Ag tech startup Farmobile raises $18M round for global expansion
October 27, 2017 | Bobby Burch
Ag tech company Farmobile has reaped a substantial Series B funding round that positions the firm to rapidly accelerate across the world.
Jason Tatge
The Overland Park-based company announced Friday that it raised $18.1 million to expand its data platform to help farmers mitigate risks and generate a revenue from the data they own.
The round includes Anterra Capital, AmTrust Agricultural Insurance Services and other undisclosed investors. The new funding pushes the firm’s total capital raised to more than $28 million.
The platform aims to empower farmers to make better choices and to grow their operations, CEO Jason Tatge said.
“Our customers continue to tell us Farmobile’s data as a service platform is the best way to collect, organize, share and sell their agronomic and machine data,” Tatge said in a release. “Our mission is to make sure farmers, worldwide, have access to a cost effective strategy to collect, protect and own their digital assets with a clear path to ROI opportunities.”
Founded in 2013, Farmobile created a device — a Passive Upload Connection (PUC) — that plugs into a tractor’s diagnostic port to collect a variety of data useful to farmers and ag operations. Not only does the data provide information for farmers’ decisions on planting, spraying, fertilizing harvesting and more, it can be sold to third parties via Farmobile’s data marketplace.
“Farmobile’s technology allows farmers to access, control and monetize data like never before,” Dudley Hawes of Anterra Capital said in a release. “This is a team that understands farm data and the power of various data layers as they pull together.”
The funding will allow Farmobile to accelerate development of distribution channels in ag retail, insurance and equipment dealerships, Tatge said.
Farmobile was recognized as one of Startland News’ Top Startups to Watch in 2017 for its disruptive model in the trillion-dollar agriculture industry.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Mr K finalists: Diversity is a strength, but the vibes defining these Top 10 businesses don’t stop there
Yes, 80 percent of the finalists for this year’s Small Business of the Year Award are ventures run by women, Karen Crnkovich acknowledged, but it’s not just their owners’ gender that put them in the top-tier of contenders for the coveted “Mr. K” honor. “There are eight really brilliant, smart ladies on the stage,” said…
Sober, safe travels: The only thing off the menu for these luxury bookings is alcohol
A Kansas City woman’s travel business is taking flight with plans to offer budding adventurers a world of rejuvenating vacationing, luxury, and wellness — all with an alcohol-free itinerary. “I’m blending my two passions together: sobriety and travel,” said Michelle Plante. “I wanted to create a space for women to get together, connect, and have…
Recipe for empathy: These students prepared hundreds of protein-packed, free meals for their food-insecure peers
High school students in the Kansas City area are doing their part to stamp out food insecurity one recipe at a time, Tamara Weber shared. Kids Feeding Kids — a sister program of Pete’s Garden, both founded by Weber — partners with high school FACS and CTE culinary classes to teach students about critical topics…
PopBookings rallies as KC startup looks for its own key hires: ‘We’re back in a big, big way’
After dialing back its event staffing platform’s operations during the pandemic, Kansas City-grown PopBookings is back online in the Midwest — ramping up hiring as it works toward a Series A funding round by year’s end. “Kansas City has a real nurturing feel to it. And this community is why I believe we’ll have our…