AirForestry
Our story
This was the beginning of a journey that would lead to the founding of AirForestry, and the start of a new era for more efficient forestry and more productive forests.
AirForestry develops an autonomous, electric multi-drone system for flying forestry operations, enabling more efficient forestry operations with lower environmental impact than conventional methods.
And it’s moving fast!
Our founder Olle Gelin...
… grew up in the forest. He represents the sixth generation managing a solar-powered family farm with surrounding woodland just outside Uppsala.
For Olle, sustainable forestry and a fossil-free forest industry have long been both a passion and a clear ambition. It’s no surprise, then, that his career has included developing hybrid trucks at Scania, followed by eight years at Skogforsk, where he initiated and led one of the world’s largest projects in forest automation, AUTO2.
Mauritz's electric vision
The idea was born
The moment Olle and Mauritz first met, it was clear to both of them that forestry was ready for a completely new kind of innovation: an airborne solution for harvesting trees.
They secured early sponsorship from three of Europe’s largest forest owners, built the first versions of the drone, and registered AirForestry AB in the spring of 2020.
Caroline Walerud joins the team
In the summer of 2020, Olle and Mauritz met Caroline Walerud, a biologist turned serial entrepreneur and deep tech investor. Caroline and her family office, Walerud Ventures, with investments including Klarna, Midsummer, and Paebbl, joined the company as a founding investor.
Prototype 0.1
Our first prototype, one meter in diameter, was assembled in just a couple of days and flew its first test flight in June 2020. Its purpose was primarily to validate the rotor concept, and it made a strong impression, on both customers and investors.
The first drone
On 18 October 2021, the team assembled the first full-scale drone, 6.2 meters in diameter.
First takeoff
The first successful flight of the full-scale drone.
Early commercial interest
The Swedish Energy Agency awarded AirForestry a €3M grant for further technology development. Offtake agreements signed with Sveaskog, Högtorps Gård, and Hargs Bruk.
€10.3M funding round
The company closed its €10.3M funding round with top-tier investors including SEB Greentech VC, Sveaskog, Kiko VC, Capital T, and Northzone as lead.
First full-cycle harvest
The first full-cycle harvest of a tree in the field was completed.
Two consecutive trees
The first full-cycle harvest of two consecutive trees in the field was completed.
About
AirForestry
AirForestry is a Swedish deep-tech company founded in 2020 and headquartered in Uppsala. The team brings together expertise in forestry, flight systems, automation, and scalable technology development.
We develop an autonomous, electric multi-drone system for flying forestry operations, enabling more efficient forestry operations with lower environmental impact than conventional methods.
Team
Founding team
Caroline Walerud
Olle Gelin
Mauritz Andersson
Magnus Hedlund
Career
Build the future of forestry technology with our amazing team
We have a world-class team spanning scale-up, engineering, and aerospace, building a new way to manage forests and helping to solve the climate and biodiversity crises. And we have a lot of fun along the way.
We are a hands-on, experimental team that loves being out in the field and focuses on making things work in the real world. We value quality, problem-solving, and fact-based decisions, and we have an open culture where questions are always welcome.
Sound like your kind of team?
We are currently 35+ people and always on the lookout for the best and brightest.
