On Wednesday, Sentera, the Minnesota agtech startup whose artificial intelligence (AI)-powered decision optimizer for farming is used in more than 70 countries, announced that it has raised a Series C funding round of $25 million. The round was led by Canadian institutional investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and agriculture venture capital fund S2G Ventures.
Sentera is a SaaS (software-as-a-service) company built around a flagship product, FieldAgent, a precision farming software application that synthesizes satellite data, on-field equipment, weather, soil, drone sensors and field observations, using machine learning, AI and predictive modeling. FieldAgent processes this information to generate insights that can optimize agronomic outcomes across the food and agriculture value and supply chains.
In addition to CDPQ and S2G Ventures, new investors Akroyd LLC and Mexico City alternative assets manager KuE Capital joined the round. Existing investors, including global agribusiness investor Continental Grain Company, St. Louis-based food venture capital fund iSelect Fund and Washington, D.C. agtech investor Middleland Capital.
“Sentera continues to demonstrate that they can deliver greater efficiency across the agricultural supply chain through innovation and integration,” said Sanjeev Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at S2G Ventures, which co-led the round. “We’re excited by the value that Sentera has been able to bring to the market and encouraged by what is to come from their team as they accelerate the pace of development and commercialization.”
Last fall, Sentera expanded its longtime partnership with beer brewer Anheuser-Busch to provide grower-level insights, based on advanced remote sensors, to pinpoint optimal nitrogen use for rice. Per Sentera, nitrogen is currently one of the biggest input costs for rice farmers. Gauging proper fertilizer levels has critical implications for crop yields, health, farm profitability and the environment. Anheuser-Busch’s in-house agronomists are currently using Sentera’s technology to make precise, field-level nutrient and nitrogen prescriptions to ensure optimal yields for rice growers.
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