The leading product of the AgTech Startup is, essentially, a synthetic solution for the watering needs of plants. Specifically, by utilizing a set of material sensors, plants can show if they have been watered enough or if they need more water.
In a world where deficient irrigation has far more damaging effects than excessive watering, a farmer who lacks the necessary technology can end up watering the soil more than necessary, wasting a huge amount of valuable water in the process. By carefully measuring plants and coupling their condition with weather and soil data, a farmer can obtain much more precise watering needs.
To continue its own growth path, SupPlant has just raised 27 million dollars. The company has two products: a solution only for software and a hardware and software product. The hardware product measures one plant per about 25 acres and uses this data to extrapolate the needs of all crops in the field. The solution uses five different sensors depending on the deep or shallow soil, trunk, leaves and fruits.
Each of the sensors feeds data into an algorithm, which also takes into account weather patterns, weather forecasts, soil information and other proprietary data, to give advice on how to strategically water crops over the next 10-14 days.
The round of 27 million dollars, that the company has closed, wad led by Red Dot Capital, with the participation of strategic investors Menomadin Foundation, Smart Agro Fund and others. This round brings SupPlants’ total funding to date to over 45 million dollars. The company currently employs about 70 employees and plans to grow to over 100 this year.
In addition to the hardware-based product, the company recently launched an API product, a sensor-free technology that has served 500,000 corn farmers in Kenya in the last period.
SupPlant makes its technology available to these small farmers by changing the basic concept of irrigation methods. The new technology is even designed for 450 million small growers worldwide, while SupPlant aims this year in 2022 to acquire on its platform more than 1 million small farmers from regions of Africa and India.
