PlanetWatchers, a crop monitoring company that provides insights to crop insurers and the agricultural industry, has raised $11m in Series A funding.
Seraphim Investment Trust, a SpaceTech investment company and Creative Ventures, a deep tech venture firm, co-led the Series A round.
Other participants included The Trendlines Agrifood Fund, BIG Capital and Ridgeline Partners.
PlanetWatchers uses machine learning to support crop insurers and the agricultural industry in verifying cover crops, tillage, planting dates, crop classification and weather damage at scale.
The company uses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data to provide accurate insight at scale.
PlanetWatchers works with a large number of crop insurance companies. The company uses series-based radar data to provide detailed analysis of claims, without ever needing to visit the field. The use of SAR, a remote sensing technology bounding microwave signals off the Earth’s surface, helps PlanetWatchers to detect physical properties and the change to them over time, therefore providing valuable insight to customers.
The funding following a successful pre-Series A round, which the company closed in June 2021.
PlanetWatchers said the capital will allow it to increase its commercial footprint with crop insurers and agricultural input providers. The funds raises will also allow it to continue to invest in its SAR-based data analytics alongside the expansion of its commercial teams to maximise opportunities and address the increasing market demand to help solve global food security issues.
Dominic Edmunds, chief executive for PlanetWatchers, said. “I’m delighted that PlanetWatchers can now take the next steps on our ambitious journey to tell the story of every field. We are thrilled to have the support of both Serpahim and Creative as co-leads and the other investors in the round. We look forward to expanding our market-leading technology and our commercial footprint together.
Andre Ronsoehr, principal at Seraphim Space, added, “PlanetWatchers have achieved an awful lot over the past year, and I am proud of the entire team at the company. They have established themselves as a great partner to major companies that are vital in ensuring today’s global food supply chains, namely crop insurers and agricultural companies.”
Earlier this year, IBISA, an Agri-InsurTech on a mission to provide innovative weather protection insurance, raised seed funding.
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