The $8B utility blind spot: From helicopters to AI | Overstory

AI is quietly replacing helicopters and guesswork in how utilities manage trees and wildfire risk. This CEO explains how satellite data + machine learning turns an $8B problem into a precision operation.Fiona Spruill is CEO of Overstory, a climate tech company using satellite data and AI to prevent power outages and wildfires. She previously held leadership roles at The New York Times and Meetup.Overstory is a vegetation intelligence platform focused exclusively on electric utilities, helping them analyze every tree and ground fuel risk across their grid to prioritize action and reduce outages and fires. They’ve raised $68M to scale the venture so far.We talked about:Why vegetation management is an $8B/year blind spot - Utilities overspend with low precision and rising climate riskHow AI actually works here - Mapping every tree’s height, health, and proximity to power lines from satellite imageryThe real product isn’t data - Turning insights into prioritized actions for crews in the fieldFocus as a strategy - Killing multiple industries to go all-in on utilities as the only customerClimate adaptation vs mitigation - Why grid resilience and wildfire prevention are underinvested but critical--Work with mePrivate CEO group for VC/PE-backed climate tech founders navigating capital, strategy, and scale. Capped at 45 CEOs. → entrepreneursforimpact.comNewsletter2 insights, 2 minutes. Climate tech finance, strategy, leadership. → entrepreneursforimpact.substack.comLeave a reviewIf you got value, take 30 seconds and do the community a favor. It helps push more capital and talent toward scalable climate solutions.