Bosch, Flex Back AgTech Innovator CropX

CropX announced that global leaders in the sensor manufacturing space – Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH (RBVC) and the Flex technology accelerator, Lab IX – have invested in the company. Already serving 20 top farms across the United States, CropX plans to use the strategic partnerships to accelerate product development and rapidly expand market adoption.
 
In tandem, CropX also unveiled a new version of its proven soil sensors that drastically reduces installation time. To see the new sensor in action, please visit https://www.cropx.com/product/.
 
“The CropX adaptive irrigation platform has become a core component of our business model and has had an enormous impact on our bottom line – in water and fertilizer cost savings, as well as in crop yield improvement. The ability to cost-effectively automate the entire irrigation process, from data collection to actual irrigation, is a game changer as leaders in the agriculture industry look to increase sustainability, productivity and crop yield,” noted Jon-Michael J. Nahon, managing principal and head of market operations for Integrated Ag Financial. “With CropX, farms can start small and quickly scale thanks to the platform’s flexibility. We’ve been able to rapidly increase sensor usage across hundreds of acres of our fields in just one growing season and are fully automating our entire irrigation system across thousands of acres this year.”
 
CropX’s proprietary science helps farmers better understand water usage across their fields. Its low-cost soil sensors can increase crop yields while simultaneously cutting water usage by one third. In just one irrigation season, CropX sensors were installed on thousands of acres of all major row crops and demonstrated immense value, with early customers across the US reporting dramatic water, manpower and cost savings, as well as massive crop yield gains. During the current growing season, CropX technology will be rolled out across hundreds of thousands of acres.
 
RBVC, the corporate venture company of the Bosch Group, a world leading sensor manufacturer, invested in CropX due to its breakthrough do-it-yourself soil sensor technology, scalable IoT platform, powerful analytics and low-barrier, SaaS business model.
 
“CropX gives farmers a fast and simple way to know the exact water needs and best irrigation plan of different parts of each field,” said Jan Westerhues, investment partner at Robert Bosch Venture Capital. “Its pay-as-you-go service model makes it easy for farmers to quickly test the platform, realize its value and scale across more fields, crops and farms.”
 
“CropX is bringing a powerful combination of soil sensor and cloud-based ag analytics that is affordable and easy-to-use for the farmer, and integrates with all of the leading irrigation systems out there,” noted Arama Kukutai, chairman of CropX and partner at Finistere Ventures. “CropX is setting the bar for adaptive irrigation and Ag IoT, so it is a huge validation when strategic investors like Flex and Robert Bosch Venture Capital invest to help us drive these technologies to wider adoption in the United States and globally.”
 
Underscoring its ongoing commitment to product innovation, today CropX also launched a new version of its proven soil sensors. Farmers can now easily install the screw-like sensors in less than four minutes – a dramatic reduction from the 20-minute installation that broke industry records when the first generation of CropX sensors hit the market six months ago. Retailing for $380/sensor with an annual subscription starting at $220/sensor accessible via any smartphone, the CropX solution offers a mass-market solution for the global water conservation challenge.
 
The company’s Series A financing, which was extended from $9 million to $10 million to accommodate investor interest, is now closed. Leading AgTech investors Finistere Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, GreenSoil Investments and OurCrowd welcomed the addition of RBVC and Flex into the oversubscribed round due to their sensor manufacturing leadership. The funding will support the company’s continued growth and product development, including advances in nutrition, plant protection, planting and harvesting.