Climate change and extreme weather conditions are threatening the health of forests. The technology developed by KOKO Forest provides fast, nearly real-time information about forest condition, down to the level of individual trees.
Increasing heat and drought periods are putting forests under growing stress worldwide. In North America, extensive forest damage and tree mortality were already observed in the early 2000s, and in 2022, Europe suffered its worst drought in 500 years.
KOKO Forest harnesses satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, and remote sensing to monitor forest health. Their machine vision method makes it possible to observelarge forest areas anywhere in the world and examine the condition of the trees with single-tree precision.
“Climate change and bark beetle epidemics are placing forests under increasing stress. We provide forest health analytics that deliver up-to-date and highly accurateinsights into changes in forest ecosystems,” says Samuli Junttila, co-founder and Chief Scientist at KOKO Forest, who also serves as Associate Professor of Forest Sciences at the University of Helsinki.
Currently, forest mortality data is typically collected through field measurements and limited sampling areas. KOKO Forest’s technology enables an entirely new level of scale and precision.
“Forest damage has wide ecological and economic impacts. Our goal is to improve understanding of forest health and help stakeholders strengthen the resilience of forests against climate change. This way, the diverse benefits offered by forests can be secured also in the future”, Junttila adds.
From Finnish cities to Canada’s boreal forests
KOKO Forest aims to become a global leader in satellite-based forest analytics. The company has a strong scientific and technological foundation, with core expertise in forest science, remote sensing, forest entomology, geoinformatics, and machine learning — complemented by solid business and marketing know-how. The company’s growth and international expansion are led by a strong business team and a newly appointed CEO Suvi Ahlajärvi, who joined the team in October 2025.
KOKO Forest started its operations in the spring of 2023 and achieved a positive result already in its second financial year. Through the Finnish Forest Centre’s innovation partnership program, the company has become a national supplier of forest insect damages data, which the Forest Centre distributes to private forest owners. KOKO Forest also collaborates widely with cities across Finland.
“Cities want to keep their recreational forest areas healthy. Identifying dead trees is essential both for public safety and for preventing the spread of harmful insects. Our key customer groups also include forest and insurance companies, for whom forest damages pose significant financial and liability risks”, Junttila explains.
The company is currently participating in an EU Horizon research project, where its technology is used to assess forest health in Sweden, Finland, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland.
KOKO Forest’s goal is to expand to international markets during 2026.
“The northern boreal forest zone is a natural operating environment for us, which makes Canada a particularly attractive market. The region has vast forest resources and a multiple number of potential customers compared to Finland,” says Aki Snellman, KOKO Forest’s Business Director.
From Aalto Startup Center to the international space innovation network
KOKO Forest is part of the European Space Agency’s ESA BIC Finland accelerator program, which supports startups utilizing space technology and satellite data. The program, coordinated by Aalto Startup Center, has enabled KOKO Forest to join both Aalto Startup Center’s startup ecosystem and the international ESA BIC network.
“We’ve received versatile support and mentoring from Aalto Startup Center, especially in business development and marketing. It has also been valuable to exchange ideas with other startup entrepreneurs”, says Snellman.
The ESA BIC Finland program has given KOKO Forest access to ESA’s satellite images and other satellite data resources. In addition, the program offers the opportunity to apply for funding directly from ESA.
“The program lasts one year, during which we follow a detailed project plan. Once the program concludes in December, we will become an ESA BIC alumni company and join the continuum of Finnish space technology startups, following in the footsteps of Iceyeand Kuva Space,” Snellman adds.
More information:
Samuli Junttila
samuli.junttila@kokoforest.com
+358 40 715 3477
www.kokoforest.com
Aki Snellman
aki.snellman@kokoforest.com
+358 400 22 88 39
www.kokoforest.com
- Original article from Aalto Startup Center: https://startupcenter.aalto.fi/meet-our-startup-koko-forest-has-eyes-on-the-worlds-forests
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