New capital lends momentum to Ecotype's forest innovation
SLU alumni Axel Ljudén and Albin Nyström will be receiving SEK 8 million for their startup Ecotype. Ecotype creates new solutions for forestry using various types of data and advanced algorithms. The aim is to make forestry easier, more efficient and more user-friendly for forest owners.
The SaaS-based platform, which has been named skogshubben.se, can help over 300,000 Swedish forest owners gain an overview, monitor, analyse, plan and make long-term sustainable decisions about their forests on their own terms.
The platform offers users automatically collected and processed information on their forest properties based on open data sources and satellite data, presented using a modern, user-friendly interface. The platform is initially focusing on Sweden's forest owners, but it may also be an important tool for other players in the field of forestry, both in Sweden and abroad.
Current forestry plans are static and expensive, and lack information on risks. They only apply for 10 years, which is a short time horizon in the field of forestry. As soon as an action is implemented, the forestry plan basically becomes out of date. The forest hub is dynamic and provides forest owners with a tool for active forestry work, helping them understand their forest. By providing a detailed description of the forest property as a whole, as well as a description of each stand (e.g. estimated age, timber volume, range, risks, finance, felling class and CO2 storage), the forest owner gains a good idea of what the forest is like and how it is developing, whilst simple planning functions create the conditions for planning in line with the needs of each individual forest. The platform continuously monitors risks such as bark beetles, storm damage and fires.
“Forest owners lack an easily accessible, comprehensive solution that brings together data sources and provides tools for work on finance, planning, risks and carbon storage. Traditional forestry plans quickly become out of date following measures, and this entails costs. We’re working hard on giving forest owners an up-to-date view of their property that can be actively used. With this capital we can continue to further develop our services and make it easier for forest owners to understand and use valuable data,” says Axel Ljudén, CEO and co-founder of Ecotype AB.
December 2021 saw the termination of the investment round of over SEK 8 million, led by LRF Ventures and VEQ.
“Forestry is one of Sweden's biggest industries, but its digitalisation is lagging far behind that in many other industries, and forest owners often lack good tools for their forestry. When we encountered Ecotype, with its comprehensive forestry-data platform, we were really impressed by the service the team has succeeded in creating with limited resources,” said Viktor Gällström, partner at VEQ.
“Ecotype has the potential to play a crucial role in the digitisation of Swedish forestry and the generation of major benefit for LRF’s members. We’re proud to be forming a team with these driven entrepreneurs, and look forward to being a partner in the future development of the company,” says Martin Alexandersson, investment manager at LRF Ventures.
For more information:
Axel Ljudén
CEO/co-founder of Ecotype AB
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
+46 72 251 42 99
