April 19, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Vertical ag software company Seso has raised $25 million in Series A funding to build the first workforce management platform for the agricultural industry. 

The round was led by Index Ventures who joined Seso’s existing investors NFX and Founders Fund, who together co-led the company’s Seed round, K5 Ventures, Operator Partners, Shrug Capital, and The Chainsmokers’ Mantis Fund.

Often when discussing agricultural production and agtech innovation, the conversation focuses on the challenges associated with factors such as crop yields, inputs, and climate change – all valid and important considerations. These topics of study and development are also largely quantifiable (which is a very good thing), however, labor issues are also a more nebulous, but critical pain point in the food production process.

In June 2021, 66 percent of respondents said they had “some” or “a lot of difficulty” securing enough labor, compared to 30 percent in 2020, according to the June Ag Barometer from Purdue University. That same year, the 2021 Farm Journal Labor Survey found that 87 percent of farm employers and 91 percent of ag retailers were having difficulty filling open positions. That same survey found that 44 percent of responding farmers who aren’t currently employing laborers, are planning to hire workers within the next three years. 

This is not a new problem, but one that’s been faced by farmers, farm managers, and landowners for years – and it’s not getting better.

During GAI AgTech Week 2017 conference, a panel entitled, How can agtech tackle the farm labor crisis?  that included Jeffrey Steen, partner with Kachina LLC & Ecosa Opportunities; Alan Boyce, executive chairman of the Materra Farming Company; Jacob Carter, founder and CEO of Tellus Partners; and Daniel Rothrock, controller of Piepel Premium Fruit, discussed the labor landscape in the ag sector and how agtech is working to alleviate the challenges and address the issues.

At that time, talk was largely centered around what technologies were available or in development that have the potential to replace human workers. But this approach isn’t as comprehensive as it sounds.

“While there has been heavy investments in improving food production in the field with technology like drones and sensors, the biggest spend in agriculture is actually labor, and there have been no innovations in workforce management until now. Seso is addressing the labor shortage and helping farms manage their workforce in an ethical and sustainable way,” said Jordan Taylor, co-founder, Seso.

Enter Seso – a San Francisco-based startup building the first end-to-end recruiting and workforce management platform for the agricultural industry. This platform would be the first technology company to expand employment opportunities for farm workers by providing compliance, visa automation, applicant tracking, and workforce management tools to address some of the most difficult pressure points facing ag labor in the U.S. 

“America has the most productive agricultural system in the world, but it’s dying if we don’t have a labor force in place,” said Michael Guirguis, co-founder and CEO, Seso.  “We all treasure food that is grown locally. We built Seso to ensure the workforce is in place to ensure American agriculture and its workers continue to thrive.”

For every two job openings in the U.S. ag space there is only one applicant. And though bringing workers to the U.S. through the H-2A visa – an uncapped visa for farm workers designed to supplement farm labor – is possible, it is one of the most complicated bureaucratic programs in which to apply. Historically, U.S. farm owners have had to rely on middlemen to bring in H-2A workers, but Seso noted that the process is greatly fragmented and highly inefficient. This inefficiency has resulted in 72 percent of farms receiving H-2A workers late due to visa application mistakes, and $3.1 billion in crops rotting in fields each year due to a lack of workers to complete the harvest.

“Seso is taking an innovative and laser-focused approach to tackling a major problem in an underserved vertical—U.S agriculture,” said Nina Achadjian, partner, Index Ventures. “Their software provides vital tools that will have a positive social impact on the labor force and ensure that American food production can meet its full potential. This investment will fuel Seso as the company enters the next phase of its growth.”

With the capital from this round, Seso stated that it intends to advance its mission to create a stronger, more equitable, and efficient food production system in the U.S. by addressing a $14.8 billion market opportunity. To accomplish this, the company streamlines the process of applying for an H-2A visa, and provides agricultural employers access to qualified labor thorough database of thousands of approved workers. The platform helps farms across the country connect with harvesters, communicate with workers, and keep track of work flows.

Through this centralization, Seso helps farms maintain labor compliance, lessens paperwork, and enables farms to eliminate middlemen and carry out their own recruitment. It also helps workers gain entry to the U.S., giving them a more consistent work life, and a steadier income. 

Since its founding in 2021, Seso has signed more than 80 customers including seven of the largest 20 employers in the industry. Of these, the founders of  ServiceTitan, Flexport, Ramp, Workrise (formerly Rigup), and Motive (formerly KeepTruckin) invested in this round along with many of the largest farms in the U.S.

“Seso’s end-to-end platform automates many of the complexities holding back both farms and laborers who are helping feed our nation,” commented Pete Flint, general partner, NFX. “The Seso team has created a rare win-win-win scenario by helping workers find good jobs, understaffed farms hire skilled laborers, and consumers save money at the grocery store.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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