Ag tech firm Farmobile reaps big multi-million dollar investment
December 18, 2015 | Bobby Burch
Agriculture company Farmoblie reaped substantial funding to accelerate development and distribution of its technology to collect data from farm machinery.
The Kansas City-based firm snagged a $5.5 million Series A round of equity investment led by Amsterdam-based Anterra Capital.
Founded in 2013, Farmoblie created a device — or Passive Upload Connection (PUC) — that plugs into a tractor’s diagnostic port to collect a variety of data useful to a farmer. The company, which to this point has been self-funded, created software to provide information for farmers’ decisions on planting, spraying, fertilization, harvest, fleet management and more.
A Farmobile PUC
“Data is one of the most valuable things a farmer harvests today,” Founder Jason Tatge said in a release. “Today’s announcement is a huge win for farmers around the world who want to put their data to work. Farmers ought to own and directly profit from the information they produce. It’s that simple.”
The company’s proprietary tools standardize geo-located agronomic and machine data, Farmobile is “a champion for farmer data rights, ownership and data portability” and focuses on “strengthening existing farmer relationships and building tools to reduce the frictions of data portability.”
Farmoblie’s technology seems to be a perfect fit for Anterra’s focus on financing the growth of firms creating sustainable food and agricultural offerings. The venture capital firm’s mission is in part to support “innovation in the way we produce, move and consume food.”
“We are investing in an experienced team with a superior product that is addressing a large market opportunity,” Anterra Capital partner Dudley Hawes said in a release. “We’ve been looking for technology that can demonstrably make farms more profitable, at scale. Farmobile has both the vision and the grit necessary to spark a revolution in the use of farm data.”
Tatge, a member of the Pipeline organization, has long been an advocate of empowering farmers through data sharing.
“No one should ever know more about a farm than the farmer,” Tatge said in the release. “Farmobile provides a clear alternative to Big Ag’s vertical data silos. We can’t wait to make a difference for thousands of new customers around the world.”
Check in for more on this story.
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Kauffman launching Capital Access Lab investment pipeline for underserved entrepreneurs
Every new business should have a fighting chance at success — regardless of the entrepreneur’s background, said Victor Hwang, announcing a new Capital Access Lab to address opportunity gaps in Kansas City and across the U.S. “It is up to us to collectively break down systematic barriers to entry that adversely impact people of color,…
Hunting unicorns: C2FO spotlighted as startup likely to reach $1B valuation
Leawood-based C2FO is among the nation’s highest-momentum startups, according to CB Insights and The New York Times, which teamed up to name 50 “future unicorns.” The U.S. companies on the list — which analysts involved predict will eventually be valued at $1 billion or more — largely are based on the coasts. Twenty-two are in…
Thou Mayest sprouts fresh coffee concept in the suburbs; new Crossroads flagship percolating
Coffee needn’t be melancholy or monochromatic, said Thou Mayest founder Bo Nelson, bathed in warm sunlight at Cafe Equinox. “We have to wake people up,” said Nelson. “We’re trying to celebrate the diversity of life — humanity, plants, music, art — so many collisions. It’s not a distraction. It’s not a means to an end.…
Atonix Digital using predictive analytics to tackle Black & Veatch first, then the world
Black & Veatch offshoot Atonix Digital is re-engineering the future of its parent company’s customer base, said Paul McRoberts. Developed to offer software solutions to customers from Black & Veatch’s existing market sectors — power, water, and telecommunications — Atonix has the opportunity to move beyond its specific corporate origins to service other industries, said…