We don’t normally cover startup funding rounds, but some companies are interesting and good, and worth tracking. Germany-based IoT company Dryad Networks, which RCR Wireless has covered since bumping into it at The Things Conference several years ago, has raised €3.8 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and a further €2.5 million from climate-tech investor First Imagine! to develop an autonomous drone-based system to combat wildfires. The new funds take the total raised from its April financing round to €8.9 million, it said.
The ERDF investment comes via Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB), a ‘business promotion’ bank in the state of Brandenburg in Germany. The new capital injection will help the firm to scale its solar-powered Silvanet wildfire detection system, which detects early signs of wildfires by analysing air quality and gas patterns indicative of fires, and also to develop a new drone solution, dubbed ‘Florian’, which it describes as an “AI-driven early detection with immediate suppression capabilities”.
Silvanet has been deployed in around 20 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia; the company has shipped 20,000 wildfire detection sensors to date. Silvanet uses terrestrial and satellite LoRaWAN connectivity; it seems likely the drone response system will use cellular 4G/5G.
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A statement said: “Using an autonomous drone fleet equipped with innovative fire suppression technology, such as acoustic waves, Florian is designed to extinguish wildfires before they have a chance to spread. These drones will be permanently stationed in high-risk forests, ensuring a rapid response to potential threats… As extreme wildfires continue to cause billions of euros in damage and wreak havoc on fragile ecosystems, new technologies are becoming increasingly vital for early detection and suppression.”
Carsten Brinkschulte, co-founder and chief executive at Dryad Networks, said: “We are thrilled to receive this substantial funding from ILB, which will significantly advance our ‘Florian’ project. Combining this with the new investment from First Imagine Ventures, we are well-positioned to revolutionise wildfire management. Our vision is not only to detect wildfires at their earliest stages but also to suppress them quickly, minimising damage to communities, ecosystems and infrastructure.”
Boris Dorin, Partner at First Imagine!, said: “Dryad’s groundbreaking approach to wildfire detection and suppression is exactly the type of transformative technology we seek to support. As wildfires grow in intensity and frequency due to climate change, the need for scalable, proactive solutions has never been more urgent. We are excited to partner with Dryad Networks in their mission to protect critical ecosystems and build a more resilient, sustainable future.”