Ocell supports the forestry industry with an analysis method that combines remote sensing and artificial intelligence. In addition to Better Ventures, entrepreneur Julius Göllner, Finanzcheck COO Andreas Kupke, investor Wolfgang Seibold, as well as Manuel Thurner and Konstantin Mehl, founders of Foodora and Kaia Health, and the Initiative for Industrial Innovators also participated in the financing. In addition to the investment, the company will receive Munich startup a grant of over 500,000 euros. The capital will be used to improve products and quality, as well as to expand the communications, marketing, and sales departments.
Ocell's 'Dynamic Forest' app provides forest managers with a data basis for making management decisions and improving forestry processes. The Munich-based company digitizes customers' existing analog data sources and produces its own aerial photographs using ultralight aircraft.
“Compared to drones and satellites, the use of ultralight aircraft represents the economic, logistical and qualitative optimum,”
says the founder David DohmenOcell relies on artificial intelligence to evaluate forest areas.
"This begins with the 3D survey of the forest, continues with the location of each individual tree, including its height and health status, and ends with statistical statements about the CO2 bound, expected growth, etc. All of this happens fully automatically thanks to AI."
Compared to traditional forest inventories, the digital inventory can take only days instead of months or years.
“Ocell relieves the burden on forest managers”
Managing forests is a costly, time-consuming, and sometimes dangerous activity, the company said. Furthermore, there are fewer and fewer forest staff, and individual forest managers must manage ever larger areas.
“Forestry can only successfully meet these challenges if it operates in a modern and efficient manner,”
explains co-founder Christian Decher.
"This requires current and reliable data, as well as good software. This is precisely where Ocell relieves the burden on forest managers."
Current customers include large and medium-sized private forest operators such as Hofos-Oldershausen, Arenberg-Meppen, Centerforst, and the Fugger Forestry Administration. Ocell also plans to work with CO2 certifiers who require meaningful forest data.
