Switzerland-based agritech startup xFarm Technologies has raised €17 million in funding to help farmers with sustainability measures on the farm and collaborate with other supply chains, such as livestock management, through technology like artificial intelligence (AI).
The Swiss agritech aims to expand in Europe and new markets, including the U.S.
According to the company, this is one of Europe’s largest Series B funding rounds in the agritech sector.
Prior to this round, the company had raised €3 million in a Series A round in 2019.
The Series B round was led by Zurich-based Swisscom Ventures, with participation from Neva SGR (Intesa Sanpaolo Group), Emerald Technology Ventures, NovaCapital, and Grey Silo Ventures.
xFarm’s lead investor in the Series A round, United Ventures, also participated in the round.
Founded in 2017 by Matteo Vanotti, Martino Poretti, and Salvatore Ferullo, the startup uses in-field sensors to provide farmers and other agricultural enterprises with a platform that gathers and analyses data from across the farm.
The data includes information on pests, weed growth, irrigation requirements, and financial issues.
The company claims to support and simplify the work of 110,000 farms spread over 1.5
million hectares in more than 100 countries globally via its proprietary platform. It works with more than 70 top-tier players, such as leading agri-food firms and machinery manufacturing groups, and it hopes to advance these initiatives internationally.
xFarm will also utilize the capital in developing more effective solutions and support farmers in adapting to climate change.
Read more on Tech Gist Africa:
Germany’s Knowunity books €10 million
