MagGrow, a Dublin-based agtech startup, announced it has raised €3 million (US$3.4 million) in 2018 funding from unnamed existing and new investors for its unique proprietary agricultural spray technology. This round brings total funding to date for the company to more than €10 million (US$11.3 million).
Founded in 2013, MagGrow has developed and commercialized a proprietary magnetic spraying technology that can be fitted onto existing crop sprayers, has no moving parts, and is easy to install and maintain. Usage of the system reduces drift by more than 70 percent, improves coverage by up to 40 percent, reduces water usage by up to 50 percent, extends spray windows, and reduces necessary labor compared to traditional spray methods.
Since its launch, the company has successfully secured key customers and channel partners for its technology in a number of the world’s top agricultural markets including the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Africa.
“The board and investors are excited by the commercial success of core products launched for the pesticide spraying market in 2018,” said Frank van Bezooijen, director and investor in MagGrow. “The feedback from customers and channel partners has been overwhelmingly positive with customer testimonials in particular giving us huge confidence in the potential global demand for our proprietary crop spraying technology.”
The company also has a strong history of research and development, working with academic institutions to advance its product portfolio enabling farmers to pursue a more sustainable approach to food production. Over the years it has worked with Wageningen University in the Netherlands, Harper Adams in Newport, England, and Trinity College in Dublin. It also has launched its own crop science center at Farm 491 – an agtech innovation space in Gloucestershire. Furthermore, last year the company was selected for the Pearse Lyons Agritech accelerator program alongside MooCall, another Irish agtech startup that has developed wearable sensors that alert farmers of when cows go into labor.
“This latest investment will allow us to support our customers increasing requirements, accelerate our sales growth and ensure we continue to invest in the development of the underlying technology which has been a core strength of this business since the start,” said Gary Wickham, CEO, MagGrow.
Concurrently, the company announced the appointment of Jochem Verberne to the company’s Board. Until August 2018, Verberne acted as Global Partnerships Director at WWF International, the largest conservation organization in the world. At MarGrow, along with his duties to the Board, Verberne will also leverage his deep experience in driving sustainable business practices and investments to accelerate the development of the business across key markets.
“We’re facing an enormous challenge to produce at least 50 percent more food by 2050 in a more sustainable way than today,” said Verberne. “At WWF, I learned that a rapid increase of investments in solutions for this challenge is needed to reduce the pressures on our natural resources and to change the way we take care of our arable land. I look forward to help an innovative company like MagGrow to contribute to feeding the planet in a more sustainable way.”
Looking forward, the company is also committed to expanding the application of its technology to spray uses beyond pesticides, as well as to other agricultural applications. Plans are in place by the company to invest further in its distribution platform, and to use this fresh capital to accelerate growth in its target markets, as well as to support several R&D initiatives being conducted both by itself and by third party research partners to further validate the science behind its products.
-Lynda Kiernan