Insider Brief
- Neatleaf™, a cultivation management platform, secured $4 million in funding led by AgFunder for its AI and robotics-driven technology, aimed at improving crop management and yields in the cultivation industry.
- The company’s flagship product, Neatleaf Spyder, is an autonomous robotic platform that scans indoor crops, generating data for plant health and growth, which is analyzed to provide actionable insights for cultivation teams.
- Developed to detect plant issues early, the Spyder enables comparison of growth conditions across cycles and facilities, supporting crop steering and planning, while reducing travel costs and optimizing staff workload.
PRESS RELEASE — SANTA CRUZ, Calif./January 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Neatleaf™, a first-of-its-kind cultivation management platform that uses data, AI, and robotics to help the cultivation industry manage their crops and improve their yields, has secured $4 million led by AgFunder, one of the world’s most active foodtech and agtech investors.
The company’s flagship product, the Neatleaf Spyder, is a fully autonomous robotic platform that scans indoor cultivation crops generating millions of data points on plant health and growth metrics. This data is analyzed and turned into actionable insights for the cultivation team to assess, monitor, and remedy. “We believe that data is one of the most crucial tools a farmer can have today,” said Neatleaf Founder and CEO Elmar Mair. “Our AI-driven technology will save growers time and money but more importantly, allows them to grow healthier, more profitable crops through daily management and forecasting tools. This funding will allow us to increase production and deliver the benefits of automation and AI to more growers.”
Neatleaf technology has been developed over the last several years to detect plant issues even before the human eye can detect them. The Spyder looks at every plant multiple times and can “go back in time” to show when a problem began. Data analytics can compare growth conditions across multiple growth cycles as well as across facilities which is crucial for crop steering and planning. With remote monitoring, growers can save travel costs and optimize an often overworked staff.
“Future yield increases in agriculture will start with better data capture at a plant-by-plant level,” said Tom Shields, a Partner at AgFunder who is joining the Neatleaf Board of Directors. “Neatleaf has an innovative solution for data capture, and more importantly, has proven they can help growers use that data to meaningfully increase yields.”
Neatleaf
Founded in 2020, Neatleaf’s mission is to enable cultivators to grow their crops in the most efficient and sustainable way. With offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Munich, Germany, it brings together a multidisciplinary and diverse group of world-class professionals from some of the world’s leading technology companies and research institutions. Neatleaf is committed to connecting people with plants and data, and creating a positive impact for our planet.
AgFunder
AgFunder is one of the world’s most active foodtech and agtech VCs. We’re rethinking venture capital for the 21st century. Born in Silicon Valley in 2013, we use technology, media and our global network to invest in and support transformational founders and technologies. With the world’s only truly global agrifoodtech investment portfolio, we’ve invested in more than 60 companies across six continents. Our news site AFN publishes daily, original news from the frontlines of food+ag+climate, globally.
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