This week in NatureTech #32

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🐘  Long Read (2 mins)

Wildfires are everywhere in the news. Even at the time of writing Japan is experiencing its largest wildfire in 30 years, and fires are also raging across South Carolina.

The increase in frequency is complex. Deforestation, the suppression of natural fire cycles and expanding wildland-urban interfaces are all contributing factors.

Thankfully there are now 100+ innovators tackling this challenge head on.

We compiled a database of them grouped into three categories:

🪓 1. Prevention and Preparedness: help forecast wildfires, assess their damage potential, and take steps to reduce damage potential

Burnbot - Autonomous prescribed burn robotics system; Overstory - Satellite vegetation monitoring for utilities

🛰️ 2. Detection: Cameras, sensors, and analytics platforms to detect outbreaks early and track their progression to aid firefighting

OroraTech - Satellite-based wildfire detection system; Dryad Networks - IoT sensors for forest monitoring

🚒 3. Response: Technologies that support the suppression of wildfires and help communities in the aftermath

Rain Industries - Autonomous firefighting vehicles and equipment Descartes Labs - Geospatial analytics for disaster response

Some quick insights:

• Wildfire tech funding reached $2.3 billion globally between 2020-2024, representing a 327% increase compared to the $538 million invested from 2015-2019. Early-stage companies focusing on detection and prediction technologies captured 61% of this funding.

• The wildfire startup ecosystem is concentrated in high-risk regions, with California (41%), Australia (17%), Canada (12%), and the Mediterranean (9%) leading in company formation and funding allocation.

• Corporate strategic investment is hotting up. Corporate investment increased by 215% in 2024, with insurance companies ($310 million), utilities ($275 million), and forestry companies ($180 million) leading investment rounds.
  

  We'll be adding all 100 of these start-ups to our NatureTech database. But before we do… Who did we miss?

  Let us know if you’d like to see a deeper dive into this emerging space.

💬 Snippets for your lift conversations

💼 Big business:

• US paper industry asks Trump to seek lighter EU deforestation rules (Read more)

• How insurance innovation could unlock billions for nature-based climate solutions (Read more)

🏦 Finance:

• The UN biodiversity talks concluded with nations backing a $200 billion per year plan to protect nature, marking a successful outcome for COP16. (Read more)

• Goldman Sachs Asset Management launched its first biodiversity bond fund, targeting up to $500 million and expanding sustainable finance options. (Read more)

💻️ Tech:

• A collaboration between a Japanese insurer's subsidiary and a nature data company has been launched to create an AI-based biodiversity risk product to aid environmental preservation efforts. (Read more)

📖 Research:

• Across the world, conservation projects reel after abrupt US funding cuts (Read more)

• Extreme drought-heatwave events threaten the biodiversity and stability of aquatic plankton communities in the Yangtze River ecosystems, impacting alpha and beta diversity. (Read more)

• A new study finds the potential for farming seafood with less environmental impact hinges on selected locations. (Read more)

📝 Policy:

• The UK government has published its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, striving to meet the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by 2030. (Read more)

• Australia reveals its inaugural National Ecosystem Accounts, highlighting the country's ecosystem services' economic value, despite concerns over declining environmental health. (Read more)

• Trump Killed a Major Report on Nature. They’re Trying to Publish It Anyway (Read more)

📝 Community news and asks:

• James is wanting to speak to invasive species experts in the UK and Europe to test a new concept (Contact)

  Submit community news or asks

🎣 Deals

🇻🇳 TechCoop raised $24M (Series A) for their optimizing agricultural production supply chains through advanced technology Source

🇵🇹 Seaentia raised $16.7M (Early VC) for their sustainable aquaculture with a focus on producing high-quality corvinaSource

🇫🇮 Skyfora raised $4.2M (Early VC) for their advanced weather intelligence solutions Source

🇦🇺 Esper Satellite Imagery raised $3.1M (Seed) for their space-based solutions for earth observation Source

🇩🇪 Radical Dot raised $2.8M (Pre-Seed) for their converting unrecycled plastic waste into valuable resources for the chemical industry Source

🇬🇧 BioMara raised $506K (Pre-Seed) for their kelp biorefinery concept to manufacture high-value products from seaweed biomass Source

🇫🇷 Papkot raised (Series A) for their ceramic coatings for paper packaging Source

20+ Startups are raising in our network this year - get in touch to hear more.

Ponda is raising a $2Mn seed for their technologies to transform plants grown in regenerated peatlands into next-generation textiles for the fashion industry. (Contact)

💭 Little Bytes

📊Read: The use of environmental DNA has led to the rediscovery of the De Winton’s golden mole, a species previously thought extinct Africa

🎞️  Watch: Brazil farmer lobby asks to lift soybean ban from deforested Amazon rainforest (Read more)

💬 Research: Large animal conservation exaggerated for carbon capture may hinder climate efforts. (Read more)

📆 Events

⭐ NatureTech Summit 2025-03-27 (Meet us here)

🇺🇸 SXSW Conference 2025 2025-03-07 (Attend)

🇺🇸 Future Leaders Climate Summit 2024 2025-03-09 (Attend)

🇺🇸 International Conference on Climate, Environment and Biosciences ICCEB 2025-03-10 (Attend)

🇬🇧 Economist Impact Energy Transition Summit 2025-03-10 (Attend)

🇮🇱 CleanTech 2025 2025-03-11 (Attend)

🇺🇸 Climate Correction Conference 2025-03-12 (Attend)

🇫🇷 Hello Tomorrow Global Summit 2025-03-13 (Attend)

🇺🇸 Future Food-Tech 2025-03-13 (Attend)

🇺🇸 International Battery Seminar & Exhibit 2025-03-17 (Attend)

💼Jobs

Start-up or Funds:

• ⭐ Head of Platform, Superorganism, US or Remote (Apply) 

• Multiple roles, Planet A Foods, Germany (Apply)

• Multiple roles, Revalue Nature, UK (Apply)

• Backend Engineer, Landbanking Group, Germany (Apply)

• Sales Development Representative, Arbonics, Remote (Apply)

• Account Manager, NatureMetrics - UK (Apply)

• Director of Nature Based Solutions, Sylvera, UK (Apply)

Corporate:

• Climate, Nature and Social Risk Modelling Vice President, JP Morgan, London (Apply)

• Biodiversity Specialist, FAO, USA (Apply)

• Head of Nature, Lloyds, UK (Apply)

• Product Manager, Nature, Bloomberg (Apply)

• Nature-Based Solutions, Subject Matter Expert, Ramboll, USA, (Apply)

• Biodiversity and Natural Capital Unit, Inter-American Development Bank (Apply)

  See 10+ more Nature Jobs
  Submit a job