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.
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.
Founding Team
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
Our founder, Dr Mauritz Andersson, is a physicist and electric aviation enthusiast, with twelve years of research in quantum optics and eleven years of industrial experience developing optical systems.For Mauritz, the search for sustainable solutions to the climate crisis through innovative technology has been the main driving force. Contrary to common assumptions, he believed that aviation could be the most energy-efficient mode of transport — provided it is electric.
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.
€4.4M from Vinnova
AirForestry, together with a consortium of key stakeholders in the field, was awarded a €4.4M grant from Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency, to advance the development of autonomous drone systems for forest thinning.
Autonomous harvest in the field
For the first time, the drone completed an autonomous harvest sequence in the field: navigating to position, identifying the tree, delimbing, felling, and lifting to roadside.
World's first drone harvest of a tree in a real forest
We successfully harvested a tree in an actual forest stand, marking the transition from field testing to real forestry conditions.
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.
