Breed Reply, a European investor in early-stage Internet of Things (IoT) businesses, has increased its investment in Dutch agritech company, Connecterra. As part of its Series B funding round, Connecterra has secured €7.8 million from existing investors, Breed Reply and Sistema, alongside new investors including AgTech specialists ADM Capital, French food safety enterprise Kersia Group and Dutch impact investor, Pymwymic.
The Series B funding round completed by Connecterra is the largest ever Series B investment raised by a European livestock tech company. The funding will be used to accelerate the development of Connecterra’s predictive artificial intelligence (AI) platform, Ida. Ida is the first digital assistant for the dairy farmer, based on sensor technology, cloud computing and machine learning.
The platform translates unique data on cow behaviour into accurate and actionable insights using artificial intelligence. Ida serves both the farmer and stakeholder in the dairy production chain. The funding will also help Connecterra grow its presence in dairy-leading regions such as Europe, North America and New Zealand.
Industry giants such as Danone, Bayer and Kersia are among those that have adopted the platform. Ida is being used to create sustainable farming models that have eliminated the use of hormones, reduced antibiotic usage by up to 50%, and increased farm efficiency. The platform is also part of the Farming for Generations (F4G) consortium led by Danone. The consortium is tackling regenerative agriculture implementation within the dairy protein supply chain.
Connecterra is one of around 20 companies that form Breed Reply’s growing where the investment criteria are companies that combine strong management teams with an innovative technology that solves a real-world problem. The portfolio can be seen here
Yasir Khokhar, CEO of Connecterra says,“The COVID-19 outbreak has brought into sharp focus the weaknesses in our food system that is disconnected and faces threats from climate change and a dwindling labour workforce. Empowering farmers and the industry with a connected, AI-driven platform is a necessity for the future of food production. With the support of our investors, customers and partners, we are well-positioned to democratise access to our technology to millions of farmers across the globe”.
Breed Reply’s CEO, Emanuele Angelidis adds, ”Since we first invested in Connecterra in 2016, the company has gone from strength to strength. The high-quality team led by Yasir has done an excellent job in building Ida into a platform that can play a significant role in delivering sustainable farming. Connecterra is now a global provider of AgTech as the strong support this funding round has received demonstrates.”
Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @IoTNow_OR @jcIoTnow
via https://www.aiupnow.com
by Anasia D'mello, Khareem Sudlow
