LONDON, 25 May 2018: Breed Reply, a leading active operational investor in early-stage Internet of Things (IoT) businesses, has increased its investment in Dutch AgriTech company, Connecterra, as part of a significant Series A funding round.
Connecterra, which has developed “Ida”, an AI-powered intelligent assistant for dairy farmers, has raised a total of €4.2 million from current shareholders Breed Reply, Elias Tabet and MENA Ventures as well as new investors, Sistema Ventures, 7percent Ventures, AgFunder, AceCap and industry veteran, Henk Bles.
As well as private investment, Connecterra was also awarded a grant of €1.7million as part of the SME instrument Phase 2 of the Horizon 2020 program from the European Innovation Commission. Founded in early 2015, Connecterra has subsequently raised a total of €7 million in funding.
The new funding will support the continued development and roll-out of Connecterra’s flagship product, Ida. Ida is an AI-powered service that leverages sensor data ‘from the field’, via a wearable device fitted to cows, turning it into meaningful insight and recommendations for dairy farmers to operate more productive and efficient farms. The Ida platform is currently available in Europe and North America with customers including large and small farmers as well as global dairy processor Danone, among other large industry leaders in the processing, feed and additives businesses.
Connecterra is one of 20 companies that form Breed Reply’s growing portfolio where the investment criteria are companies that combine strong management teams with an innovative technology that solves a real-world problem. As well as funding, Breed Reply works closely with management to accelerate companies’ development to achieve Series A funding and beyond. Last year, one-third of Breed Reply’s portfolio raised more than $50 million of Series A funding.
Yasir Khokhar, CEO, Connecterra, said: “We are thrilled to bring on board a team of investors that shares our vision for a future where Artificial Intelligence will work with farmers to grow food sustainably. With this funding round, we expect to accelerate our traction, establish a presence in new markets and grow our talent to support our rapid growth.”
Emanuele Angelidis, CEO of Breed Reply, said: “Connecterra has quickly established itself as one of the most exciting technology companies in Europe. Its innovative technology is helping farmers improve the productivity of their herds, through real actionable insights and AI technology. It is a great example of IoT in action, solving real world problems and improving the efficiency and profitability of an industry, in this case, dairy farming.”
The Breed Reply team has significant experience in scaling up early-stage businesses, in-depth understanding of different markets, proven track record in sales channel development and strong technological DNA. They also work closely with Reply Group, a leading consulting, systems integration and digital services company with a market presence all over Europe and the USA to help the investee companies commercialise their products.