- With the exit, Nector Holdings, a global fresh produce player, is investing €2 million in Agranimo to accelerate growth and strengthen Agranimo's technology platform.
- Rockstart made its initial investment in Agranimo in 2019 as one of the first investments in agtech and foodtech startups from the Rockstart AgriFood fund.
- The agtech startup will use the funds to create a more targeted offering for different customer segments, from smallholder farmers to large corporate growers and the consumer packaged goods industry.
Amsterdam, June 30, 2021: Rockstart, global accelerator-VC, announces that it has completed its first exit from the Rockstart AgriFood fund only 20 months after the initial investment. With the exit, Nector Holdings, a global fresh produce player, is investing €2 million in Agranimo to accelerate growth and strengthen Agranimo's technology platform. Rockstart’s investment in Agranimo was one of the fund's first batch of investments in agtech and foodtech startups in 2019, further emphasizing its experience in scouting and investing in the best purpose-driven founders. Agranimo will use the funds to create a more targeted offering for different customer segments, from smallholder farmers to large corporate growers and the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry.
This investment allows Agranimo to further develop its data analytics to better use on-farm data downstream in the supply chain, and to expand the suite of tools to address the needs of corporate clients looking for streamlined plant-relevant soil and climate data analysis. The company will also invest in increasing its geographical presence, and expanding the number of data integrations, such as integration with SAP to provide climate intelligence for risk evaluation, certifications and benchmarking.
Founded in 2016 in Santiago, Chile, Agranimo is offering micro-climate intelligence for the fresh produce supply chain, helping to improve profitability and reduce food waste. The company supports fresh produce growers, food producers in areas of irrigation management, frost forecasting, integrated pest management, and yield forecasting. Their services consist of connecting different sources of soil and climate information, including installing patented soil and environment sensors, and providing data standardisation, software analytics and visualisation dashboards as well as agronomic support. Agranimo Platform automates climate analysis - it combines sensors, weather forecast, satellite and drone images to determine the impact of micro-climate on plant growth.
We are very happy for Nikita, Sergio and the entire team at Agranimo. Since Rockstart invested in 2019, we have been consistently impressed by Agranimo’s speed of commercial deployment and dedication to drive greater transparency and forecasting to growers and stakeholders throughout the supply system. The investment enables Nector Holdings and Agranimo to scale their impact and technology even further. Congratulations to all the parties involved!Mark Durno, Managing Partner AgriFood, Rockstart
We are very excited to have Nector as an investor and partner for a variety of reasons! They are a team of great people with a similar set of values and vision of the industry. We can access a lot of knowledge and expertise from HL Hall & Sons, which operates across all stages of production and distribution in the fresh produce value chain, thus helping us refine existing products as well as rapidly develop and trial new product ideas. The investment also allows us to accelerate our efforts to create more efficient and sustainable food production and distribution.Nikita Gulin, Co-Founder and CEO, Agranimo
We are delighted to announce our investment in Agranimo. Over the last 12 months we have developed a strong partnership, one that is based on a shared vision for technology in the food value chain, as well as a common culture and set of principles. The Agranimo leadership team has built a dynamic, forward-thinking business that tackles some of the core challenges in agriculture today. We look forward to working together with Nikita and his team as we develop innovative digital solutions for the food industry.Richard Franklin, MD of Nector Holdings
The AgriFood fund is Rockstart’s first fund launched in 2019. In May 2021, Rockstart announced the closing of the fund at €22m with the participation of Vaekstfonden’s Green Future Fund, alongside informal investors and global dairy cooperative Arla Foods. Rockstart AgriFood has invested in 20 startups since its launch in mid-2019, making the fund one of the most active AgriFood investors in the world. The Rockstart AgriFood portfolio companies have collectively raised >€10m in total thus far. Rockstart AgriFood received more than 600 applications in the last three months and is planning to make new investments this summer.
Agranimo provides crop-specific climate intelligence to increase the efficiency of field management and the supply chain, with specific expertise in fresh produce and tree crops. By leveraging our research in plant physiology and years of field experience, we are able to help small farmers and large enterprises to make full use of field data (soil, climate, remote sensing) to increase productivity and sustainability, forecast yields, and production risks.
Nector is the agritech arm of HL Hall & Sons, a global business with operations in fresh produce, property development, pharmaceuticals, technology and financial services. With over 130 years in fruit and nut farming (operating across the food value chain, from farm to shelf), we aim to use our wealth of experience and knowledge to partner with and support the most innovative agritech businesses in the industry. Nector is based in Europe, with partners in Southern Africa, Asia and South America.
About Rockstart
Rockstart is an early stage investor that empowers purpose-driven founders across three domains: Energy, AgriFood, and Emerging Technologies.
Rockstart invests in early-stage startups from each of the three funds and provides access to capital, market, and expertise by connecting founders with co-investors, mentors, partners, corporates, and the wider Rockstart network.
Rockstart has invested in more than 350 startups and its alumni value to date is more than €1.6bn. Rockstart is an international team of 45+ professionals dedicated to empowering purpose-driven founders to become scalable and drive positive change on a global scale. Rockstart has notable exits such asWercker, Dan.com, Hubs.Com, Bouw7, iClinic, and s and Brincr. The company has offices in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Bogota.
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