Energy Impact Partners (EIT) and other existing investors.
Overstory Using AI to Mitigate Wildfire Risk
Vegetation contacts remain one of the leading causes of power outages and wildfires for many utility companies in Europe, especially with tree mortality spiking, labor costs soaring, and extreme weather hitting hard. This represents the phase at which the current climate condition stands, involving enormous financial costs and endangering lives and communities.
But Overstory’s AI-powered tech is helping flip the script and moving wildfire mitigation from a reactive, broad-brush tactic to a sharp, targeted strategy.
The company’s Fuel Detection Model, which will be powering the next stage of its Wildfire Intelligence product, scans at a very high resolution as opposed to traditional methods. It constantly looks for updates on growing brush and seasonal shifts, focusing on critical zones that are very prone to spark up, immediately spread, and turn deadly.
“Utilities are on the front lines of keeping communities safe, and they’re eager to use the best data available. When we talk about how satellites and remote sensing can identify dying trees and wildfire risk, they lean in,” Fiona Spruill, CEO of Overstory, said in a statement. “We’re grateful to our forward-thinking investors for supporting this next chapter – expanding our intelligence product to address storms and wildfires, helping utilities build a more resilient and reliable grid.”
The freshly raised $43 million will help Overstory go after four main priorities, which includes developing advanced AI models that will maintain pace with climate-driven vegetation changes; expanding the rollout of the Wildfire Intelligence product; broadening the company’s global footprint beyond its Boston and Amsterdam hubs; and strengthening organizational capacity with the addition of seasoned leaders like the new COO Tamara Mendelsohn, a marketing veteran who played a key role in scaling Eventbrite.
Why Now?
The interplay of worsening wildfire seasons, rising labor expenses, and tightening regulations puts utility companies under intense pressure to modernize how they manage vegetation.
Conversely, industry watchers see Overstory as a frontrunner in a rapidly emerging sector of AI-powered wildfire risk prevention and grid resilience. For instance, the company’s recent capital raise attracted strategic investors like Energy Impact Partners, which further validates the Overstory’s business, tech, and climate impact potential.
“Utilities are at a pivotal moment, facing more extreme weather events every year,” James Sprinz, Principal at EIP, confirmed in a statement. “Overstory is tackling this challenge in a way that utilities can act on immediately, making sense of satellite data to spot the exact tree to trim, pole to clear, or asset to replace.”
Data-driven wildfire risk management is no longer optional but a necessity for utilities navigating climate-related liabilities and operational threats.
Overstory’s AI-powered technology promises more than measurable improvements. It offers a transformative shift from standard safety checks to predictive and precise intelligence that targets hazardous vegetation before disaster strikes, leading to an improvement in public safety and a drastic cut in utility vegetation management costs.
Looking ahead, however, the question is how broadly and swiftly this approach will scale to effectively mitigate wildfire risk and build grid resilience. For now, the challenge before Overstory is to broaden its reach globally while continuously refining AI models to account for evolving environmental conditions.
