Sencrop, a major European ag-tech player in precision farming through its collaborative agro-weather solutions based on micro-climate, today announced an $18 million Series B fundraising round led by JVP, as part of the leading international VC fund’s climate and foodtech initiative.
EIT Food, supported by the European Union, Stellar Impact, managed by Telos Impact, IRD Management and Sencrop’s existing shareholders, including BPIfrance, Demeter IM and NCI Waterstart are also taking part in the transaction.
This round will strengthen Sencrop’s leadership in its core markets, accelerate its international expansion towards North America, and consolidate its trajectory on its journey to becoming the world leader in ag-tech.
Since its creation in 2016, the collaborative precision farming solution has been helping farmers limit their crop risks and make better day-to-day decisions for greater comfort, better yields and controlled environmental impact with a clear mission; to make precision farming accessible to all. In six years, the ag-tech start-up has become Europe’s leader in field-connected solutions for all types of crops.
Erel Margalit, Founder and Executive Chairman of JVP and Margalit Startup City, says: “From the first time we met Martin and Michael, the company’s co-founders, we realised that this leading European company, with its next-generation micro-climate technology, has the ability to revolutionise the farmer’s world. Using AI smart solutions, like a personal Waze app for the farmer’s weather conditions, the farmer can maximise his crop quality in a very short time. Our investment in Sencrop is part of our wider vision to invest in companies that provide ground-breaking solutions to the world’s most critical challenges. We are happy to join forces with Sencrop and support the team to bring its ground-breaking micro-climate technology to North America and the rest of the world markets.”
Sencrop’s sensors and platform enable more than 20,000 professionals to receive real-time and predictive information for their fields: Micro-climatic information, water stress, plant growth stages, disease or pest development conditions, and more. Well-informed by thousands of data points, farmers can optimise the use of inputs, for example by spraying only if the weather conditions are right or irrigating only if necessary. Furthermore, the app enables farmers to identify weather, water stress, pest and disease risks for their crops, including frost episodes and risk of mildew, and act accordingly.
Democratise precision farming
“Sencrop’s mission is to democratise precision farming and reduce crop risks for farmers,” says Martin Ducroquet, Sencrop’s co-founder and general manager. “We have developed a unique microclimate technology which today allows more than 20,000 professionals – farmers, winegrowers, fruit growers, etc – to access ultra-precise and ultra-local information for better daily monitoring of their crops and in-field risks. The fundraising, led by JVP – a global reference player in ag-tech – opens up new prospects for international acceleration that will be supported by new impact investors, specialising in climate-tech.”
“Sencrop’s microclimate technology is now used on a daily basis by a large community of farmers in more than 20 countries,” adds Michael Bruniaux, Sencrop’s co-founder and CEO. “The reasons for this strong adoption lie in the simple, collaborative and impactful nature of our solution. As agricultural input prices are rising and weather is becoming even more unstable and critical, Sencrop enables farmers to make the best decisions every day to reduce crop risks and limit environmental impact, while increasing their profitability.”
Open approach
Based on an increasingly collaborative and open approach, Sencrop ensures that farmers need no longer be alone when facing certain challenges. Connected through networks, they can share the information gathered on their plots and help each other find solutions. Sencrop’s activity is based on three pillars: (i) weather monitoring; (ii) anticipation of disease and pest risks; (iii) irrigation management.
Gadi Porat, JVP general manager says: “Sencrop is the only company that has the largest connected community of farmers in Europe, based on 20,000 customers who receive online data to help them achieve better results and maximise their yields. This new funding will enable Sencrop to expand this community globally, utilising more data to help more farmers.”
