Geospatial company GSI sets sights on stratospheric growth after landing seven-figure investment

Edinburgh-based geospatial company Global Surface Intelligence (GSI) is to boost its ranks and scale further on the back of a Spanish-headquartered firm investing a seven-figure sum and taking a minority stake.

Seville-based Alter Technology TUV Nord Group (TUVN), which says it specialises in manufacturing aviation and aerospace components, will take a seat on the board and also have a board observer at GSI, in which both Edinburgh-based venture capital firm Par Equity and Scottish Enterprise will remain as investors.

GSI explains that it provides commercial forestry data and analytics, using satellite imagery plus other data sources to deliver accurate and wide-scale forest inventories, to support clients’ critical investment decisions, with its principal market the US, where it has won contracts with major timber-management and forestry-asset owners.

The investment will be directed at business-development, sales and marketing, to build on its current US reputation and footprint, and new Stateside hires will join by the first quarter of 2023 while the core team in the UK will also grow, and GSI will look to leverage its market knowledge of forest carbon into the European market.

Matt Tryburski, GSI’s US-based founder, will re-join the firm as chief technology officer on a full-time basis within weeks, and its chief executive Peter Young said: “This investment is a major step forward for GSI and will drive the scale up we have planned for some time. It is a significant statement from TUV Nord to invest in a geospatial company of our size. I’m also excited to partner with them over the next few years to explore the application and potential of earth observation in their own businesses.”