Tag: water

Is California willing to solve its water crisis?

April 8, 2020

A battle is being waged over water use in California and California’s Central Valley is at the epicenter, writes Sean Hood.

Why Prospera started in greenhouses before taking AI tech into the fields

November 15, 2019

Prospera recently announced its partnership with Valley Irrigation to combine its sensor-based analytics software with Valley’s pivot irrigation systems.

How Jain USA Has Quietly Built a High-Tech Irrigation Platform Through Acquisitions

November 29, 2018

I caught up with Aric Olsen, president of Jain USA, are his most recent acquisition of ETWater, a weather data analytics and sprinkler control company using machine learning to measure the evapotranspiration rate of grass.

Tesco’s head of agriculture: ‘Water quality is a key issue no-one is innovating for’

October 11, 2018

We can spend a lot of money on feed rations, but if the animal’s gut integrity is wrong because of bacteria in the water line, that nutrition is wasted and is also a welfare issue, says Barney Kay, head of agriculture at Tesco.

SWIIM System Acquires OnFarm to Integrate Water Data into Dashboard

June 26, 2018

Lance Donny, CEO and founder of OnFarm, will become SWIIM’s chief operating officer, helping to integrate SWIIM’s water balance monitoring and reporting data into the OnFarm dashboard.

WaterBit Raises $11.4m Series A for Autonomous Irrigation Tech

June 26, 2018

WaterBit’s autonomous irrigation solution takes into account the stage of the plant, soil conditions and weather.

30 Food Technologies to Support Your Sustainable New Year’s Resolutions

January 4, 2018

If your resolutions skew toward agriculture and food rather than the treadmill, there is a whole host of startups with technology that can help.

Report: Food Companies Losing Millions to Climate Change-Related Water Issues

November 20, 2017

Global revenue risk from lack of water availability for irrigation or animal consumption has reached $459 billion. With figures like this, it’s no wonder that funds and corporations are hearing more concern about water from investors.

Observant’s 4 Lessons for Agritech Startups in Wake of Acquisition by Jain

February 28, 2017

Further M&A activity from large agribusinesses like Jain is essential so we caught up with Observant to find out what pieces of advice the cofounder would give to farm-based agritech startups hoping to turn their businesses into acquirable companies.

Agtech Funding (& Exit) Sheet: Observant Acquired by Jain, Winnow Solutions Raises Convertible, more

February 9, 2017

The year’s first exit came from Observant, an early agtech pioneer in the precision water management space. Jain Irrigation acquired the Australian company.

Agtech Funding Sheet: TellusLab Raises $3.1m Seed to Compete with Descartes Labs, Measure Raises $15m for Drones-as-a-Service, more

January 19, 2017

A bumper week of fundings includes startups offering satellite imagery analysis, drones-as-a-software, milk products, wine e-commerce and more.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Acquires Oso Tech After Rollercoaster Ride for Startup

December 14, 2016

It’s been a rough ride for Oso Tech and its investors from its founding in 2011 in Urbana, Illinois until now. But the journey culminated in an exit and sale to Scotts Miracle-Gro.

Where Are They Now? Water Tech Startup SWIIM a Year On from Series A

November 30, 2016

A year in the life of a startup is a long time, so we caught up with Kevin France to find out about the company’s new revenue models, acreage expansion, and hiring since this time last year.

Ag Industry Brief: Village Capital and SWFF Join the 77 Resources Dedicated to Food and Ag Entrepreneurs, more

August 26, 2016

Two startup resources have launched new programs promising investment and mentorship for entrepreneurs, while Monsanto withdraws GM cotton seed application in India, and two drones companies partner.

California’s Agtech-Focused Plan for Tackling Its Ongoing Water Problem

June 23, 2016

Despite recent average rainfall, California continues to cope with water scarcity. The state may be eyeing water tech to help get its farmers back afloat.

How Private Equity Giant KKR and Sundrop Farms Are Spending $100m on Indoor Agriculture

April 20, 2016

AgFunderNews caught up with Philipp Saumweber, founder and CEO of Sundrop Farms, and Ken Mehlman, global head of public affairs for KKR, to discuss the 2014 investment.

CropX Closes Out Series A Round on $10m with New Strategic Investors

April 12, 2016

CropX, the Israeli irrigation and sensor technology company, has raised a further $1 million towards its Series A round from strategic investors Robert Bosch Venture Capital and the Flextronics technology accelerator Lab IX.

From Hi-Tech to Agtech: Israel’s VC Pioneer Hillel Milo Discusses New Fund

April 11, 2016

Hillel Milo, one of the pioneers of the venture capital industry in Israel, turned his attention to food and agriculture in the early 2000s. He tells AgFunderNews more about AquAgro Fund.

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

March 31, 2016

A busy week of fundings includes wastewater treatment tech, drones, satellite imagery, food e-commerce, precision agriculture, and biopesticide startups.

Industry-in-Brief: USDA Visits Cuba with Obama, Philips Lights Up Indoor Ag in Space, Mars Labels GMO Food, more

March 25, 2016

Vilsack’s visit to Cuba with Obama, lighting indoor lunar greenhouses, winners of a water innovation accelerator, and Mars joining the GMO labeling party are all featured in this week’s Industry-in-Brief.