San Francisco, California, USA and Tel Aviv, Israel
June 22, 2015
CropX, provider of the world’s most advanced adaptive irrigation service, today announced it has completed the first close of its $9 million Series A financing. Led by Finistere Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, and GreenSoil Investments, each investor in the Series A round is dedicated to agriculture technology innovations. OurCrowd also participated in the round given its previous investment in the company.
“Before CropX, there was no cost-effective way to control our irrigation infrastructure,” noted Mike Mills, a Missouri farmer and CropX customer. “We are now able to accurately and easily manage our irrigation and make real-time adjustments – all from a smartphone and across multiple farms and fields. CropX’s solution allows us to lower our water and energy usage.”
With drought conditions accelerating around the globe, water management has become one of the most critical issues facing the farming sector. Driving a new era in AgAnalytics, CropX uses advances in the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data to transform traditional farming techniques. The investment will be used to aggressively expand the CropX team and scale the company to meet the increasing need among farmers for low-cost and simplified, remote control of their irrigation. It will also fund new product development including controls in nutrition, plant protection, and planting and harvesting prediction.
“As a pioneer in the AgTech sector, we are always looking for promising technologies with the potential to make a meaningful difference to farmers’ profitability and sustainability,” said Arama Kukutai, co-founder and partner, Finistere Ventures. “CropX is the first retail-priced solution allowing farmers to control irrigation to minimize water use, save on farm energy, augment yield, and control fertilizer runoff, thereby improving environmental compliance.”
The CropX system automatically analyzes the exact water needs of different parts of each field based on topography, soil structure, and current moisture. Farmers simply download the mobile app and place three wireless sensors in the ground. These sensors continuously send soil readings to the cloud, where the patent-pending CropX software determines how to effectively irrigate different parts of the field based on pattern-recognition analysis and revolutionary algorithms. Farmers can self-install the system without expensive infrastructure or significant consulting input during the installation process.
“CropX is our first AgTech investment since the launch of the Farm2050 collective, which has grown significantly since its inception in late 2014,” stated Innovation Endeavors Managing Partner Dror Berman. “CropX is a leader in the digital agriculture space, helping farmers globally overcome rising irrigation challenges. We are excited to support such a fantastic team that is building the future ag tools.”
CropX’s product was developed by a team of world-leading scientists and technology experts in Israel, a global leader in water conservation technology, and New Zealand, and was validated on-farm over the past five years.
“The world is running out of water, and, therefore, food. The U.S. drought is a growing problem that we must tackle head on. The farming industry is struggling to manage rising energy costs and restricted water supplies, while trying to decrease water waste and increase crop yields,” said CropX CEO Isaac Bentwich. “Our simple software service helps farmers easily grow more with less – and eliminates unnecessary water usage.”
Watch the CropX story and learn how the company plans to solve the water crisis.
About CropX
CropX, the world’s most advanced adaptive irrigation software service, delivers dramatic crop yield increase and water and energy cost savings, while conserving the environment. Optimizing irrigation to help farmers around the globe, CropX generates daily, accurate, hassle-free irrigation maps and automatically applies the right amount of water to different parts of the same field. CropX is led by a team of top scientists, technologists, and entrepreneurs with a track record of identifying and commercializing disruptive technologies. Learn more at www.cropx.com.
About Finistere Ventures
Finistere Ventures, is a leading California-based agricultural technology and life sciences venture capital investor, with offices in Palo Alto and San Diego. Their team has developed and invested in some of the most successful Ag Tech companies of the last 20 years. Visit FinistereVentures.com.
About Innovation Endeavors
Innovation Endeavors is an early-stage venture capital fund that believes in thesis-driven investing, building networks to create value (e.g., Farm2050), and supporting entrepreneurs through its dedicated Value Creation Team. It has offices in the two most entrepreneurial communities in the world (Silicon Valley & Israel) and enjoys the support of an industry luminary, Eric Schmidt. Please visit www.innovationendeavors.com to learn more.
About GreenSoil Investments
With offices in Raanana (Israel), Toronto (Canada), and Amsterdam (the Netherlands), GreenSoil (www.greensoil-investments.com) is an investment company, founded by Alan Greenberg and Gideon Soesman, with a portfolio of funds focused on investing in companies that create value by enabling smart and efficient resource utilization in the agriculture, food, and real estate sectors. CropX is GreenSoil’s 6th investment in agro & food technologies in Israel.
About OurCrowd
OurCrowd is the world’s leading equity crowdfunding platform for accredited investors to invest in Israeli and global companies. Managed by a team of seasoned investment professionals and led by serial entrepreneur Jon Medved, OurCrowd vets and selects opportunities, invests its own capital, and brings startups to its accredited membership. Visit us online at: www.ourcrowd.com.
Topics
Species
