June 1, 2020

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

The Trendlines Group announced that the Trendlines AgriFood Fund has expanded its portfolio with a third investment, participating in a funding round for agricultural precision irrigation startup Saturas, alongside previous investors Gefen Capital and Hubei Fobon Technology Co. Ltd.

The Trendlines Agrifood fund began investing in February of this year, with a maiden investment commitment of $1.6 million to a $10 million Series B for seed breeding company Equinom. The round was led by BASF Venture Capital, and also included existing investors Israeli private equity fund Fortissimo Capital, and Roquette, a leader in the global plant-based ingredients sector.

In May of this year, the fund announced its second investment in Singapore-based agbiotech startup Insectta. Originally founded as an insect farm focused on the production of alternative proteins for inclusion in animal feed, the company pivoted its focus to the extraction of biomaterials from insects.

Launched in October 2019 with an anchor of $22 million, the Agrifood Fund serves as the foundation of Trendline’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore, investing in local innovative agtech startups, as well as in foreign agrifood companies.

The $22 million in conditional commitments, which includes commitments previously announced in July of last year, were invested by Temasek, a sovereign holding company of Singapore; Librae Holdings, an entity connected to Vincent Tchenguiz, a UK-based billionaire; and an unnamed investor from Southeast Asia.

Joining the portfolio is Israel-based Saturas. Born of the Trendlines Group’s Agrifood incubator in 2013, Saturas focuses on precision irrigation systems management for agriculture. As such, the company has developed an advanced decision support system for automatic irrigation based around its miniature stem-water potential (SWP) sensor.

Most moisture sensors measure environmental metrics to determine the need for irrigation. However, Saturas stated that just as vital signs are critical indicators of human health and are measured from body tissues, so is water stress better measured from plant tissues.

Due to inaccurate measuring and data, farmers today typically overwater their crops by as much as 20 percent, according to the company. However, with Saturas’ SWP sensor that is embedded directly into the trunks of trees and stems of vines and plants in connection with an automatic irrigation system, farmers can obtain accurate data with which they can optimize their irrigation to increase yields while reducing waste. 

“One of the crucial goals of food production today is to increase crop yields without increasing inputs,” said Nitza Kardish, PhD, CEO, Trendlines Agrifood Fund. “Saturas offers farmers an accurate water measurement system, unparalleled in the market, that contributes significantly to achieving this important target.”

“Saving water, a scarce resource worldwide, is of paramount importance, but accurate and timely irrigation produces higher quality yields, of no less importance to the farmers,” continued Kardish. “We are delighted to be part of this innovative company which is so relevant to the needs of the agrifood world today.”

Additionally, this novel system offers remote water system management using only a minimal one to two sensors per hectare. The processed data is transmitted to the central automated irrigation control system where Saturas’ technology develops an irrigation plan based on the real-time needs of the crop. 

At its commercialization stage, Saturas has expanded its sales and operations reach in the U.S. through its subsidiary in California, as well as in Europe, South America, and China.

“We are extremely pleased to complete this investment stage despite the very uncertain times in the COVID-19 period,” said Anat Halgoa, CEO, Saturas. “Following our commercial expansion in the US, Europe, South America and China, this investment enables further market and sales expansion, and development of our production capabilities. We are working to complete the full funding round by the end of the year.”

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.