US-based Droneseed raises Rs 266 crore for forest areas affected by wildfires

Environmental-focused tech company, DroneSeed, announced last week that the company has raised $36 million, or about Rs 266 crore, in its Series A funding round. Seattle, US-based startup DroneSeed gained prominence last year when it announced plans to repopulate areas in the US West Coast affected by wildfires via drones. Currently, the company is executing projects in the US states of Idaho, Colorado, California, British Columbia, Hawaii and Washington DC. In a press note, DroneSeed claimed that it is the only company approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to deploy a fleet of heavy-duty drones to reforestation after wildfires. In 2021, wildfires will affect nearly six million acres of land across the US—demonstrating the growing need for the full suite of vertically integrated afforestation services like DroneSeed offers.

The funding campaign was led by Palo Alto-based venture capital firm Social Capital and Miami-based firm Seven Seven Six. The colossal amount of Rs 266 crore also includes the investment required to acquire Silvasseed, a 130-year-old forestry company. Along with Social Capital and Seven Seven Six, new investors in this growth include DBL Partners, which were early investors in Tesla and SpaceX; Shopify CEO Toby Lutke; Flexibility Reserve; and Marc Benioff’s Time Ventures. The move is aimed at expanding the cultivation and collection area of ​​droneseed seeds.