Fulcrum herds oversubscribed $13.2M round for KC cattle tech startup with KCRise Fund, iiM in the corral
September 28, 2021 | Startland News Staff
A Kansas City-based precision livestock company will use its fresh Series A funding harvest to accelerate genetic progress and sustainably deliver more protein with fewer inputs, its top executive announced Tuesday.
Kerryann Kocher, Vytelle
“Our mission is clear, and we are grateful for the support of our investors who join us on our journey to ensure meat and milk are viable food choices for future generations,” said Kerryann Kocher, CEO of Vytelle.
The cattle tech startup announced Tuesday an oversubscribed funding round worth $13.2 million — co-led by Overland Park-based Ag-tech venture-based Fulcrum Global Capital and the private equity firm Open Prairie, through the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund. The financing also included participation from Kansas City’s KCRise Fund II and Innovation In Motion, Illinois-based Serra Ventures, and existing investor UK-based Wheatsheaf Group.
Vytelle’s platform — combining a breakthrough in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology, an animal performance data capture system, and an artificial intelligence based genetic analytics engine — provides progressive cattle producers the technology to multiply the impact of elite livestock productivity and profitability. It’s seen rapid growth since its launch in 2020, currently serving cattle producers in 21 countries.
Click here to learn more about Vytelle.
“Vytelle’s ability to scale globally is a game changer for the cattle industry to produce a more efficient and sustainable global cattle herd,” explained Duane Cantrell, CEO of Fulcrum Global Capital — a firm especially interested in companies with technologies and approaches which increases yields, reduces food waste, and/or makes food safer and more transparent.
Click here to explore Fulcrum’s other portfolio companies.
Kerryann Kocher, Vytelle
The funding reflects Vytelle’s aggressive expansion strategy, which includes propelling the platform’s IVF offering to strategic markets worldwide and investment in new ways to create more predictable genetic selections for global cattle operations, the company said.
“We’ve been searching for another agtech investment in the KC region with a large addressable market, proven traction, seasoned agriculture investors and experienced team,” Darcy Howe, founder and managing director of KCRise Fund. “Kerryann and her team, board and investors exceed every measure and we are excited that our KC-based investors will be a part of this global/local growth story.”
Click here to learn more about KCRise Fund’s portfolio.
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Featured Business
2021 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Bevy of area businessmen are EY award finalists
Eight Kansas City-area businessmen are now finalists for a national entrepreneurship award. Ranging from techies to whiskey-makers, the regional finalists of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards recognize those “who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses.” Sponsored in part by the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, EY operates its award…
Fund me, KC: Garden Thorn wants to turn your thumb green
Startland News is continuing its segment to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs — like The Handy Camel CEO Tom Gray — to share their stories to gain a little help from their supporters. If you or your startup is running a crowdfunding campaign, let us know…
Entrepreneurial foundation names local ‘startup champion’ as director
The Kansas City Startup Foundation’s year-long search for a new executive director ended right where it began. The foundation — whose mission is to unify Kansas City’s startup and entrepreneur community — recently hired Matthew Marcus as its executive director. Marcus, who most recently served as the foundation’s chairman, will begin his tenure in May. “It’s…
How wearables could change America’s pastime and Amazon’s big oops
In this week’s roundup of watercooler talk from the region’s startup hubs, we have the dish on Major League Baseball wearables, Amazon’s flub with expanding the digital divide and Chicago’s STEM workforce issues. Check out more in this series here. Mobile Commerce Press: Major League Baseball gives the nod to wearable technology No, this doesn’t…