Participated · Series A · Mar 2021

AcreTrader operates a technology-driven platform that streamlines the buying and selling of farmland, using proprietary tools to broaden access for investors, farmers, and landowners. The company launched in 2018 and has built products including its AcrePro brokerage platform, with a geospatial analytics platform slated to launch soon. Over the past year AcreTrader reported revenues growing more than 5x, a tripling of its customer base, and more than double the amount of land going live on its platform. Its employee headcount has grown roughly 10x in the last two years as it scales a team across finance, technology, and agriculture. AcreTrader says it serves thousands of investors, farmers, and landowners across the U.S. The company positions its offerings to provide differentiated data, technology, and expertise to create better outcomes for land sellers, buyers, and investors. AcreTrader uses proprietary technology to connect investors, land, and farmers and facilitate buying and selling of farmland through a streamlined customer experience. The platform provides investors, buyers, and sellers with access to land, data, and tools to transact efficiently and has broadened access to thousands of investors, farmers, and landowners across the U.S. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Fayetteville, Ark., the company has expanded rapidly—growing the business over five times in the last year and welcoming participants from all 50 states. AcreTrader has also offered its first international opportunities in Australia. Financially, the company has raised $58 million in total funding since inception, including a $40 million Series B announced in this round. The company plans to use the capital to scale its platform, expand its technology, finance, and agriculture teams, and work with more farmers and landowners to build a more robust market. AcreTrader operates an online farmland investing platform that allows individuals and institutions to purchase shares of farmland and to partner with farmers. The company also offers financing options to help farmers grow their operations. AcreTrader’s platform is currently available to accredited investors throughout the U.S. Led by founder and CEO Carter Malloy, the business combines agriculture, finance and technology expertise on its team. The company plans to use new funding to improve access, liquidity and transparency for farmland transactions through improved online tools, data science, marketing and team expansion. To date AcreTrader has raised $18m in total funding. AcreTrader operates a platform that connects individual investors, family offices, and funds to vetted farmland by incorporating each property under an LLC and selling fractional shares (expressed in acres). The company vets properties using more than 100 data points, including soil quality, irrigation, and crop-rotation history, and recommends holding periods of roughly 3–10 years. AcreTrader provides a marketplace for resale of shares and handles land maintenance through a team of farmland experts who manage hundreds of millions of dollars of farmland. The platform focuses on West Coast and Midwest properties, offering access to less-trafficked agricultural assets such as almond and soybean farms. AcreTrader charges real-estate brokerage fees on acquisitions and an annual management fee of 0.75%–1% to oversee owned land. The article cites farmland as having provided roughly 11–12% average annual returns over nearly 30 years, a point the company emphasizes to prospective investors.