Overstory, a specialist in vegetation intelligence for the utility industry, has raised $43m in series B funding.

The company will use the funding to accelerate development of its AI-based risk models, advance its wildfire prevention offering and expand globally.

For utilities, vegetation is not only the leading cause of outages and wildfires, but often the single largest operational expense. In recent years, tree mortality, labour costs, demand and extreme weather events have all increased, driving utilities to find new ways to sharpen how they manage vegetation to build more resilience and reliability.

Overstory uses high-resolution satellite data and AI to help utilities pinpoint risks tree by tree, reducing outages, preventing wildfires and ensuring power remains safe, reliable and affordable.

“Innovation and technology have become the pillars of progress when it comes to wildfire prevention,” said Andy Abranches, vice president at Pacific Gas & Electric (www.pge.com). “Satellite data, AI and the vegetation-management intelligence we get from companies like Overstory are transforming how utilities think about wildfire prevention. The details are in the data, and that precision allows us to deploy our crews where wildfire risk is greatest.”

The funding follows seven years of catalytic growth, with Overstory now serving six of the ten largest utilities across the Americas. The team has grown to more than 80 people, representing 16 nationalities and spanning disciplines from machine learning and data science to arborists and wildfire experts. Guiding the company’s next phase will be its new chief operating officer, Tamara Mendelsohn. A seasoned operator and former Eventbrite CMO, Mendelsohn brings experience in scaling a company from seed stage to IPO.

“Utilities are on the front lines of keeping communities safe, and they’re eager to use the best data available,” said Fiona Spruill, CEO of Overstory. “When we talk about how satellites and remote sensing can identify dying trees and wildfire risk, they lean in. We’re grateful to our forward-thinking investors for supporting this next chapter – expanding our intelligence product to address storms and wildfires, helping utilities build a more resilient and reliable grid.”

The round was led by Blume Equity, with participation from Energy Impact Partners (EIP) and existing investors including B Capital, Semapa Next, Pale Blue Dot, CapitalT, Convective Capital, Bentley Systems, MCJ and Moxxie Ventures.

“The companies that will drive the greatest impact on our planet are those that deliver climate solutions with real economic value,” said Michelle Capiod, co-founding partner at Blume Equity (blumeequity.com). “Overstory exemplifies this, transforming satellite data into actionable insights that help utilities both prevent climate-related disasters and drive operational efficiencies. Their customer-first approach and leadership in AI has enabled them to develop cutting-edge, yet highly practical, solutions that deliver a tangible return on investment.”

Overstory has built its reputation helping utilities identify vegetation that could cause outages and sparks. The company has just launched the next evolution of its Wildfire Intelligence product, now backed by its proprietary, industry-first Fuel Detection Model. The technology helps utilities pinpoint areas across their network that contain the highest risk fuels, where a spark is most likely to ignite and spread. Unlike publicly available fire risk maps commonly used today, Overstory’s AI-backed tools recommend the exact locations and actions that will have an outsized impact on wildfire mitigation.

Overstory is an AI-powered grid resilience platform shifting how utilities protect communities from outages and wildfires. The company harnesses high-resolution satellite imagery and proprietary AI models to provide the critical intelligence needed to move utilities from reactive maintenance to a targeted, risk-based resilience strategy. By pinpointing the highest-risk vegetation and assets, Overstory empowers its partners to direct resources with precision, increase the impact of money spent, and build a safer, more reliable and more resilient grid.

Overstory (overstory.com) has its US headquarters in Boston and European headquarters in Amsterdam.