xFarm Technologies, a startup based in Switzerland that focuses on the development of SaaS solutions for agriculture, announced on Friday (August 5) that it has raised €17M in a Series B round of funding.
According to xFarm, this is one of Europe’s largest Series B agritech funding rounds. The company previously raised €3M in a Series A round in 2019.
Swisscom Ventures led the investment, with participation from Neva SGR (Intesa Sanpaolo Group), Emerald Technology Ventures, NovaCapital, and Grey Silo Ventures. United Ventures, xFarm’s Series A round’s lead investor, also participated in the round.
Fund utilisation
As per xFarm, the funds will be used to build and improve its platform with new features to assist farmers with farm sustainability measures and collaborate with other supply chains, such as livestock management, using technology such as artificial intelligence (AI). Agricultural inputs such as water, fertiliser, and plant protection products can be optimised using decision support systems (DSS).
xFarm Technologies will also use the funds to create more effective solutions and assist farmers in adapting to climate change.
The company, which has its headquarters in Switzerland and branches in Italy and Spain, intends to expand in Europe as well as to new markets, including the Americas.
xFarm Technologies, founded in 2017 by Matteo Vanotti, Martino Poretti, and Salvatore Ferullo, uses in-field sensors to provide farmers and other agricultural enterprises with a platform that collects and analyses data from all over the farm. This data includes, among other things, information on pests, weed growth, irrigation requirements, and financial issues.
“The strength of xFarm Technologies is its highly innovative nature, which allows us to manage the complex needs of farmers, machinery manufacturers and all the stakeholders in the supply chain through digitalization. Now more than ever it is crucial for farms to simplify processes and make them more efficient to meet growing challenges. – said xFarm Technologies CEO Matteo Vanotti –. We are proud to have secured this Series B round and to have Swisscom Ventures and all the other investors by our side. We share a vision to innovate agriculture. xFarm Technologies aims to be a key player in this fast-evolving market to improve the lives of millions of farmers through digitalization, seeking greater efficiency and sustainability.”
“Digital platforms combined with the internet of things are fundamentally altering farming. The next wave of adoption is creating the foundation for producing more sustainably while coping with the challenges of climate change. – said Alexander Schlaepfer, a partner at Swisscom Ventures and a new member of xFarm Technologies board –. We were captivated by the profound domain expertise of the founding team, impressed by the quality of customers in the food and agri-machinery sectors that have quickly integrated the product into their operations, and are excited to partner with the company. xFarm Technologies – after Ecorobotics – is our second investment in the smart agriculture domain and underlines Swisscom’s continued commitment to enable the digital transformation of the farming sector towards sustainable production.”
Future plans
The company claims that its proprietary platform supports and simplifies the work of 110,000 farms spread across 1.5M hectares in more than 100 countries worldwide. It collaborates with over 70 top-tier players, including leading agri-food companies and machinery manufacturing groups, and hopes to expand these initiatives internationally.
To meet its goals and assist more farms and supply chains in becoming more efficient, xFarm plans to expand its team from 60 to 80 employees by the end of this year.
