“We raised $3.75 million and what that allows us to do is really continue to expand our operations.”
Woodchuck CEO Todd Thomas expanded the company from Detroit, opening its Grand Rapids headquarters in January. The company uses artificial intelligence to identify and separate useable wood from mixed construction debris, then transforms it into biomass, which can be burned for clean energy.
Now, with this new seed funding from investors like NorthStar Clean Energy and Beckett Industries, Woodchuck will be able to expand its operations outside Grand Rapids to other manufacturers and construction companies in west and southwest Michigan.
“We’ve also been really active in the ice storm recovery response up north, and so this will help us continue to support those operations as well.”
Most importantly, Thomas says, this funding will allow Woodchuck to improve its AI platform.
“The Grand Rapids facility is not just a full-scale biomass processing facility, but it’s really also our AI innovation lab, so we are developing and maturing our AI at full-scale.”
Thomas says this allows prospective clients to visit Woodchuck’s Grand Rapid’s facility to see its AI platform producing hundreds of tons of biomass in a day.
