SVG Ventures

SVG Ventures is an investment and advisory firm based in Silicon Valley, established in 2010. The firm focuses on early-stage technology companies and engages closely with its portfolio to foster their growth and success. In addition, SVG Ventures manages the Thrive Fund, a venture capital fund located in Los Gatos, California, which targets sectors such as software, agriculture, ag tech, and food tech. Founded in 2013, Thrive operates a series of accelerators aimed at supporting sustainable agri-food companies. The firm offers a range of services, including acceleration, mentorship, validation, and venture-building, leveraging its extensive network of technology leaders to drive innovation and global expansion for its partners and portfolio companies.

John Hartnett

CEO and Founder

Past deals in AgTech

Napigen

Seed Round in 2022
We are the genome editing company specialized for mitochondrial engineering. We address unmet needs of future food supplies by creating hybrid crop plants to boost their yields to an unprecedented level. The company’s technology creates robust male sterile lines that are ideal over conventional lines because of their stability and elite backgrounds. This allows the production of non-GM hybrid seeds in crop plants that are currently mostly non-hybrid such as wheat. Our technology solution is expected to fulfill the highest level of public acceptance and aspiration.

FarmWise

Series B in 2022
FarmWise Labs, Inc. specializes in the development and manufacturing of robotic machinery aimed at improving agricultural practices. The company focuses on creating vegetable weeders that offer effective weeding and thinning solutions, while also monitoring the growth of herbicides. Founded in 2016 and located in San Francisco, California, FarmWise employs mechanical engineering to enhance farming efficiency and streamline operations, ultimately supporting increased food production. The company was previously known as DeepLook, Inc.

scoutlabs

Pre Seed Round in 2022
SMAPP is a developer of digitized traps that can be used to predict various points of defense against pests. The company gives decision support to the farmer by automated pest monitoring for crop protection. Based on its collected data, SMAPP's goal is to provide accurate predictions of the pest population. Therefore, farmers control them efficiently at the right time.

Space AG

Pre Seed Round in 2022
Space AG creates innovative solutions for the agricultural sector. It offers an integrated platform for management of specialty crops that combines data captured from drones - equipped with infrared and thermal cameras - and from mobile sensors attached to tractors. It has generated artificial intelligence models that help farmers make better decisions, maximizing their yields and optimizing the use of critical resources such as water, fertilizers, and pesticides.

Iamus Technologies

Pre Seed Round in 2022
Iamus Technologies Limited is an artificial intelligence and robotics company based in Ireland that focuses on developing advanced technology for the poultry industry. The company has created robotic systems specifically designed to assist poultry farmers in making informed and safer production decisions. Over the past two years, Iamus has collaborated with poultry processors worldwide to identify key performance indicators that its robots can continuously monitor within poultry sheds. This technology captures automatic and accurate data regarding the birds and their environment, allowing for real-time analysis and intervention. By utilizing machine learning, Iamus transforms visual, environmental, and biometric data into actionable insights, thereby addressing the increasing demands of modern, intensive broiler production and helping producers optimize their operations.

Verdi

Pre Seed Round in 2022
Verdi is focused on creating a data science platform that enhances precision agriculture, starting with irrigation management. The company develops scalable control systems that provide automation and plant-level healthcare, specifically designed to function effectively in challenging agricultural environments. By utilizing a network of irrigation valves powered by geospatial analytics, Verdi enables farmers to make informed decisions regarding irrigation. This technology allows for the customization of water and fertilizer application at the plant level, facilitating better management of cultivation practices. Through external integrations, Verdi aims to support farmers and growers in building, managing, and scaling their precision agriculture systems effectively.

Nurture Growth Bio Fertilizer

Non Equity Assistance in 2022
Nurture Growth Bio fertilizer is a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to chemical fertilizers. They produce liquid organic fertilizer. They help customers increase their yields while decreasing their other chemical inputs, resulting in a bountiful harvest and an increase in revenue.

Susterre

Seed Round in 2022
Susterre is pioneering the use of ultra-high pressure fluid jet technology for row crop planting and seeding applications.

Bloomfield

Seed Round in 2021
Bloomfield Robotics specializes in the assessment of plant health and performance through innovative technology. The company operates a digital platform designed for breeders, growers, and scientists, enabling them to study plants more efficiently. By utilizing deep learning and portable cameras, Bloomfield collects detailed data on various aspects of plant health, including growth rate, water usage, and nutrient uptake. This valuable information supports the enhancement of plant breeding programs, optimizes crop management practices, and advances scientific research. Ultimately, Bloomfield Robotics aims to assist farmers in improving crop yield and quality while minimizing environmental impact and fostering the development of new plant varieties.

Lucent Biosciences

Seed Round in 2021
Lucent Biosciences specializes in the development of innovative biofertilizers aimed at enhancing agricultural sustainability. The company offers a unique class of micronutrient fertilizers that promote higher crop yields and nutrient levels while being environmentally friendly. Their products are designed to improve soil health and sequester carbon, contributing to climate-positive farming practices. By utilizing sustainable bioactive crop nutrition, Lucent Biosciences enables farmers to cultivate nutrient-dense crops without polluting groundwater, thereby supporting regenerative agriculture and reducing overall costs per hectare.

Autonomous Pivot

Seed Round in 2021
Our goal is to enable growers to maximize yield and reduce costs by turning center-pivot irrigation systems into robotics platform for autonomous irrigation, fertigation, and crop protection. Autonomous Pivot’s platform utilizes the world’s first on-pivot Ground Penetrating Radar for continuous noninvasive sensing of soil water content, together with proprietary deep learning and AI agronomist technologies, the platform enables fully automatic symptoms detection and autonomous irrigation, fertigation, and crop protection.

Cattler

Pre Seed Round in 2021
Developer of a farming management platform designed to assist cattle farmers in running all their operations in one place. The company platform offers integrating data that is dispersed and underutilized in daily operations along with bringing data from different third-party devices and systems, together under in one dashboard for farm management, enabling farmers to run their daily tasks like feeding, cattle management and animal health management seamlessly from beginning to end.

Bloomfield

Seed Round in 2021
Bloomfield Robotics specializes in the assessment of plant health and performance through innovative technology. The company operates a digital platform designed for breeders, growers, and scientists, enabling them to study plants more efficiently. By utilizing deep learning and portable cameras, Bloomfield collects detailed data on various aspects of plant health, including growth rate, water usage, and nutrient uptake. This valuable information supports the enhancement of plant breeding programs, optimizes crop management practices, and advances scientific research. Ultimately, Bloomfield Robotics aims to assist farmers in improving crop yield and quality while minimizing environmental impact and fostering the development of new plant varieties.

Healthy Cow

Pre Seed Round in 2021
Healthy Cow is an ag-biotech company that develops preventative solutions for reproductive issues in dairy cows. Its mission is to provide innovative animal health solutions for farmers focusing on the care for cow health while producing healthy milk. Healthy Cow was founded in 2014 and is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Serket

Pre Seed Round in 2021
Serket is a software company. Their recognition software helps farmers to monitor and trace their pigs individually and automatically with any cameras. It solves the animal health and/or food safety concerns with a technology that is already available and used in other industries. Without Serket, farmers would have to use smart tagging, which is cost prohibitive for the majority.

Instacrops

Series A in 2021
Instacrops develops a management and forecasting platform that transforms the collected data into valuable information customized for each farmer. It creates a monitoring network of agro-climatic parameters to alert frost events, manage irrigation, and applications on their farm. Its system generates preventive alerts and online information according to each crop in graphics format, reports, forecasts, email, and SMS. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Santiago, Chile.

Syocin Biotech

Pre Seed Round in 2021
Syocin Biotech focuses on developing a synthetic biology platform for the redesign of natural existing biomolecules to target plant bacterial pathogens that threaten food availability. The company is based in Rosario, Argentina.

Instacrops

Seed Round in 2021
Instacrops develops a management and forecasting platform that transforms the collected data into valuable information customized for each farmer. It creates a monitoring network of agro-climatic parameters to alert frost events, manage irrigation, and applications on their farm. Its system generates preventive alerts and online information according to each crop in graphics format, reports, forecasts, email, and SMS. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Santiago, Chile.

Intello Labs

Series A in 2020
Intello Labs (India) Pvt Ltd designs and develops an image based artificial intelligence solution for quality assessment of agricultural commodities. The company offers agricultural product grading solution which tests and analyzes the visual quality factor of agricultural commodities by using deep learning of parameters, such as crop infestation, nutrient deficiency; and harvest quality evaluation of fruits, vegetables, and grains. The solution is accessible through a smartphone application and also uses a photo of the commodity sample to generate quality metrics. It caters to farmers, traders, millers, retailers, and end users. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Gurugram, India.

Talam Biotech

Series A in 2020
Talam Biotech specializes in developing and manufacturing innovative products and technologies aimed at identifying functional microbes within a four-month timeframe. The company offers a range of tailored solutions, including bioremediation and biostimulant products, targeting various sectors such as oilfield and gas industries, environmental remediation, and agriculture. Their patented EcoPile technology effectively removes organic pollutants from soils and sediments, while the Constructed Function Microbiome platform utilizes natural microbial consortia to enhance crop yield, improve soil quality, and mitigate heavy metal accumulation in crops. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Carlow, Ireland, Talam Biotech is committed to sustainable agricultural practices, focusing on reducing toxins in crops and pollutants in arable soil to promote safe food production.

GroGuru

Venture Round in 2020
GroGuru Inc. is a San Diego-based company that offers innovative irrigation monitoring and management solutions for the commercial agriculture industry. Founded in 2014, GroGuru provides a subscription-based service that integrates precision soil and irrigation monitoring systems, enabling farmers to enhance crop yields while efficiently utilizing water, energy, and other essential resources. The company's patented wireless underground system (WUGS) allows for permanent installation of soil sensors, which can be buried below till depth and communicate wirelessly through soil, thus eliminating the need for annual installation and removal associated with traditional sensors. GroGuru's technology provides farmers with precise measurements of soil moisture, salinity, and temperature, translating this data into actionable recommendations for irrigation and fertilizer application, ultimately helping to reduce input costs in agriculture.

Instacrops

Seed Round in 2020
Instacrops develops a management and forecasting platform that transforms the collected data into valuable information customized for each farmer. It creates a monitoring network of agro-climatic parameters to alert frost events, manage irrigation, and applications on their farm. Its system generates preventive alerts and online information according to each crop in graphics format, reports, forecasts, email, and SMS. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Santiago, Chile.

Agri Marketplace

Venture Round in 2020
Agri Marketplace is a B2B cloud based platform for real transactions of agricultural products. We have built a complete digital solution with different added value services: marketplace to buy & sell, logistics services, quality inspections, secure payments and legal support. We believe our project is grounded on values of transparency and fair trade, and our business model aims to redistribute the value in whole food supply chain, in order to increase returns to those who assume more risks (e.g. farmers) and reduce the amount paid by the agro-industry buyers. We believe the platform’s model we envision is innovative and disruptive.

Boomitra

Venture Round in 2020
ConserWater uses AI to help you grow more plants or crops with less resources in a scalable and cost-effective manner. The ConserWater AI can save you 30% or more on your irrigation water use, and ensure your plants are able to make the most of the fertilizer supplied. It is the world’s first AI that can predict how much water and nutrients to give your plants at any location around the world at any time. It uses satellite data, weather, topography, and a variety of other factors along with geospatial deep learning to determine exact irrigation and fertigation needs. The predictions are to the accuracy of having physical soil sensors, but without any of the hardware or its associated costs. ConserWater is currently supported in several countries worldwide, and has a customer base in Israel, India and the US. There are three different ways to use ConserWater: through ConserWater Online, a web interface to access all of the ConserWater AI, the free ConserWater Entry smartphone app, and finally the ConserWater API, for irrigation and farming corporate partners to integrate ConserWater into their products. Contact us to learn how you can start saving money while keeping your plants healthy with ConserWater today!

Platfarm

Venture Round in 2020
Platfarm is a developer of an agricultural technology system that s used to allow farmers to track their farmland. Its smartphone application allows real-time progress tracking, create alerts and tasks, monitor farms, thus enabling farmers to maximize their yields per hectare while optimizing inputs. It was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Willunga, South Australia.

Intello Labs

Venture Round in 2020
Intello Labs (India) Pvt Ltd designs and develops an image based artificial intelligence solution for quality assessment of agricultural commodities. The company offers agricultural product grading solution which tests and analyzes the visual quality factor of agricultural commodities by using deep learning of parameters, such as crop infestation, nutrient deficiency; and harvest quality evaluation of fruits, vegetables, and grains. The solution is accessible through a smartphone application and also uses a photo of the commodity sample to generate quality metrics. It caters to farmers, traders, millers, retailers, and end users. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Gurugram, India.

Spornado

Seed Round in 2020
Spornado is an Agtech company providing an early alert system for crop disease that detects disease in the field. Its low-technology device sits in a field and collects disease spores from the air and water that enable farmers to decide when to spray fungicide.

HiveKeepers

Venture Round in 2020
HiveKeepers is an AgTech company that provides beekeeping software designed for healthier hives. Its software records data about bees thereby making beekeeping accessible from anywhere, enabling beekeepers to maintain a healthy beehive.

Cattle Care

Venture Round in 2020
Video analytics for dairy farm operations

Stream Technologies

Venture Round in 2020
Stream Technologies Inc. is a Canadian company based in Edmonton, specializing in the manufacture and marketing of hyperspectral imaging devices, including the ColorFlow Lens. Founded in 2012, the company focuses on creating innovative camera lenses and related software that enables users to update, modify, and share images in real time. Stream Technologies connects camera manufacturers, systems integrators, algorithm developers, and researchers through its advanced hyperspectral platform, facilitating a wide range of applications in spectral imaging.

Milk Moovement

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Milk Moovement is a Developer of a dairy supply chain management platform designed to track milk pick-ups and monitoring milk production. The company's platform is a comprehensive tool that tracks dairy production and quality by using a cloud-based web and mobile solution, giving users access to key information in real-time, enabling all supply chain stakeholders (producers, processors, transporters, testing labs, and cooperatives) to have access to milk performance metrics and in-depth information on current production, quality, and historical data right at their fingertips.

Olombria

Seed Round in 2019
We are an agricultural tech company that has developed an integrated pollination system that uses flies and a chemical signaling device to increase crop yield, and supplement existing bee pollination services.

Alesca Life

Venture Round in 2019
Alesca Life Technologies, Inc. manufactures agricultural machinery. It offers Every Day Nutrition product, a solution that enables commercial-scale farming; and EDN Fresh, enables fresh onsite production of hard to procure micro-greens, baby-leaf greens and wheatgrass. Additionally, it also offers EDN Sprout, a smartphone app directly linked to the Alesca Life analytics and optimization platform. The company is headquartered in Beijing, China.

FarmX

Venture Round in 2019
FarmX helps farmers save time and resources while increasing productivity. FarmX’s FarmMap alerts growers about critical field available water content, plant stress indicators and environmental pest/ disease pressure with FarmMap Sensors. FarmMap Sensors push field data to the FarmMap cloud which provides real time analytics based on state-of-the-art machine learning processes. The FarmMap cloud leverages multiple data sources to drive precise recommendations that drive productivity gains while reducing costs.

Tensorfield Agriculture

Venture Round in 2019
Tensorfield Agriculture develops and manufactures agricultural machines for specialty row crops. It offers robots that perform non-invasive, no-herbicide weeding with thermal micro-dosing. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in San Jose, California.

Wellntel

Venture Round in 2019
Wellntel has created a simple, inexpensive groundwater information system that accurately measures water quantity in a private water well, so that the owner can keep tabs on what's going on down there. Wellntel is a way for families and farmers to stop guessing about their groundwater, simply and inexpensively. With Wellntel, you can see how much water you’re using and how fast it is replenishing. You'll learn about groundwater, you can take steps to conserve if if makes sense, find an expert if needed, and eventually, become a groundwater leader in your community.

ProteoSense

Venture Round in 2019
ProteoSense, LLC develops a platform to detect food-borne pathogens, such as E-coli, salmonella, listeria, and campylobacter. It offers RapidScan, a handheld testing system to test results on key food-borne pathogens in time-critical and remote applications. It serves growers, packers, processors, shippers, and wholesalers in food industry in the United States. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

Bee Corp.

Venture Round in 2019
Bee Corp. is a company that focuses on developing data analytics and decision-support solutions for beekeeping. Its primary products include Queen's Guard, a tool for monitoring and managing bee queens, which utilizes a beehive sensor and data analytics software to track hive conditions. The system monitors temperature and other critical data, sending alerts to users when it detects potential queen loss. Additionally, Bee Corp. offers Verifli, which employs infrared inspection technology to assess bee health and distribution, ensuring effective pollination for growers. By providing these advanced monitoring solutions, Bee Corp. aims to support beekeepers and contribute to the sustainable restoration of honeybee populations. Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Trace Genomics

Venture Round in 2018
Trace Genomics, Inc. specializes in developing artificial intelligence-based diagnostic tools for farmers, focusing on soil health and crop quality. The company offers a soil microbiome test that utilizes DNA sequencing and artificial intelligence to analyze microbial species in agricultural soils. By interpreting key indicators of soil health and disease risk, Trace Genomics enables early predictions of soil diseases, benefiting agronomists and their corporate partners. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Burlingame, California, with an additional office in Ames, Iowa, Trace Genomics aims to enhance agricultural practices and maximize the value of every acre for the farming community.

Agronow Tecnologia

Venture Round in 2018
Agronow offers robust farm analysis with high quality and reliable statistical results through proprietary crop data. So you can track and monitor your crops every three days, receiving harvest alerts, production breaks, harvest quality, and other variables of interest.

Orbis MES Ltd.

Pre Seed Round in 2018
Orbis MES Ltd. specialise in the supply of Manufacturing Intelligence Systems combining Information and Analytics for the Food and Beverage Industry. Orbis MES have built deep domain experience over 20 years.

Persistence Data Mining

Venture Round in 2018
PDMI is setting the standard in Soil Health with the introduction of the SoilyticsTM solution, our hyperspectral soil nutrient mapping technology. Imaging allows us to take many more samples more quickly and efficiently. The importance of soil health is a global concern. It is important to essential services like food production, climate change, prevention of land degradation, water quality and the nutritional quality of our food. Persistence Data Mining is advancing technologies and innovations to improve soil management and fertilizer efficiency through the use of hyperspectral sensors. We are developing a technology using physics to replace chemistry to provide farmers with less expensive data sets at a higher level of granularity.

Boost Biomes

Convertible Note in 2018
Boost Biomes, Inc. specializes in developing microbial products aimed at enhancing food production and shelf-life in agriculture. The company employs a discovery platform that leverages DNA sequencing, selective enrichment, and advanced informatics to swiftly and cost-effectively identify multi-microbial products with significant commercial applications. This innovative approach enables the identification of multi-microbial products, which are often more effective than traditional single microbe solutions, particularly in managing diseases affecting high-value crops. Founded in 2016 and based in South San Francisco, California, Boost Biomes was previously known as Coax Biosystems, Inc. before rebranding in May 2017.

Agrosmart

Seed Round in 2018
Agrosmart S.A., founded in 2014 and based in Campinas, Brazil, specializes in developing a digital platform for the agriculture industry that monitors environmental variations such as rainfall and soil moisture. The company offers several solutions, including the Advanced Smart plan for real-time irrigation and soil monitoring, the Soil Smart plan focused on soil moisture tracking, and the Climate Smart solution for weather forecasting. Agrosmart also provides insights into the likelihood of pests and diseases in specific areas. As a leader in agricultural digital platforms in Latin America, Agrosmart aims to enhance productivity, sustainability, and resilience in farming practices, utilizing data science to address challenges in food production and improve the entire agricultural value chain.

Aker Technologies

Pre Seed Round in 2018
Aker Technologies Inc. specializes in providing advanced crop intelligence and in-season analytical tools to enhance farm operations. The company offers a customer service platform designed for chemical suppliers, agricultural retailers, and consultants, facilitating support for growers. Aker Technologies has developed patented technology, including computer vision and biometric sensors, paired with software solutions to detect and assess pest pressures, airborne pathogens, crop diseases, and fertility issues within crop canopies. Incorporated in 2014 and formerly known as Leading Edge Technologies, Inc., the company rebranded in December 2015 and operates from its headquarters in Winnebago, Minnesota, with an additional office in Chicago, Illinois.

Napigen

Pre Seed Round in 2018
We are the genome editing company specialized for mitochondrial engineering. We address unmet needs of future food supplies by creating hybrid crop plants to boost their yields to an unprecedented level. The company’s technology creates robust male sterile lines that are ideal over conventional lines because of their stability and elite backgrounds. This allows the production of non-GM hybrid seeds in crop plants that are currently mostly non-hybrid such as wheat. Our technology solution is expected to fulfill the highest level of public acceptance and aspiration.

Aker Technologies

Seed Round in 2018
Aker Technologies Inc. specializes in providing advanced crop intelligence and in-season analytical tools to enhance farm operations. The company offers a customer service platform designed for chemical suppliers, agricultural retailers, and consultants, facilitating support for growers. Aker Technologies has developed patented technology, including computer vision and biometric sensors, paired with software solutions to detect and assess pest pressures, airborne pathogens, crop diseases, and fertility issues within crop canopies. Incorporated in 2014 and formerly known as Leading Edge Technologies, Inc., the company rebranded in December 2015 and operates from its headquarters in Winnebago, Minnesota, with an additional office in Chicago, Illinois.

Intrinsyx Research Corporation

Pre Seed Round in 2018
Intrinsyx Bio has spent the last 3.5 years validating and commercializing 3 decades of the leading academic research in the plant microbiome research from the University of Washington. Our exclusively licensed collection of microbes are proven and published to 􀂡x Nitrogen aerobically throughout the inside of plants as well as improve yield, Phosphorous e􀂣ciency, and increase abiotic (salinity and drought) and biotic stress tolerance. We have developed shelf stable microbial inoculants that drastically improve crop yield and nutrient use e􀂣ciency, garnering interest from some of agriculture’s largest companies.

Persistence Data Mining

Pre Seed Round in 2018
PDMI is setting the standard in Soil Health with the introduction of the SoilyticsTM solution, our hyperspectral soil nutrient mapping technology. Imaging allows us to take many more samples more quickly and efficiently. The importance of soil health is a global concern. It is important to essential services like food production, climate change, prevention of land degradation, water quality and the nutritional quality of our food. Persistence Data Mining is advancing technologies and innovations to improve soil management and fertilizer efficiency through the use of hyperspectral sensors. We are developing a technology using physics to replace chemistry to provide farmers with less expensive data sets at a higher level of granularity.

AgShift

Seed Round in 2018
AgShift solution blends Deep Learning with Computer Vision to autonomously inspect produce and other commodities for defects. It does quality assessments and makes judgements as per USDA specifications or organizations' own specifications. The patented deep learning models analyze the defects in the sample images and predict the overall quality of the sample. The platform relies on curated, extensive real-world image data sets to teach our software to analyze defects with high consistency and accuracy - every time. The solution augments manual inspections - providing objective, consistent and standardized quality interpretation across the supply chain - every single time.

FarmWise

Seed Round in 2017
FarmWise Labs, Inc. specializes in the development and manufacturing of robotic machinery aimed at improving agricultural practices. The company focuses on creating vegetable weeders that offer effective weeding and thinning solutions, while also monitoring the growth of herbicides. Founded in 2016 and located in San Francisco, California, FarmWise employs mechanical engineering to enhance farming efficiency and streamline operations, ultimately supporting increased food production. The company was previously known as DeepLook, Inc.

Tortuga AgTech

Seed Round in 2017
Tortuga AgTech focuses on enhancing agricultural practices through the development of digital horticulture systems that integrate robotics, automation, precision data analytics, and machine learning. By automating labor-intensive tasks such as picking, packing, and trimming, Tortuga AgTech aims to significantly reduce the manual labor required in farming while increasing yields through optimized growing conditions. The company's mission is to promote a healthier society and a thriving ecosystem by empowering growers to produce unique, nutritious food that is environmentally sustainable. This approach not only helps farmers compete with large-scale agriculture but also fosters the creation of local technical jobs. Ultimately, Tortuga AgTech strives to provide fresher and healthier products to communities near their grower clients.

UAV-IQ Precision Agriculture

Funding Round in 2017
UAV-IQ, which stands for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Intelligence, helps growers easily and profitably adopt some of the most advanced agricultural technology. We are an AgriTech company that leverages deep experience in large-scale drone operations and precision agriculture to develop and scale solutions for growers. The company now offers drone-based biological control (or “biocontrol”) service, a revolutionary integrated pest management (IPM) service that uses drones to efficiently release beneficial insects to control pest populations as an effective alternative to pesticides. We currently provide this service in California, and are underway in our plans to make it available in new markets in the near future. We started off as one of the first companies authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct commercial drone operations to provide crop scouting services for California vineyards, and have since grown to the point where the platform and software we built to serve our own customers has been used by drone operators on five continents to serve local growers. UAV-IQ now stands poised to scale a groundbreaking new service after a successful first year of commercial service in California. This initiative is drone-based biological control (“biocontrol”) service, a revolutionary integrated pest management (“IPM”) service that uses drones to efficiently release beneficial insects to control pest populations as an effective alternative to pesticides. Partnered with the world’s largest multinational company in the $3.8B agricultural biocontrol industry, we are underway in our plans to make this service available in new markets throughout the U.S. and beyond. We have a well-balanced team with strength in critical areas. Andreas Neuman, the CEO, was Assistant Director of Operations for the US Air Force’s first squadron operating the Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), which carries the most sophisticated remote sensing equipment in operation. He has successfully led multidisciplinary teams in both his civilian and military careers and has routinely been entrusted with assets valued at over $200 million and the completion of multi-million-dollar projects. He has identified and solved complex and evolving regulatory and technical issues that led to a six-fold increase in mission capability by defining and implementing new programs and policies. After separating from the military, he gained experience in the startup world as an analyst for Tech Coast Angels and earned his MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, building on credentials that include a BA in economics from Columbia University and an MA in International Relations from American Military University. Vice President of Agriculture, Robert “Bob” Starnes, joins the company with a renowned record of developing and applying innovative agriculture technology in world-class academic institutions as well as successful commercial ventures. Before joining the company, Bob was the Senior Superintendent of Agriculture at UC Davis in the Entomology Department for 15 years. While there, he managed a research lab that studied integrated pest management and remote sensing in agriculture and also founded Shale Peak Horticulture, a company offering customized biological pest management solutions to growers as an alternative to using pesticides. Thomas Grandperrin is our Director of Business Development. He has Masters Degrees in management from ESEC Barcelona and Toulouse Business School and is an alum of Start-Up Chile, where he met the UAV-IQ team. Originally from France and fluent in three languages, he has spent the last 10 years working in agriculture focusing on developing new technologies in India, Argentina, California, and Chile. He is now based out of Barcelona, Spain where he is focused on building awareness for UAV-IQ’s services and preparing for expansion into the EU. Michael Clark is an accomplished database engineer and strategist who brings expertise to the backbone of the product—its enterprise architecture. He also provides programming and developing skills which have already borne results for UAV-IQ as it builds its platforms. UAV-IQ has graduated from prominent business accelerator programs and has been advised by key faculty members and researchers at UC Davis to gain unique access to their industry-leading expertise. It has gained several prestigious awards including the Food + City Challenge at South by Southwest (SXSW), and media attention from major outlets such as CNN and AgFunder. As a result, UAV-IQ has solidified itself as a leader in an emerging industry, specializing in bridging the gap between drone flight service providers and the agriculture industry. Our goal is to continue growing UAV-IQ into an agriculture technology company that provides the infrastructure, platform, analytics and tools necessary to tackle complex agronomic, farm management and pest control challenges. Using a globally accessible cloud-based infrastructure, UAV-IQ will form the central hub for decision-makers and service providers responsible for profitably producing high-value agriculture.

Talam Biotech

Pre Seed Round in 2017
Talam Biotech specializes in developing and manufacturing innovative products and technologies aimed at identifying functional microbes within a four-month timeframe. The company offers a range of tailored solutions, including bioremediation and biostimulant products, targeting various sectors such as oilfield and gas industries, environmental remediation, and agriculture. Their patented EcoPile technology effectively removes organic pollutants from soils and sediments, while the Constructed Function Microbiome platform utilizes natural microbial consortia to enhance crop yield, improve soil quality, and mitigate heavy metal accumulation in crops. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Carlow, Ireland, Talam Biotech is committed to sustainable agricultural practices, focusing on reducing toxins in crops and pollutants in arable soil to promote safe food production.

AgShift

Pre Seed Round in 2017
AgShift solution blends Deep Learning with Computer Vision to autonomously inspect produce and other commodities for defects. It does quality assessments and makes judgements as per USDA specifications or organizations' own specifications. The patented deep learning models analyze the defects in the sample images and predict the overall quality of the sample. The platform relies on curated, extensive real-world image data sets to teach our software to analyze defects with high consistency and accuracy - every time. The solution augments manual inspections - providing objective, consistent and standardized quality interpretation across the supply chain - every single time.

3Bar Biologics

Series A in 2017
3Bar Biologics Inc. is a bioscience company located in Columbus, Ohio, focused on enhancing agricultural productivity through innovative solutions. Established in 2013, the company specializes in the development of Bio-YIELD, a microbe inoculant system that utilizes naturally occurring microbes tailored to specific crops and soil conditions. This all-natural product aims to increase crop yields and produce healthier plants by employing beneficial microorganisms. Bio-YIELD was first introduced to farmers in the eastern Corn Belt in 2014 and is supported by over 15 years of research conducted by scientists at The Ohio State University. The firm is committed to expanding its reach to global markets as it gathers further data to support its products, promoting sustainable farming practices that protect farmers' investments in their land and seeds.

Tortuga AgTech

Venture Round in 2017
Tortuga AgTech focuses on enhancing agricultural practices through the development of digital horticulture systems that integrate robotics, automation, precision data analytics, and machine learning. By automating labor-intensive tasks such as picking, packing, and trimming, Tortuga AgTech aims to significantly reduce the manual labor required in farming while increasing yields through optimized growing conditions. The company's mission is to promote a healthier society and a thriving ecosystem by empowering growers to produce unique, nutritious food that is environmentally sustainable. This approach not only helps farmers compete with large-scale agriculture but also fosters the creation of local technical jobs. Ultimately, Tortuga AgTech strives to provide fresher and healthier products to communities near their grower clients.

Farm Dog

Seed Round in 2017
Farm Dog is focused on providing growers with a pest and disease management toolkit that aims to enhance crop protection while promoting environmental sustainability. The software developed by Farm Dog assists farmers in reducing pesticide usage and protecting their yields. It enables users to save time in scouting fields, share observations, and make informed treatment decisions based on comprehensive agricultural data. The toolkit offers valuable insights into yields and resource inputs, allowing farmers to effectively track pests, diseases, and weeds, as well as manage trap counts and geo-reference findings with photographs. Through these features, Farm Dog contributes to more efficient and sustainable agricultural practices.

UAV-IQ Precision Agriculture

Venture Round in 2017
UAV-IQ, which stands for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Intelligence, helps growers easily and profitably adopt some of the most advanced agricultural technology. We are an AgriTech company that leverages deep experience in large-scale drone operations and precision agriculture to develop and scale solutions for growers. The company now offers drone-based biological control (or “biocontrol”) service, a revolutionary integrated pest management (IPM) service that uses drones to efficiently release beneficial insects to control pest populations as an effective alternative to pesticides. We currently provide this service in California, and are underway in our plans to make it available in new markets in the near future. We started off as one of the first companies authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct commercial drone operations to provide crop scouting services for California vineyards, and have since grown to the point where the platform and software we built to serve our own customers has been used by drone operators on five continents to serve local growers. UAV-IQ now stands poised to scale a groundbreaking new service after a successful first year of commercial service in California. This initiative is drone-based biological control (“biocontrol”) service, a revolutionary integrated pest management (“IPM”) service that uses drones to efficiently release beneficial insects to control pest populations as an effective alternative to pesticides. Partnered with the world’s largest multinational company in the $3.8B agricultural biocontrol industry, we are underway in our plans to make this service available in new markets throughout the U.S. and beyond. We have a well-balanced team with strength in critical areas. Andreas Neuman, the CEO, was Assistant Director of Operations for the US Air Force’s first squadron operating the Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), which carries the most sophisticated remote sensing equipment in operation. He has successfully led multidisciplinary teams in both his civilian and military careers and has routinely been entrusted with assets valued at over $200 million and the completion of multi-million-dollar projects. He has identified and solved complex and evolving regulatory and technical issues that led to a six-fold increase in mission capability by defining and implementing new programs and policies. After separating from the military, he gained experience in the startup world as an analyst for Tech Coast Angels and earned his MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, building on credentials that include a BA in economics from Columbia University and an MA in International Relations from American Military University. Vice President of Agriculture, Robert “Bob” Starnes, joins the company with a renowned record of developing and applying innovative agriculture technology in world-class academic institutions as well as successful commercial ventures. Before joining the company, Bob was the Senior Superintendent of Agriculture at UC Davis in the Entomology Department for 15 years. While there, he managed a research lab that studied integrated pest management and remote sensing in agriculture and also founded Shale Peak Horticulture, a company offering customized biological pest management solutions to growers as an alternative to using pesticides. Thomas Grandperrin is our Director of Business Development. He has Masters Degrees in management from ESEC Barcelona and Toulouse Business School and is an alum of Start-Up Chile, where he met the UAV-IQ team. Originally from France and fluent in three languages, he has spent the last 10 years working in agriculture focusing on developing new technologies in India, Argentina, California, and Chile. He is now based out of Barcelona, Spain where he is focused on building awareness for UAV-IQ’s services and preparing for expansion into the EU. Michael Clark is an accomplished database engineer and strategist who brings expertise to the backbone of the product—its enterprise architecture. He also provides programming and developing skills which have already borne results for UAV-IQ as it builds its platforms. UAV-IQ has graduated from prominent business accelerator programs and has been advised by key faculty members and researchers at UC Davis to gain unique access to their industry-leading expertise. It has gained several prestigious awards including the Food + City Challenge at South by Southwest (SXSW), and media attention from major outlets such as CNN and AgFunder. As a result, UAV-IQ has solidified itself as a leader in an emerging industry, specializing in bridging the gap between drone flight service providers and the agriculture industry. Our goal is to continue growing UAV-IQ into an agriculture technology company that provides the infrastructure, platform, analytics and tools necessary to tackle complex agronomic, farm management and pest control challenges. Using a globally accessible cloud-based infrastructure, UAV-IQ will form the central hub for decision-makers and service providers responsible for profitably producing high-value agriculture.

Arable

Series A in 2017
Arable Labs, Inc. specializes in developing a solar-powered Internet of Things (IoT) device equipped with advanced sensors for in-field crop monitoring. This technology allows farmers to digitize and optimize their agricultural decisions by providing critical data about the impact of weather and other factors on crop yield, quality, and harvest timing. Arable's integrated system combines unique spectral and thermal sensors with agronomic modeling and software tools, enabling users to monitor crop development and identify stressors such as water or nutrient deficiencies. The platform serves a diverse clientele, including farmers, agronomists, researchers, food processors, and agricultural enterprises, facilitating real-time insights and predictive analytics that enhance productivity and sustainability. Established in 2014, Arable is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with an additional office in Princeton, New Jersey. The company has received various accolades, highlighting its innovation in agricultural technology.

Trace Genomics

Convertible Note in 2017
Trace Genomics, Inc. specializes in developing artificial intelligence-based diagnostic tools for farmers, focusing on soil health and crop quality. The company offers a soil microbiome test that utilizes DNA sequencing and artificial intelligence to analyze microbial species in agricultural soils. By interpreting key indicators of soil health and disease risk, Trace Genomics enables early predictions of soil diseases, benefiting agronomists and their corporate partners. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Burlingame, California, with an additional office in Ames, Iowa, Trace Genomics aims to enhance agricultural practices and maximize the value of every acre for the farming community.

Soliculture

Venture Round in 2016
Soliculture is a developer of photovoltaic technologies to offer greenhouse growers the second harvest of electricity without impacting plant growth. The company's LUMO greenhouse provides the agricultural industry with a clean source of renewable energy and sustainable technologies that are symbiotic with optimized growing practices. It was established in 2012 and is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California.

Trace Genomics

Venture Round in 2016
Trace Genomics, Inc. specializes in developing artificial intelligence-based diagnostic tools for farmers, focusing on soil health and crop quality. The company offers a soil microbiome test that utilizes DNA sequencing and artificial intelligence to analyze microbial species in agricultural soils. By interpreting key indicators of soil health and disease risk, Trace Genomics enables early predictions of soil diseases, benefiting agronomists and their corporate partners. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Burlingame, California, with an additional office in Ames, Iowa, Trace Genomics aims to enhance agricultural practices and maximize the value of every acre for the farming community.

Dexer

Venture Round in 2016
AgVoice is a hands-free enabled, voice-interactive mobile technology for food and agriculture professionals to capture insights on the go. Users can improve productivity and workflow management, increase documentation accuracy, and gain valuable insights to optimize the use of resources in crop and animal production for a sustainability and environmental impact, by using proprietary analytics and processing of raw voice files including captured time stamps and location data. AgVoice is designed for use across the food and agriculture ecosystem, including livestock and crop production, agronomy, animal health and wellness, and machinery repair.

MagGrow

Venture Round in 2016
MagGrow, an Irish company based in Dublin, develops innovative magnetic spraying systems for the horticulture and arable sectors of the agricultural industry. Founded in 2013, the company offers a range of products, including the MagGrow backpack 1200, vertical boom, nozzle adapter, and the MagGrow boom Kit 7000, which is designed from cast aluminum and features no moving parts. The patented MagGrow technology enhances droplet formation, resulting in significant benefits such as up to 70% drift reduction and improved spray coverage of 20-40%. This technology not only reduces pesticide usage and conserves resources like water and labor but also extends application windows and complies with environmental and legislative standards. MagGrow operates in key markets including the USA, Canada, and Europe, serving customers with a focus on efficiency and sustainability in agricultural practices.

California Safe Soil

Venture Round in 2014
California Safe Soil is a fresh food recycler that increases the productivity of farms at a low cost. It provides a unique full-cycle process that will assist their supermarket customers to recycle their organics, improve store hygiene, and reduce costs, in addition to helping their agricultural customers save money, increase crop yield, and reduce nitrate runoff. They are committed to producing a safe, low cost, high volume, and high-quality liquid fertilizer product, Harvest-to-Harvest. As a result, they will greatly improve their air, water, and soil environment, while employing safe, efficient, and effective solutions that meet the needs of their customers.