Document: FarmLink raises additional $24.6M for ag tech
January 19, 2016 | Bobby Burch
Ag tech startups in Kansas City are plowing a promising 2016.
Kansas City-based FarmLink recently secured nearly $24.6 million in investment capital for its farming technology, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The company offers a suite of tech services for farmers, including analytics platform TrueHarvest and machinery sharing platform MachineryLink Sharing.
TrueHarvest is a yield benchmark tool that helps farmers validate the impact of environmental variables to optimize production of crops. Through the MachineryLink platform, farmers can pay to use farm equipment when needed and also earn money for renting their equipment when it’s not in use. FarmLink says that lessees will have on-demand access to an inventory of equipment at varying costs, offering them enhanced flexibility, cash flow and revenue.
FarmLink has raised about $67.8 million in capital to date with OpenAir Equity Partners as its primary investor. Founded in 2010, the company has 80 employees and was co-founded by Ron LeMay, David Govert and David Forsee.
FarmLink’s most recent raise comes on the heels of another local ag tech success story. Farmobile announced in December that it raised $5.5 million in a Series A round from a large Amsterdam-based venture capital firm. Founded in 2013, Farmobile invented a device — or Passive Upload Connection (PUC) — that plugs into a tractor’s diagnostic port to collect a variety of farming data, such as info on planting, spraying, fertilization, harvest, fleet management and more.
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC data platform mySidewalk partners with GoDaddy to launch online economic insight tool
A new tool from Kansas City’s mySidewalk and GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative is expected to give local and regional policymakers in the U.S. unprecedented — and direct — access to information on the economic impact of more than 20 million microbusinesses, said Stephen Hardy. “At mySidewalk, we work every day with leaders across the country…
Top emerging business finds its bliss as city uncorks bookstore’s ability to serve wine
A city ordinance change is expected to move one of Kansas City’s only Black-owned bookstores closer to its chilled brick-and-mortar location — popping the cork on Bliss Books & Wine’s ability to serve its namesake beverage once the Midtown storefront opens. “People have been waiting a very long time for this storefront and have been working…
LA game tech startup boosting its KC footprint with 100 new jobs, high-profile downtown HQ
A rapidly expanding gaming technology studio hopes to put approachable blockchain technology in the hands of consumers — and it’s pressing play on a strategy to bring dozens of new jobs to Kansas City and give players, developers, and content creators “true ownership” within the games they love. Based in Sherman Oaks, California, Mythical Games…
‘Homegrown unicorn’ helped this startup hub beat the bracket (and its top seed Kansas competition)
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. A…