Kodama raises $7 million to bring more AI-assisted logging machines into service

Kodama has secured $7 million to put its forestry automation systems into more commercial operations, backing an approach that keeps experienced operators involved. The financing, announced October 19, 2026, was co-led by Konvoy Ventures and Breakwater Ventures. Kodama said it brings the company’s total funding to $14 million.

The company said it will use the money to expand commercial deployments, deepen partnerships with equipment manufacturers and continue developing autonomy for complex off-road environments.

Other participants include Blue Forest Asset Management, NYA Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Dangerous Ventures and M1C.

Keeping machines working when operators are scarce

Kodama’s pitch starts with a staffing problem. It says forestry contractors face rising demand for timber, forest management and wildfire-resilience work, while experienced operators are increasingly difficult to recruit and retain. Jobs require long hours at remote sites. When an operator misses a shift, an expensive machine can sit idle.

Its response combines supervised autonomy—machines handling repeatable tasks with people overseeing the work—and teleoperation, or remote control. Experienced operators manage complex work and unusual situations remotely. Kodama says that division of labor helps contractors make better use of skilled workers and keeps equipment working more consistently.

The technology is already deployed in commercial logging operations across the southeastern United States, according to Kodama. It says equipped machines moved more than 100,000 tons of timber across multiple states during the preceding six months. That figure describes work by machines using its technology, not entirely autonomous timber movement.

“It has to work in harsh environments with high uptime for crews that depend on it every day. That requires ruggedized hardware, production-grade software, safety systems, and a tight feedback loop with customers in the field,” said Merritt Jenkins, Kodama’s CEO and co-founder.

Building around the equipment contractors already own

Kodama says it has integrated its technology with forestry-equipment manufacturers and is extending support to additional equipment platforms. Its stated aim is to let contractors adopt new operating capabilities while preserving the value of the machines they already own.

Field deployments also feed development. Kodama says each deployment produces operating data and feedback spanning equipment, operators, worksites and forestry tasks. It intends to use that information to improve current performance and build the basis for more autonomous operations.