Estonian GreenTech star Arbonics has secured a new €5.5M seed round, led by NordicNinja, Plural, and Tilia Impact Ventures. In total, the company has already raised over €7.3M of funding on their mission to build a new forest economy. “With this recent funding we’re poised to make a significant impact, not just as a business but as a catalyst for meaningful change”, says Arbonics CEO Kristjan Lepik.
Founded in 2022 by Kristjan Lepik and Lisett Luik, Arbonics provides a best-in-class system that allows earning money via carbon credits. Their approach is aimed at investors in forestry projects and serves thousands of landowners seeking to quantify their land’s environmental benefits.
Recognizing the crucial role of forests in achieving the targets of the Paris Agreement, Arbonics has focused on leveraging the vast potential of nature-based solutions, particularly forests, which could contribute up to 30% of the global mitigation needed to address climate change. Worth noticing that for Estonians, forests are also special — close to half of the country is covered by greenery, also resulting in record-high air quality.
Arbonics platform
Arbonics’ platform is a sophisticated combo of technology and ecology, incorporating over 30 layers of data — from on-the-ground sensors to soil readings and satellite imagery. This allows them to accurately calculate the carbon removal potential of land across European countries. Their method involves determining the most suitable trees to maximize a land’s carbon capture potential and providing immediate insights into their carbon impact.
Since its launch in late 2022, Arbonics has collaborated with over 4,000 landowners, leading to the planting of more than 4 million trees across Europe. The company aims to expand its coverage to 50% of Europe’s forests by the end of 2024. This approach has already opened new revenue streams for landowners by analysing over 200,000 hectares of land.
Time is everything, argue investors. “While many new projects are being started on the technological carbon removal, those solutions take time. A luxury we do not have. If we take technologies and empower nature with them, in the way that Arbonics does, scalable solutions can happen already this decade,” said Taavet Hinrikus, Partner at Plural and the founder of Estonian FinTech unicorn Wise.
The recent funding is set to enable Arbonics to develop their product portfolio further to cover the entire forestry lifecycle, grow their team, and undertake more comprehensive impact assessments for biodiversity. They also plan to establish a scientific advisory board in collaboration with leading scientists. The company is also on a winner streak — just recently it has won recognition from prestigious Mastercard Lighthouse program.
All in all, say founders, Arbonics’ technology is not only a tool for afforestation in the Baltics and Finland but is also expanding to cover existing forests, responding to increasing demand from landowners both within and outside Europe.
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