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§ Private Profile · 1150 Eglinton Ave E, Mississauga, Ontario, L4W 2M6, Canada
Reforestation technology company developing drone-based tree planting services for post-wildfire areas, focused on ecological restoration.
Flash Forest has raised $9.0M across 1 funding round.
Key people at Flash Forest.
Flash Forest has raised $9.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Flash Forest is a Toronto, Ontario-based environmental technology company that develops drone-based aerial mapping and automation software to plant trees in hazardous post-wildfire areas. The company utilizes artificial intelligence, geographic information systems, and ecological science to execute large-scale reforestation projects at a fraction of the cost of traditional manual planting methods. Operating with a workforce of 21 to 50 employees, the enterprise has secured approximately $335,000 across two funding rounds, which includes over $108,000 raised from more than 1,600 backers on the Kickstarter platform. Flash Forest provides its ecological restoration services to various environmental initiatives, notably partnering with Julian Lennon and the White Feather Foundation to support Indigenous-led caribou conservation efforts in British Columbia. The Canadian organization was founded in 2019 by Bryce Jones, Cameron Jones, Angelique Ahlstrom, and Andrew Lauder.
Key people at Flash Forest.
Flash Forest has raised $9.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Flash Forest's investors include OurCrowd, Blair Miller.
Flash Forest is a Canadian reforestation startup that develops drone-based technology to plant trees at scale, targeting post-wildfire and hard-to-reach areas devastated by climate change.[1][3][4] The company builds automated systems using UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), AI, proprietary seed pods, and ecological science to deliver turn-key services—including aerial surveys, planting, and growth monitoring—for governments, NGOs, private landowners, and corporations.[1][5][6] It serves ecosystem restoration needs by solving the limitations of manual planting, which is slow, unsafe, costly, and weather-dependent, enabling 10x faster reforestation rates while boosting tree survival through data-driven, biodiversity-focused methods.[3][4] With ambitions to plant 1 billion trees by 2028, Flash Forest has demonstrated growth via partnerships (e.g., 70,000 trees in Québec in 2024), a team of ~30 including PhD biotechnologists, and early successes like planting thousands across Canada.[2][4]
Flash Forest was founded in 2019 by Bryce Jones (CEO), Cameron Jones, and Angelique Ahlström in Vancouver and Toronto, sparked by the need for faster reforestation amid rising wildfires.[3][4] The idea emerged from Bryce Jones' vision to leverage drones for areas too dangerous or uneconomical for human planters, launching via a Kickstarter that exceeded goals—raising over $100,000 in a day against a $10,000 target, drawing global support.[3][4] Early traction included Marc Apduhan joining for innovation and piloting, plus rapid team growth to 30 diverse experts in biotech and plant science; pivotal moments feature initial plantings in Canada and partnerships like Emissions Reduction Alberta projects.[3][4][8]
Flash Forest stands out in reforestation through tech-enabled scale and sustainability:
Flash Forest rides the climate tech wave, accelerating reforestation amid annual global tree loss of ~10 billion, aligning with UN SDGs 13 (climate action) and 15 (life on land).[3][6][7] Timing is ideal post-2020s wildfires (e.g., boreal forests in Canada/Québec), where traditional methods fail; market forces like corporate CSR (e.g., Nordik's 70,000-tree pledge) and government contracts fuel demand.[2][8] It influences the ecosystem by pioneering UAV automation in envirotech, inspiring scalable restoration, job creation for marginalized groups, and biodiversity revival—shifting reforestation from labor-intensive to tech-optimized.[1][4][6]
Flash Forest is poised to hit 1 billion trees by 2028 through international expansion from Canada, deeper AI refinements, and multi-year contracts.[1][2][4] Trends like worsening wildfires, ESG investing, and drone/AI maturation will propel growth, potentially evolving it into a global leader in ecosystem regeneration. As drone reforestation proves viable, expect broader adoption, amplifying its role from startup innovator to planetary healer—directly countering the climate threats that birthed it.[3][6][7]
Flash Forest has raised $9.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $9.0M Series A in April 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2023 | $9M Series A | OurCrowd, Blair Miller | — | Announced |
