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
Mayor Sly James commits $10K for women in business efforts
Kansas City Mayor Sly James recently announced two initiatives to benefit women in business and in science, technology, engineering and math fields. James pledged $10,000 toward the Women’s Business Center‘s “WE-Lend Microloan Program,” which supports women-owned businesses in Kansas City, Mo., through funding, technical assistance and access to a financial coach. The mayor also announced additional support for…
KCK: First for Google Fiber, close to last for connectivity
Despite being the first city to land Google Fiber, Kansas City, Kan., still made the list of the worst-connected cities in 2014. Not only did the city make the list — it made top 10. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance aggregated the list from the 2014 American Community Survey data released by the U.S. Census Bureau last…
Summer fundin’ — it happened so fast
Kansas City startups snagged a load of capital over the summer. Often earmarked for product development, hiring or both, the funds represent new injections of capital that startups hope will boost their businesses to become the next big thing out of Kansas City. In total, 23 startups raised more than $56.8 million, which is not…
90 on the Clock: Rawxies’ vegan treats
90 on the Clock: Rawxies’ vegan treats By John McGrath, KCPT, and Bobby Burch, Startland News Ed’s Note: Flatland and Startland News have partnered to highlight Kansas City’s innovators and entrepreneurs, all in 90 seconds. This is the second episode in the five-part series. Rawxies founder Callie England may best be defined by her tenacity. England, who…