Wildfire restoration startup DroneSeed changes name, acquires California’s largest tree seed supplier

DroneSeed, a Seattle startup using technology to help restore forests scorched by wildfire, announced Tuesday that it is changing its name to Mast Reforestation and has acquired two seed companies.

The company is taking over Cal Forest Nurseries, a major supplier of tree seed and seedlings for California, as well as seed supplier and processor Siskiyou Seed. Mast is now the biggest seed supplier in the western U.S. and claims to be the country’s only vertically integrated forestry company.

DroneSeed launched in 2016. Its services deploy custom-built drones measuring 8 feet in diameter that can carry 55 pounds of tree seeds, which is enough to reseed about one-quarter of the playing surface of a football field. The company has dispersed seeds across thousands of acres since 2019.

In 2021, the startup purchased Silvaseed, a 130-year-old Western Washington company that’s the largest private seed supplier west of Colorado. Siskiyou Seed, an Oregon-based business, complements the services provided by Silvaseed, according to Mast.

The company has raised $43.37 million in investments, according to PitchBook.

“The addition of Cal Forest will help us further carry out our mission of making reforestation scalable,” said Grant Canary, Mast founder and CEO, in a statement.