PlanetWatchers are delighted to announce we have raised $11M in series A funding to further support our ambitious growth plans. The funding raised will allow us to invest in our industry-leading SAR-based data analytics alongside expanding our team to address the increasing market demand to help solve global food security issues.
This latest funding builds on our successful pre-series A round, which closed in June 2021 and means we can significantly increase our commercial footprint with crop insurers and agricultural input providers. For the reactions of our CEO, Dominic Edmunds, Andre Ronsoehr, Principal at Seraphim Space and Champ Suthipongchai, General Partner at Creative Ventures, read the full press release here.
PlanetWatchers raises $11m funding to drive expansion plans
- PlanetWatchers’ monitoring services provide detailed crop insights, at any time, regardless of weather and lighting conditions.
- Seraphim Space Investment Trust plc (‘Seraphim Space’) and Creative Ventures co-led the Series A fund round
- The funding raised will also allow the company to invest in its industry-leading SAR-based data analytics alongside expanding its commercial teams to address the increasing market demand to help solve global food security issues.
London 26 September 2022: PlanetWatchers (‘the Company’), a revolutionary crop monitoring company that can provide detailed crop insights, at any time, regardless of weather and lighting conditions, has raised $11m as part of its series A funding round as part of the Company’s ambitious growth plans.
PlanetWatchers is a world-leading technology company that uses advanced machine learning to support crop insurers and the agricultural industry in verifying cover crops, tillage, planting dates, acreage, crop classification and weather damage at scale. The Company uses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data to provide accurate insight at scale. PlanetWatchers exploits the unique benefits of SAR, to create in-season insights that reduce overheads and increase customer satisfaction.
The Company, which works with a large number of crop insurance companies, uses time series-based radar data to provide detailed analysis of claims without ever visiting the field. The use of SAR, a powerful remote sensing technology bouncing microwave signals off the Earth’s surface, helps PlanetWatchers to detect physical properties and the changes to them over time, proving valuable insight to its customers.
The latest funding round builds on the successful pre-series A round, which the Company closed in June 2021 and allows PlanetWatchers to significantly increase its commercial footprint with crop insurers and agricultural input providers. The proceeds raised will also allow the company to continue to invest in its industry-leading SAR-based data analytics alongside the expansion of its commercial teams to maximise opportunities and address the increasing market demand to help solve global food security issues.
Seraphim Investment Trust PLC (‘Seraphim Space”), the world’s first listed SpaceTech investment company financing the growth of companies operating in the ‘new space’ ecosystem, and Creative Ventures, a deep tech venture firm investing in early-stage companies solving humanity’s most critical crises, co-led the funding round. The Trendlines Agrifood Fund, BIG Capital and Ridgeline Partners also invested in the $11million funding round.
Dominic Edmunds, Chief Executive for PlanetWatchers, said: “I’m delighted that PlanetWatchers can now take the next steps on our ambitious journey to tell the story of every field. We are thrilled to have the support of both Serpahim and Creative as co-leads and the other investors in the round. We look forward to expanding our market-leading technology and our commercial footprint together.
Andre Ronsoehr, Principal at Seraphim Space, said: “PlanetWatchers have achieved an awful lot over the past year, and I am proud of the entire team at the company. They have established themselves as a great partner to major companies that are vital in ensuring today’s global food supply chains, namely crop insurers and agricultural companies. The team’s capabilities in analysing synthetic aperture radar (“SAR”) data and giving customers actionable insights are second to none, and we are very happy to back them in fulfilling their full potential.”
Champ Suthipongchai, General Partner at Creative Ventures, said: “Rarely do I see a company so well managed and executed as PlanetWatchers, thanks to its CEO, Dominic, and its executive team. The company continues to grow by leap and bounds since our initial investment and is clearly a category leader within the crop insurance industry. I have utmost confidence in its potential to upend multiple other industries through its satellite aperture radar (“SAR”) technology.
PlanetWatchers are the market leaders in providing Analytics as a Service (AaaS) to crop insurers and the agricultural industry. Founded by ex-members of an Elite Israeli military intelligence unit, who saw the potential for the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in commercial markets. Lead by Dominic Edmunds – an experienced SaaS entrepreneur, the business is rapidly growing its customer base and expanding its product portfolio.
About Seraphim Space:
Seraphim Space Manager manages the Investment Trust plc is the world’s first listed fund focused on SpaceTech. The Company seeks exposure predominantly to early and growth stage privately financed SpaceTech businesses that have the potential to dominate globally and that are category leaders with first mover advantages in areas such as climate, communications, mobility and cyber security.
The Company listed on the London Stock Exchange on 14 July 2021, following an oversubscribed IPO raising £150m of fresh capital. As 31 March 2022, the Company had net assets of £250m and exposure to 23 SpaceTech companies.
Seraphim Space Investment Trust plc is managed by Seraphim Space Manager LLP. Further information is available at: https://investors.seraphim.vc/
About Creative Ventures:
Creative Ventures is a deep tech venture firm investing in early-stage companies solving humanity’s most critical crises. Led by a team of world-class experts, our deep tech acumen is informed by rigorous research, unmatched market understanding, and the dedication to lead our companies to success. Today’s problems can’t be solved by yesterday’s solutions. Let’s get Creative.
About BIG Capital:
BIG Capital is a leading multidisciplinary investment group with presence in Israel, Europe, North America and South-East Asia, operating in the fields of space, energy, agri-food, and healthcare, led by Mr. Vu Quang Hoi, Vietnamese business mogul and successful visionary.
About Ridgeline:
“Ridgeline is a Memphis-based venture capital firm investing in both software and hardware businesses that have the potential to transform the largest enterprises. Ridgeline was founded by partners Ryan Clinton, Ben Walker, and Andrew McMahon. The firm leverages its expertise and deep network to surround founders with the resources and relationships they need to navigate the fraught terrain between product potential and product market fit.”
The Trendlines Agrifood Fund:
The Trendlines Agrifood Fund, managed by The Trendlines Group (SGX:42T; OTCQX:TRNLY), is based in Singapore and invests in near future, agrifood companies to address the immense challenges that the global food and agricultural systems face. Powered by a team of industry experts together with our global network in the agrifood ecosystem, we leverage our deep and wide experience to invest in exceptional ag and food companies for meaningful impact on the supply chain. We do this in a sustainable manner, creating value for all stakeholders.
