March 30, 2017

Data-driven agtech analytics company Arable Labs announced it has raised $4.25 million in a Series A led by Middleland Capital and S2G Ventures. New investors Chase Field, Spark Labs, and Cantos VC also contributed to the round.

Arable connects sensors with predictive analytics to provide farmers and agribusinesses with real-time, continuous in-field weather and crop monitoring through its sensor called, Arable Mark.

Arable developed the sensor in partnership with developers of Nest and GoPro to be easy to install over the crop canopy, and to have the ability to measure more than 40 different environmental data streams. These include rainfall, temperature, water stress and crop water demand, canopy biomass, chlorophyl levels, as well as provide predictive analytics of crop growth, yields, harvest timing, and quality, making it the “most data-rich device available in IoT,” according to the company.

“Accurate forecasting is in many ways a holy grail in agriculture,” said Brian Mixer, Managing Director of Middleland Capital, “and Arable has brought together a rare group of product engineers, biologists, and mathematicians to solve this critical issue in the food supply chain. They’ve been able to get significant buy-in from some of this country’s largest producers, Fortune 500 companies, research institutions, and government agencies. The value across the food supply chain is staggering.”

Reaching deeper, Arable’s cloud-based Insights platform then uses predictive analytics to process the gathered data to determine probable yields, perishability, and timing of crops, which is critical information that crop consultants, farmers, and large-scale producers along the supply chain can use in their communications and negotiations for forward-purchasing agreements with business partners. This ability mitigates exposure to production risk, and has the ability to reduce post-harvest losses.

“Arable is solving the financial risk embodied in transactions between growers and processors, especially in specialty crops that exist outside of commodities exchanges,” said Sanjeev Krishnan, managing director at S2G Ventures. “As both parties capture benefits, we can see the emergence of a very different supply chain in food and ag. Consumers are demanding quality, reliability, and transparency, and growers and processors should benefit from delivering on that desire.”

Through connecting insights and abilities between highly specialized and technically-rich fields, Arable is demonstrating the Mark’s value in answering the challenges faced along the entire agricultural supply chain from farm to fork.

“Adam and his team have developed a clear value proposition as the critical business intelligence that connects producers and processors,” Mixer told Silicon Angle. “Accurate forecasting is in many ways a holy grail in agriculture, and Arable has brought together a rare group of product engineers, biologists, and mathematicians to solve this critical issue in the food supply chain.”

For the past year, Arable has undertaken field trials of the Mark and its Insight platform with a collection of high-profile partners. These include Fortune 500 agribusinesses and government agencies and research institutions such as Yara, Valmont, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Conservis, One Acre Fund, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reports AgFunder.

At a cost of $650 per sensor, with a $250 subscription fee for the analytics platform and an account fee of $1,250, the company plans to begin shipping its Mark sensors this spring, with plans to expand its distribution as the year progresses.

-Lynda Kiernan

Lynda Kiernan is Editor with 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.