Participated · Equity · Nov 2024

EarthOptics leverages advances in soil-sensing technologies, genomics, and data science to deliver predictive insights into chemical, physical, and biological soil properties. It combines lab-based analysis with field-based sensors to give farmers and ranchers actionable recommendations to optimize spending and unlock sustainable farming opportunities. The company completed a strategic merger with Pattern Ag, combining EarthOptics’ proprietary field-based sensing technologies with Pattern Ag’s lab-based analysis to offer comprehensive soil data. Led by CEO Lars Dyrud, EarthOptics operates offices in Raleigh, North Carolina; Emeryville, California; Arlington and Blacksburg, Virginia; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Fayetteville, Arkansas, and maintains two laboratories in Emeryville and Memphis, Tennessee. The company intends to use new funding to accelerate technological innovation, broaden its geographic reach, and consolidate its position as an authoritative source for soil insights. EarthOptics develops next-generation soil-sensing technologies that combine ground-based sensors, satellites, physical soil samples, machine learning models, and agronomic expertise to deliver detailed soil measurements. The company's platform provides insights to help farmers optimize fertilizer applications, inform tillage decisions, and quantify carbon sequestration. EarthOptics plans to use its latest funding to expand access to its tools and deliver hyper-accurate soil insights. Founded in 2018 and based in Arlington, VA, the company serves growers and ranchers seeking data-driven land-management decisions. The company is led by CEO Lars Dyrud. The article reports a recent financing that will support its growth and product expansion efforts. EarthOptics has developed an imaging suite that uses ground-penetrating radar and electromagnetic induction to produce deep maps of soil physical and chemical composition. Its commercial products, GroundOwl and C-Mapper (C for carbon), reconcile no-contact sensor data with traditional lab samples via machine learning trained on tens of thousands of ground-truth measurements. The hardware can be mounted on ordinary tractors or trucks and pulls readings every few feet, reducing physical sampling from hundreds of samples to dozens. The company’s outputs can be used to create meter-scale treatment maps or to feed variable-depth robotic field machinery such as smart tillers. Management positions the product as a cheaper, faster, and more precise alternative to traditional soil sampling and as foundational data for automated and robotic farming. Financially, EarthOptics raised a $10.3M A round to scale its two existing products and to develop a moisture-mapping product.

Participated · Series A · Nov 2024

Klim offers a software platform that gives farmers tools and data to restore soil health, boost biodiversity, capture carbon and reduce emissions while planning and executing regenerative practices. The platform tracks farmers' progress and enables them to prove outcomes to supply-chain partners, unlocking revenue payouts for sequestered carbon. Klim takes a commission on the sale of carbon “insets” and operates a marketplace where farmers can sell those ecosystem services to food companies. The company reports 3,500 farmers on the platform, covering 700,000 hectares—about 5% of German farmland—and counts Nestlé, Kaufland and Aryzta among clients. Founded in 2020 in Berlin, Klim says it will use the new funding to expand internationally outside Germany. This round also positions Klim among the largest agri-tech financings in Europe this year. Klim operates a digital platform and app that supports farmers in adopting regenerative methods by helping them set goals, choose techniques (e.g., cover crops) and document progress with photos, satellite data and site visits. Launched in an early pilot in May last year, the product lets farmers earn payouts for sequestered carbon and other environmental interventions while Klim takes a commission via an ecosystem‑services marketplace. The company also offers consumer-facing tools such as a Klim label and QR codes to surface regenerative practices and is exploring offering loans to farmers in partnership with agricultural banks. Klim says it is for‑profit and will monetize by taking a cut of sales of carbon insets and related ecosystem services. The platform has around 1,700 farmers signed up, and the startup plans to use new funding to accelerate product development and international expansion. Klim was founded in August 2020 and is focused on scaling uptake of regenerative farming methods to reduce agricultural emissions and improve soil health.

Participated · Series C · Oct 2024

Agrolend operates a lending platform that provides credit at the point of sale for agricultural inputs (seeds, crop protection, crop nutrition) using CPR-F contracts signed via farmers’ WhatsApp. The company leverages a distribution network of more than 150 partners—retailers, industries, and cooperatives—and operates in over 15 Brazilian states across crops including soybeans, corn, coffee, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables and livestock. Agrolend finances loans through issuance of time deposits targeted to agribusiness (LCAs) distributed on major investment platforms. The company has nearly $100M in total funding and reports a capital base of approximately $100M following the latest round. Management says the capital increase will let Agrolend expand credit offerings to industries, retailers and cooperatives without raising its leverage ratio, continuing a history of low‑risk growth. Its stated goal is to grow the credit portfolio to $600M and serve about 10,000 small and medium‑sized farmers. Agrolend is a São Paulo-based financial institution that provides credit to small and medium-sized farmers in Brazil through a digital platform. Led by CEO Andre Glezer, the company originates and formalizes loans in a digital environment via smartphone, partnering with input and equipment distributors, industries and agtechs to finance technology. It operates in more than ten Brazilian states across crops and sectors including soybeans, corn, coffee, sugar cane, fruits, livestock and dairy cattle. Agrolend is targeting expansion to serve up to 10,000 small-to-medium sized farmers and increase its loan book to R$2 billion for the 2023/24 crop season. The company expected its loan book to reach R$250 million by the end of 2022 and will increase equity to R$220 million after the Series B. The business combines digital origination with partnerships and capital markets solutions to scale agricultural credit across Brazil. Agrolend offers a 100% digital credit product for small and medium agricultural producers, with a fast, low-friction underwriting process that completes in under five days and typically does not require physical collateral. The company uses advanced technology to enable an innovative credit model focused on financing diverse agricultural productions and investments in equipment and new technologies. Agrolend emphasizes ESG and social impact by targeting underserved producers across more than 10 Brazilian states and roughly 100 municipalities. Founded in December 2020, the startup says it is currently doubling in size every month. The recent capital will support growth of the credit portfolio, expansion of the team, and improvements to the platform and credit model. Management aims to scale the loan book to R$1 billion and reach 5,000 customers within two years. Agrolend offers an online loan origination platform for small and medium-scale farmers, using advanced technology and innovative credit analysis to underwrite loans without physical collateral. The company partners with traditional agricultural inputs players and supply-chain participants to originate loans and reach growers. Loans range from 50,000 to 300,000 Brazilian reals, run for up to one year, and are repaid after harvest; some loans can be issued as soon as 24 hours after request. Agrolend says it offers lower interest rates than traditional banks and operates the entire process digitally. Founded in December 2020 and based in São Paulo, the startup raised seed capital to scale lending and build its team. It plans to structure a fund that will receive and hold originated loans, with Agrolend selling loans to that debt investment vehicle to enable much larger lending capacity.

Led · Series A · Aug 2024

Beleaf develops a Farming-as-a-Service (FaaS) platform that partners with growers to implement modern cultivation methods such as hydroponics, supplying high-quality seeds, planting guidance, IoT technology, and offtake support. The company launched its FaaS program in 2022 and, supported by big data and IoT, monitors weather, seeding, nutrient dosing, planting schedules, and harvests to continuously improve outcomes. Beleaf reports 97 FaaS partners managing a combined 12 hectares of land. Its platform connects farms, distributors, and retailers and supplies fresh produce through channels including Sayurbox, Astro, GrabMart, Hypermart, HERO, Papaya, and SuperIndo. Beleaf aims to increase partner productivity and quality — targeting up to a 15% yield improvement — while using collected data to strengthen its machine learning and R&D for future agribusiness solutions. The company was founded in 2019 by Amrit Lakhiani.

Participated · Series C · May 2024

Founded in 2016, NIHON AGRI operates a vertically integrated business that spans production, sorting, packaging, and export of Japanese agricultural produce, with a focus on Asian markets such as Taiwan and Hong Kong. The company pioneered high-density planting for apples in Aomori Prefecture, achieving average yields of about 6 tons per 0.1 hectare—three times conventional methods. Its flagship export, Aomori apples, reached 2,761 tons and ¥1.58 billion in value for the 2024 Lunar New Year season. NIHON AGRI now works with 700 directly contracted apple growers, roughly 2.3 × last year, driving a 2.2 × increase in supply volume. Beyond its own orchards, the firm runs “Nichinou Pack,” an agricultural entry support program that guides other companies from business launch through sales of harvested crops. The new capital will fund working capital needs and value-chain investments to scale apple exports and expand Nichinou Pack. To date, the company has raised about ¥5.7 billion in equity financing.