DeepForest Technologies

What DeepForest Technologies does

DeepForest Technologies Co., Ltd. is a Kyoto University spin-off founded in March 2022 and headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, that develops AI-powered software for analyzing forest conditions from drone-captured imagery and LiDAR data. The company's core product suite comprises DF Scanner (deep-learning-based tree species identification, crown segmentation, dead tree detection, and estimation of height, DBH, timber volume, CO2 stock, and biodiversity metrics across approximately 60 Japanese coniferous and broadleaf species), DF LAT (drone LiDAR point cloud processing producing DTM/DSM/CHM at 5cm resolution), DF BIRD (SfM photogrammetry for orthoimage and DSM generation based on OpenDroneMap), and DF Walker (free iOS/Android field survey app integrating with the desktop tools). The technology was co-developed with Kyoto University researchers and reportedly achieves over 90% detection accuracy in coniferous forest crown segmentation, with reported customer outcomes including approximately 80% reduction in forest survey time compared to manual methods.

Name

DeepForest Technologies

Legal name

DeepForest Technologies株式会社 (DeepForest Technologies Co., Ltd.)

Website

https://deepforest-tech.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DeepForest Technologies is a Kyoto-based Kyoto University spin-off that develops AI-powered drone-imagery and LiDAR software (DF Scanner, DF LAT, DF BIRD) for Japanese forestry businesses, railway operators, government agencies, and carbon credit developers to perform tree species identification, forest inventory, and J-Credit monitoring.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Forestry Geospatial Software

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370)

SIC

Forestry (800), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Forest Inventory, Mapping & Monitoring (GIS/Remote Sensing/MRV) (IMAMAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Remote Sensing & Geospatial Vision (satellite/drone imagery) (HDAAAEAL), Drone/UAV Data Capture & Processing Software (AFAAAFAH), Remote Sensing & Geospatial MRV (Satellite, Aerial, LiDAR, SAR) (EUABACAF), Aerial & Ground Patrols for Vegetation Encroachment (LiDAR, UAV/Drone, Helicopter) (EUADAOAF), Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing) (EUAHAKAD)

Keywords

• Drone forest analysis
• Forest inventory software
• Tree species identification
• LiDAR point cloud processing
• Carbon credit monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Kyoto-shi

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses (Subscription & Perpetual): DeepForest Technologies develops and sells forest analysis software (DF Scanner, DF LAT, DF BIRD) under both subscription (annual/monthly) and perpetual license models. Software is sold as Pro and Lite versions with tiered pricing for General Users, Forestry Businesses, and Educational/Research Institutions.
2. Software Licenses - Perpetual/One-time: Perpetual (恒久版) licenses are available for DF Scanner Lite and DF LAT Lite, offering one-time purchase with optional annual maintenance fees. Provides long-term revenue through maintenance renewals.
3. Forest Consulting Services: Forest DX services including drone flight and field surveys for detailed analysis of tree species, vegetation conditions, tree counts, and timber volume estimation. Revenue from service provision alongside software sales.
4. Carbon Credit Consulting and Monitoring: J-Credit creation support including project registration, monitoring, and inspection services. Support for voluntary credit creation. Revenue through consulting fees and service contracts for credit project registration and ongoing monitoring/patrol services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

DeepForest Technologies develops and sells AI-powered software (DF Scanner, DF LAT, DF BIRD, DF Walker) that analyzes drone-acquired imagery and LiDAR data to identify tree species, segment tree crowns, estimate DBH/stem volume/CO2 stock, and detect dead/hazard trees. The company also provides drone-based Forest DX field survey services and J-Credit (carbon credit) creation/monitoring services to forestry businesses, municipalities, railway operators and carbon credit developers in Japan.

Product overview

DeepForest Technologies offers a modular portfolio of drone-based forest analysis products and services. The core software suite comprises DF Scanner (AI-powered forest analysis from drone imagery), DF LAT (LiDAR point cloud processing for terrain and canopy models), and DF BIRD (photogrammetry-based orthoimage and DSM generation from drone photos). DF Walker is a complementary free mobile app for field surveys that integrates with the desktop software. These products are offered alongside managed services including J-Credit creation support, drone-based forest surveying, and a national measurement platform (JDFP). The portfolio spans from raw data acquisition (drone hardware) through photogrammetric processing (DF BIRD), LiDAR processing (DF LAT), AI analysis (DF Scanner), field verification (DF Walker), and carbon credit services — forming an end-to-end forest management solution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DF Scanner: Desktop application for forest information analysis from drone-acquired data. Uses deep learning for tree species identification, crown segmentation, DBH estimation, timber volume and CO2 stock estimation.
• DF LAT
• DF BIRD
• DF Walker
• J-クレジット シミュレーションツール
• 日本ドローン森林計測プラットフォーム

Products and services

• DF Scanner Desktop application that performs AI-based forest information analysis (tree species identification, crown segmentation, dead tree detection, tree height/DBH/stem volume/CO2 stock estimation) from drone-acquired imagery using deep learning. Sold to forestry businesses, drone measurement companies, railway operators, municipalities, and researchers.
• DF LAT (DeepForest LiDAR Analysis Tool) Desktop application that processes drone-mounted LiDAR point cloud data (LAS v1.2+) to generate Digital Terrain Model (DTM), Digital Surface Model (DSM), and Canopy Height Model (CHM) at 5cm resolution with automatic ground/vegetation detection. Sold to forestry businesses, surveyors, and researchers needing high-resolution forest topography.
• DF BIRD (Building Images for Reconstructing Digital-twins) Windows desktop SfM (Structure from Motion) application that generates orthoimages and Digital Surface Models (DSM) from multiple drone photos using an OpenDroneMap engine customized for forestry environments; bundled free with DF Scanner licenses. Sold to drone measurement companies and forestry users needing drone-based photogrammetry inputs.
• DF Walker (iOS) Mobile/tablet GIS application for iOS that displays orthoimages and GeoJSON files on a map with GPS tracking, supports polygon/point/line drawing for field data collection, and integrates with DF Scanner for combined drone-based and ground-truth forest analysis; offered free.
• DF Walker (Android) Mobile/tablet GIS application for Android that displays orthoimages and GeoJSON layers on maps with GPS tracking, enables polygon/point/line drawing for field survey data collection, and integrates with DF Scanner analysis results; works offline and offered free.
• J-Credit Creation Support Service Consulting service supporting J-Credit (Japan carbon credit) project registration, ongoing monitoring, patrol/inspection, and voluntary credit creation for forest-derived carbon credits, using DeepForest's drone-based forest analysis capabilities. Sold to forest owners, project developers and partners such as Green Carbon and Marubeni.
• Forest DX Services Drone flight operations and field survey service delivering detailed forest tree species identification, vegetation analysis, tree counts and timber volume estimation for forestry businesses, government, and drone measurement companies that lack in-house drone/AI capability.
• Forest J-Credit Simulation Tool Web-based service allowing users to simulate J-Credit creation volumes from forest land, offering rough area-based and detailed species/management-plan-based carbon absorption estimation for forest owners considering credit projects.
• Japan Drone Forest Measurement Platform (JDFP) National web platform connecting forestry operators with drone forest measurement and analysis service providers across Japan, enabling search for local measurement companies and distributing seminar information on drone forest survey methods.

Quantifiable outcome

• Forest survey time reduced by approximately 80% compared to traditional manual survey methods (per Noshiro Transport case study: traditional survey required 2 people half-day for boundary survey + 3 people 5-6 days for tree-by-tree survey + 1 person half-day for valuation = ~18 person-days; drone + DF Scanner completed in 2 days total)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability8 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, standard, major and core.

• カセサート大学 (Kasetsart University, Thailand)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 May 2026MoU for cooperation in forest analysis and forest management. Kasetsart University is a major agricultural/forestry university in Thailand. Partnership to support forest analysis technology adoption in Southeast Asia.
• 晃洋設計測量株式会社 (Koyo Sekkei Co., Ltd.)standardChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 9 February 2026Sales agent for DeepForest software. Surveying company with forestry group company. Provides drone-based mountain surveying and forest analysis consulting from implementation to operational support.
• 株式会社竹谷商事 (Taketani Shoji Co., Ltd.)standardChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 26 November 2025Sales agent for DeepForest software. General trading company with 50+ years in forestry field materials. Provides drone introduction consulting and measurement/forest analysis contract services.
• 三重森林管理署 (Mie Forest Management Office)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2025MoU for joint research on AI analysis technology to improve accuracy of forest survey data. Part of Kanto-Chugoku Forest Management Bureau.
• 株式会社セキド (Sekido Co., Ltd.)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 16 June 2025Authorized sales agent for forest DX software. DJI-authorized dealer with over 45,000 corporate and government clients. Provides drone introduction consulting and forest measurement/analysis services nationwide. Synergy between DJI drone products and DeepForest software for forest management.
• 株式会社日立システムズ (Hitachi Systems, Ltd.)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 17 March 2025Specialty dealer (特約店) agreement for forest DX business. Provides comprehensive forest survey DX services to enterprise and government customers. Conducted proof-of-concept experiments in Onagawa, Miyagi and Ashibetsu, Hokkaido. Provides full support from consulting to operational implementation.
• 株式会社NTTデータ (NTT DATA Corporation)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 June 2024DeepForest software DF Scanner was used in joint research by NTT DATA and Tokyo Metropolitan Agriculture and Forestry Research Center (東京都農林総合研究センター) on Sugi growth evaluation using drones and AI.
• 石巻地区森林組合 (Ishinomaki District Forestry Cooperative)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2024Cooperated in proof-of-concept experiment by Hitachi Systems for drone x AI forest survey DX in Onagawa town forest, Miyagi Prefecture.
• 丸紅株式会社 (Marubeni Corporation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2023Three-party partnership with Nakagawa for J-Credit creation in Wakayama Prefecture. Marubeni supports J-Credit creation and certification in Japan, and handles credit sales. Joint project in Tanabe City, Wakayama to measure replanted forests via drone and create/sell J-Credits to generate revenue for forest owners.
• 株式会社中川 (Nakagawa Corporation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2023Forestry venture in Tanabe City, Wakayama with 'non-logging forestry' concept. Provides forest management, forest management planning, and operations. Partners with Marubeni and DeepForest for J-Credit creation in replanted forests.
• 株式会社スカイマティクス (SkyMatics Co., Ltd.)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 15 December 2023Sales partner agreement for drone x forest survey between domestic service vendors. Provides combined solutions for forest survey services.
• 株式会社イメージワン (Image One Co., Ltd.)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 26 October 2023Sales agent combining DeepForest products (DF Scanner, DF LAT) with Pix4D products for forest DX. Tokyo Stock Exchange listed company providing healthcare, environmental, and surveying solutions.
• Green Carbon株式会社 (Green Carbon Co., Ltd.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 October 2023Business alliance for forest credit creation and forestry revitalization. Green Carbon provides carbon credit creation, registration, and sales expertise. DeepForest provides drone-based forest measurement and AI analysis. Target of approximately 7,000 ha and 30,000 t CO2 credit creation by FY2024. Joint credit creation projects in Wakayama Prefecture and nationwide.
• NTT東日本 (NTT East Japan)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 October 2023Partner in Tokorozawa City 'Narakare' (oak wilt) detection project. Provides problem identification, optimal solution proposal, and coordination between DeepForest and municipal needs.
• 所沢市 (Tokorozawa City)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 October 2023Joint proof-of-concept for dead tree detection using drone and AI. First domestic case using commercially available drones and general-purpose software for individual tree-level dead tree detection. City provides forest management and real data.
• 京都大学 小野田雄介教授 (Professor Yusuke Onoda, Kyoto University)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 October 2023Co-developed LiDAR processing technology for DF LAT with Prof. Onoda and Dr. Md Farhadur Rahman from Kyoto University. Technology transfer from university research to commercial product.
• Md Farhadur Rahman博士 (Dr. Md Farhadur Rahman)coreTechnology or Integration · 2 October 2023Co-researcher with Prof. Onoda on drone LiDAR forest analysis technology that became the basis for DF LAT.
• 株式会社カーボンリサーチ (Carbon Research Co., Ltd.)standardChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSales agent for DeepForest software. Carbon credit specialist. User of DF Scanner for its own operations, providing complete service from drone flight to analysis.
• 林野庁 関東森林管理局 森林技術・支援センター (Forestry Agency Kanto-Chugoku Forest Management Bureau, Forest Technology Center)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint drone flight demonstration and forest analysis workshop at Kasumi-shi experimental forest in Ibaraki Prefecture. Technology collaboration for forestry agency adoption.
• 東京都 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTokyo Co-inNovators program partner. DeepForest selected for concept verification support in forestry DX for Tokyo's forest management challenges, coordinated with Hitachi Systems.
• 京都大学 (Kyoto University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpin-off origin. Technology was originally developed at Kyoto University. DeepForest continues research collaboration with university researchers. Kyoto University also featured DeepForest's research results in press releases.
• JICA (国際協力機構)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJICA 2024 SME/SDGs Business Support Program for needs confirmation survey of drone-based forest analysis AI software in Thailand. Supports overseas expansion to developing countries.
• Plug and Play JapanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKyoto City/Plug and Play partner for the Kyoto Startup Overseas Expansion Support Project, facilitating participation in ForestTECH 2025 in Australia.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pix4D: Industry-standard drone photogrammetry platform that generates orthoimages and 3D models from drone photos. Pix4D is explicitly integrated into DeepForest's workflow (Image One distributes both) and is the natural substitute at the photogrammetry stage of the forest pipeline.
• Overstory: Vegetation-intelligence company using satellite + AI for utility vegetation management and wildfire risk. Closely comparable to DeepForest's railway dead-tree detection use case at JR West and Kobe Electric Railway, with overlapping target buyers (infrastructure operators adjacent to forests).
• DroneDeploy: Cloud-native drone data platform with mapping, analytics, and AI add-ons for agriculture, construction, and forestry. Competes head-on with DF Scanner + DF BIRD as an end-to-end drone-to-analysis stack sold via drone channels.

Regional players

• Green Carbon Co., Ltd. Japanese carbon-credit creation and forestry-revitalization company that is both a DeepForest partner and a service-area peer for J-Credit project registration and forest monitoring against the same Japanese forestry customer base.
• Taketani Shoji Co., Ltd. Japanese general trading company with 50+ years in forestry field materials; authorized sales agent for DF Scanner. Sells hardware, consults on drone adoption, and runs measurement/analysis contracts — overlapping with DeepForest's Forest DX services line.
• Koyo Sekkei Co., Ltd. Japanese surveying company with an affiliated forestry group; a DeepForest sales agent that also offers drone-based mountain surveying and forest analysis consulting — i.e., it is both distribution partner and a like-for-like service competitor for Japanese forestry drone-survey work.

Others

• DJI: World's largest commercial drone manufacturer, central to DeepForest's go-to-market via Sekido (DJI-authorized dealer) and DJI drone compatibility. Not a direct software competitor but the ecosystem anchor; its moves into built-in AI analytics could pressure independent forest-AI software like DF Scanner.

Emerging players

• Sylvera: Carbon-credit ratings and MRV analytics company for nature-based and avoidance credits. Comparable to the credit-validation and quality-assurance layer that J-Credit consulting + DF Scanner monitoring supports in the broader carbon-credit value chain.
• Picterra: Geospatial AI platform for object detection on aerial and satellite imagery, including forestry and environmental monitoring applications. Comparable at the AI-layer of the stack (training custom models on imagery) that DeepForest exposes via Site Tuning Classification / My Species Identification.

Broad incumbents

• Trimble Geospatial: Large incumbent in surveying, mapping, and geospatial software with established forestry and vegetation-management customers. A broader portfolio player, but overlaps with DF LAT-class LiDAR processing and surveying workflows relied on by Japanese forestry and electric utility buyers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DeepForestTech
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZ6nLkBwtoqw3hnzHg5wjeg
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php?id=61576284721761

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DeepForest Technologies