Precision ag firm, and Purdue Research Park startup, Spensa Technologies Inc., closed on $2.5 million raised in a Series A. The series was funded by private and public venture capitalists, wealth individuals, and investment firms including mTerra Ventures LLC, VilCap Investments LLC, Elevate Ventures, Foundry Investment Fund, and John T. Smith. Spensa plans to use the funds to advance its research initiatives with the goal of furthering the development of its precision agriculture technologies and to increase its workforce.

 

Founded in 2009 by company president and chief executive officer, Johnny Park, Spensa has developed multiple precision pest management systems. Its latest technology, OpenScout, consists of a Web and mobile app application that identifies and documents weeds, crop diseases, insects, nutrient deficiencies, and other agronomic challenges, enabling a farmer or manager to address issues before they become a greater problem. The Z-Trap is another technology developed by Spensa, which is an electronic pest trap that monitors and tracks pest populations in real time. Both the OpenScout system and Z-Trap are currently in use by farmers across five continents.

 

Located in the Purdue Research Park, Spensa Technologies has received startup backing through the entrepreneurship and commercialization hub, Purdue Foundry, and the Series A follows on the heels of recent support from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation which offered the startup $635,000 in tax credits and up to $40,000 in training grants, an SBIR Phase 2 grant in the amount of $630,000 from the National Science Foundation, and $1.3 million in funds previously raised from investors and venture programs.