April 19, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Over the past few years (and throughout the global pandemic) digital agronomic farm management leader CropX has been diligently pursuing growth through both innovation and acquisitions. 

Since January 2020, GAI News has shared the company’s acquisition of: Nebraska-based CropMetrics in the U.S.; precision effluent and irrigation services company Regen in New Zealand; crop optimization platform Dacom Farm Intelligence in the Netherlands; and most recently, precision irrigation company Tule Technologies in California.

At the same time, the company has advanced its technologies and forged striking partnerships such as its 2021 strategic tie-in with NASA Harvest – NASA’s Food Security and Agriculture Program housed within the NASA Applied Sciences Program – to collaborate on global agricultural monitoring, and to provide NASA with unprecedented insights into soil health.

Originally founded in 2013 in New Zealand, over the ensuing years this approach has seen CropX rapidly grow, now having offices in Israel, the Netherlands, the U.S., New Zealand, and Australia. The company works to synthesize data gathered from the earth and sky to offer soil and crop intelligence, along with a stack of digital management tools through a user-friendly app able to track multiple fields and farms. 

Today, CropX announced its successful closing on a $30 million Series C led by Aliaxis SA, a global leader enabling access to water and energy through innovative fluid management systems. Joining Aliaxis in the round were Edaphon, Finistere Ventures, NTT Finance Corporation, OurCrowd, Reinke Irrigation, Yair Shamir, and Victrix.

It was noted that this capital will be used by CropX to build upon the dual pillars of its growth: the ongoing development of novel capabilities for its agronomic farm management system, and the acquisition of companies offering complementary technologies and market reach. 

“Completing this funding is a huge endorsement from our investors of the value that we bring to our customers and shareholders, and the positive impact we are making on farms around the world,” said Tomer Tzach, CEO, CropX.

Through this partnership, CropX stated that it will continue to collaborate closely with Aliaxis in the field of data-driven precision irrigation – an area that Tzach noted in 2020, upon the company’s acquisition of Regen, was of interest, saying,  “This acquisition will help us further build out our on-farm irrigation, effluent and nutrient management product lineup as we lead the market in delivering accurate in-soil insights.”

Commenting on this latest fundraise, Vincent Vliebergh, managing partner with Edaphon, said, “CropX real-time field data and agronomic expertise supports sustainable farm management and greater productivity to restore soil systems while still feeding a growing population. The implication of Aliaxis providing its industrial and research expertise as well as access to market is a great asset.”  

And there are scant contributing factors to food production more important. Approximately 70 percent of the world’s freshwater usage on a global scale is for agriculture. Non-sustainable water usage carries a global cost of US$214.7 billion (€220 billion) per year, and is expected to soar to US$1.95 trillion (€2 trillion) within only the next handful of harvest cycles. Water is rapidly becoming the deciding factor for successfully feeding the world, but it is also becoming increasingly scarce. 

Growers using CropX’s irrigation planning platform are not only able to conserve irrigation water and boost yields, but also optimize the use of energy and inputs, resulting in more sustainable practices – reflecting the company’s ability to be a one-stop shop for crop management. 

“Sustainable water management is at the heart of what we do at Aliaxis,” said Eric Olsen, CEO Aliaxis. ”Aliaxis Next is our division created to select, nurture and grow startups in the field of water management. CropX is the best-in-class for smarter irrigation systems in agriculture, and we are thrilled to strengthen our partnership to allow farmers to save water while increasing crop efficiency and food production in a sustainable fashion.”    

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

*The content put forth by Global AgInvesting News and its parent company HighQuest Partners is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. All information or other material herein is not to be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Global AgInvesting and HighQuest Partners are not a fiduciary in any manner, and the reader assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content on this site.