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SkySquirrel has worked for the past three years with partners in Canada (photo), California, France and Chile to develop its drone-based imaging technology for detecting disease in vineyards. (PRNewsFoto/SkySquirrel Technologies)

Fundings-in-Brief: Clearas Water Raises $4m Series B, Drone Tech Startup Raises $1m Seed, Planet OS Raises $5m, more

March 31, 2016

Algae-based Water Treatment System Raises $4m Series B

Clearas Water Recovery, a startup using algae to remove harmful nutrients from wastewater, has raised $4 million Series B funding from existing investors.  They include algae-based experimental water treatment facility Cowles Companies, Montana-focused investors Next Frontier Capital and Goodworks Ventures. The round will be used to accelerate growth, attract and retain top talent, and allow for continued optimization of the Company’s Advanced Biological Nutrient Recovery platform. The company uses biological-based, water treatment technologies for municipal and industrial point source discharges.

Drone Tech Startup SkySquirrel Technologies Raises $1m Seed Round

Halifax, Canada-based SkySquirrel Technologies has closed a $1 million seed round. Innovacorp, a Nova Scotia early stage venture capital fund, led the round alongside an undisclosed Ontario-based private investor. SkySquirrel uses drone-based technology to provide crop health monitoring services, particularly when it comes to detecting diseases in vineyards. The new funding will be used to launch its next generation of products in anticipation of the upcoming growing season and to enter new markets. It has three integrated technologies to its offering: a multi-spectral camera, a cloud-based image-processing service, and an autonomous drone.

Sensor IoT Startup Planet OS Raises $5m Series A

Planet OS, a startup indexing geospatial data sets, has closed a $5 million Series A deal with undisclosed investors. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA with a development team in Tallinn, Estonia, the founders include x-ABB Business Development Manager Rainer Sternfeld, ex-Skype Research Lead André Karpištšenko, and Kalle Kägi. Agriculture is just one of the industries the company is targeting with its technology. It did not respond to requests for further comment about its specific plans in agriculture.

Smart Wine Bottle Developer Kuvée Closes $6m Venture Round

Kuvée, a company that has figured out how to keep wine fresh for up to 30 days, has raised $6 million from general venture capital investor General Catalyst, seed stage investor Founder Collective, and others. The Kuvée bottle comes with a built-in touchscreen that regales sippers with the wine’s history and offers food pairing suggestions. Users can also take advantage of personalized wine recommendations, serving pointers, and a direct reorder service.

Israeli Ag Software Platform Taranis Closes $2m Seed Round

Providing farmers with SaaS support for precision farm data management, Taranis closed a $2 million seed round from a group of investors including Kaedan Capital, Salesforce CEO and founder Marc Benioff, Israeli early stage investment firm Eshbol Ventures, and OurCrowd. Targeting crop disease threats by monitoring the weather, Taranis also provides daily task management capabilities and alerts users to advanced forecasting and now-casting information. To read more about Taranis and find out what the CEO has to say about the round head over to AgFunderNews.

French Food Delivery Service Frichti Closes $13.4m Round

Frichti, a Paris, France, food delivery startup, has closed $13.4 million in funding. Existing investor Alven Capital joined the round alongside European financiers Idinvest, and some angel investors like Pierre Vlade, Leetchi founder and CEO Celine Lazorthes, and My Little Paris co-founder Celine Orjubin. Founded in Summer 2015, the company offers prepared meals for lunch and dinner. Unlike some food delivery startups, Frichti handles the preparation and delivery.

Holistic Pest Control Service Wondercide Closes $500k Seed Round with Shark Tank Investor Lori Greiner

Bio-pesticide developer and manufacturer Wondercide has closed a $500k seed round with ABC’s The Shark Tank investor Lori Greiner, who now holds a 3 percent equity stake in the company. The Austin, Texas-based company, will use the new funds to hire a sales leader to help establish 600 new independent retail accounts across the country over the next 12 months. Wondercide’s natural pest control and holistic care products are designed for home gardening as well as pets.

 

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