January 11, 2017

FarmLogs, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based farm data management platform provider, has raised $22 million in a Series C led by new investor, Naspers Ventures, and including Drive Capital, Huron River Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, SV Angel, and Y Combinator president, Sam Altman.

Founded in 2011 and a graduate of the Y Combinator startup accelerator, FarmLogs employs machine learning and data science to help farmers gather real-time metrics that can be used to increase yields, reduce waste, and increase revenue. Farmers using the platform can remotely track rainfall events and levels throughout the growing season, track the accumulation of heat units in fields on a daily basis, monitor crop and soil health to make more informed decisions regarding fertilizer and chemical applications and spraying, track crops as they move to storage or to a buyer, and assess field by field performance through color-coded yield maps. Farmers can then access their data through mobile apps for iOS or Android devices and can share notes from specific field locations including photos.

“Traditionally farmers are out there scouting fields by driving around and paying consultants because there are more acres than they can scout on their own. They couldn’t analyze every acre of the field,”  Jesse Vollmar, FarmLogs Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, told GAI News in May 2015, explaining that this drove FarmLogs’ team to develop a platform for farmers that would enable them to truly know their entire farm’s status without being required to physically be in the field. “We challenged ourselves to develop a product that would do that. That’s what we achieved,” he said.

A Round-Up of Rounds

This round brings the total capital raised by FarmLogs to $37 million since its launch.

One year after securing $1 million in seed capital, the company went on in 2014 to raise $4 million in a Series A led by Drive Capital and including Huron River Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, and Hyde Park Angels.

At the time, the company had already achieved the benchmark of having their technology being used by five percent of the farms in the U.S.

“We are very excited about the trajectory we are on and having additional support and resources will continue to accelerate our growth,” said Vollmar in a company statement announcing the round. “We’ve helped thousands of farmers around the world take advantage of technology, and with their feedback and suggestions they’ve helped us create a smarter future for farming.”

This round was quickly followed by a $10 million Series B involving existing investors, Drive Capital, Huron River Ventures, and Hyde Park Venture Partners, SV Angel and Sam Altman which brought FarmLogs’ total funding to $15 million.

“The capital just came to us,” said Vollmar to GAI News in May 2015. “We weren’t out fundraising. But it was an opportunity to raise capital on great terms from great investors, a lot of whom were existing investors who are excited about the direction the company is headed.”

Today, FarmLogs states that one fifth of U.S row crop farms are using its technology, and the company plans to use the capital from its Series C to fund its R&D pipeline and to expand its team.

“This additional funding will enable us to further grow our team, to accelerate product innovation, and to continue investing aggressively in creating a better future for farming,” said Vollmar. “We’re gaining an incredible partner with Naspers Ventures, and we’re thrilled to have the support of world-class investors as we keep the momentum building and continue to tackle huge challenges in agriculture.”

-Lynda Kiernan

Lynda Kiernan is Editor, GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com