• Saturas

  Participated · Equity · Feb 2016

  Saturas develops an advanced decision-support system for precision irrigation that leverages a miniature stem-water potential (SWP) sensor. The company is focused on continued development of its precision irrigation management system and plans to use the new funds to support that work. Saturas closed a first tranche of $3M in funding. Investors in this tranche include Gefen Capital and Hubei Forbon Technology Co. Ltd., with the Trendlines Agrifood Fund joining as a new investor. The company was founded in 2013 inside the Trendlines Group’s Agrifood incubator. Saturas is based in Misgav, Israel. Saturas develops an Advanced Decision Support System (ADSS) for automatic irrigation that uses a miniature SWP sensor embedded in trunks to deliver real-time, continuous data for optimized irrigation. The company’s sensors receive direct input from trees, vines, and plants to inform irrigation decisions. Saturas has completed field trials in citrus, apple, and almond orchards in Spain and Israel in cooperation with NaanDanJain Iberica S.L.U. and Netafim Ltd. It is completing a modified sensor suitable for vineyards, which has been tested in a vineyard in Israel’s Upper Galilee. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Anat Halgoa Solomon and is based in Misgav, Israel. Saturas raised $4M to finish technological development and to prepare for industrial production and market penetration, with a focus on California and Spain. Saturas builds a precision irrigation sensing system composed of miniature implanted sensors and wireless transponders that measure Stem Water Potential (SWP), a highly regarded metric for plant water status. Its sensors are embedded in tree trunks to provide direct contact with plant water tissues, aiming to avoid inaccuracies from soil- or leaf-mounted devices. The company achieved a prototype and proof of concept and has targeted bringing its first product to market in 2018. Saturas says its technology can increase revenues by up to 20% while reducing water use by 10–20%, and estimates the market for irrigated orchards, vineyards and cotton at over $1 billion annually. The startup completed a $1 million seed funding round and plans to use the capital to finish sensor development, run full-scale beta tests worldwide, optimize the prototype across crops, and begin market penetration. Saturas was initially founded with investment from The Trendlines Group in 2013 and is based in Israel.

No current team members are available.