ZUG, Switzerland, May 2, 2023 — Zug, Tangem AG, a leading provider of secure hardware wallet solutions, has announced the successful outcome of its latest investment round. The round came in at $8 million and was led by Web3 venture capital firm Shima Capital, with contributions from additional investors. It comes at a time of continued growth for the hardware developer and will help to propel Tangem to the next level.

Andrey Kurennykh, CEO of Tangem, shared his enthusiasm for the successful funding round: “We see great potential for our technologies to evolve as self-custodial storage experiences greater demand and more users choose to own their funds. The support from Shima Capital and the SBI Group will enable us to accelerate our growth and deliver enhanced solutions for secure digital asset management.”

With this new capital injection, Tangem is well positioned to expand its product offerings, further solidifying its position as a leader in the hardware wallet space. The company is dedicated to creating innovative solutions that empower individuals to take control of their digital assets, while providing the highest levels of security and ease of use.

“We’re thrilled to be leading this round for Tangem,” said Yida Gao, founder and Managing General Partner at Shima Capital. “The team is poised for rapid adoption and we see Tangem as a major player in the crypto hardware wallet space.”

SBI Digital Asset Holdings, part of the Japanese SBI Group and key investor in the first round, has expressed its enthusiasm with the deal, “Tangem’s cutting-edge technology and integration with payment networks are highly promising” said Fernando Vazquez, CEO of SBI Digital Asset Holdings.

For more information on Tangem and its range of secure hardware wallet solutions, please visit http://www.tangem.com

About Tangem

Tangem is a leading provider of secure hardware wallet solutions designed for the safekeeping and management of digital assets. Its mission is to empower individuals to take control of their digital wealth, with an emphasis on security, ease of use, and flexibility. Tangem’s innovative products have garnered significant interest from investors and customers alike, driving the company’s continued growth and success. For more information, visit http://www.tangem.com.

About Shima Capital

Shima Capital is a leading early stage VC firm, founded by Yida Gao in 2021, investing in disruptive blockchain companies. The fund is deeply focused on taking a hands-on approach and working closely with its portfolio companies to provide the most sweat equity per dollar invested. As teams in Web3 push the frontier of innovation, Shima helps hire talent, build community, amplify narratives, and foster the acceleration of technical research and development. Shima is composed of seasoned investors, accomplished operators, and former founders who align on a mission to support all-star teams with building and scaling generational companies. For more https://shima.capital/.

About SBI Digital Asset Holdings

SBI Digital Asset Holdings is a digital asset arm of the Japanese financial conglomerate SBI group. The company endeavors to bring innovation to the financial industry by building an ecosystem for issuance, custody, management, and liquidity for digital assets. SBI Digital Asset Holdings, via SBI group companies, has strong links with other group investments such as Ripple, R3, B2C2, Digital Asset Holdings, Securitize, Elliptic as well as Sygnum, Boerse Stuttgart Digital Holdings and Tangem among others.

Please visit www.sbidah.com or www.sbigroup.co.jp/english for more information.

SOURCE Tangem AG

NEW YORK, May 2, 2023 — VantagePoint, a finance transformation and technology implementation specialist, is proud to announce a new upcoming event, “Attracting investors: Scaling finance and operations for success“. In partnership with c-suite talent specialists Zanda, this exclusive event takes place in the heart of New York City on May 17, 2023 between 18:00-20:00 EST. Joined by expert panellists, they will discuss the key elements business leaders should be focusing on when preparing their organizations for attracting investors, securing funding and scaling their finance and operations functions.  

During this event, attendees will have the opportunity to learn from top industry professionals who will provide valuable insights including: 

• Hiring and enabling your finance team to raise funding in a challenging economic environment
• How to build a successful accounting and finance function from scratch
• The importance of aligning your finance and operations function with growth ambitions
• How to prepare your people, processes and systems for a successful round of funding. 

In addition to the panel of experts, attendees will have the opportunity to network with other business leaders and participate in an interactive Q&A session.  

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to gain invaluable insights on how to become investor ready. Join VantagePoint and Zanda in New York on May 17 and take your finance and operations to the next level! 

For more information and to register for the event, click here. 

About VantagePoint: VantagePoint is a global finance transformation and technology implementation specialist committed to unifying and connecting finance functions to provide businesses with essential insight, control and compliance. 

About Zanda: Founded in 2019, Zanda exists to accelerate sustainable growth in strong tech companies by surrounding founders with other talented leaders. For the last four years, Zanda has supported numerous tech startups ranging from Seed-Series D with full-time, interim and fractional talent, that elevates their team. 

Contact: 
Ifẹ Akintoye – Marketing & Communications Lead 
E: [email protected]  
T: +44 7908 524 702  
www.vantagepoint.consulting   

Olivia Early – Marketing & Operations 
E: [email protected] 
T: +44 7881 287 558 
www.zandasearch.com 

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Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2065800/ZANDA_Logo.jpg
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2065801/VantagePoint.jpg

SOURCE VantagePoint

BrokerTech Ventures and ManchesterStory Launch new Venture Capital Fund to invest in early-stage insurtech companies focused on tech-enabled insurance brokerage.

DES MOINES, Iowa, May 2, 2023 — BrokerTech Ventures (BTV), the industry’s first broker-led convening platform and accelerator program, has partnered with leading insurtech venture capital investor ManchesterStory Group (ManchesterStory) to launch the BrokerTech Fund, LP, the first venture capital fund focused on early-stage insurtech companies developing broker-centric technology solutions. Limited Partners of the $34 million Fund include Holmes Murphy, M3 Insurance, Baldwin Risk Partners, UNICO Group, IMA Financial Group, Christensen Group, and The Graham Company.

“This is an exciting time for Holmes Murphy, BTV, and all of our partners who have worked tirelessly to get the BrokerTech Fund off the ground,” said Dan Keough, Holmes Murphy Chairman and CEO and BTV Co-Founder and Co-CEO. “We believe we’ve harnessed something special through the power of BTV. Now, using this new Fund as a catalyst for capital infusion, we’re even more bullish around the possibilities to change and innovate our industry even further and to impact the client experience even greater.”

ManchesterStory, the Fund’s General Partner, is a premier early-stage venture capital firm that manages more than $225 million in committed capital across multiple funds focused on emerging technologies in insurance, financial services, and healthcare. 

“We are thrilled to team up with the owners and partners of BTV to manage the BrokerTech Fund,” said Dave Miles, Founding Partner of ManchesterStory. “BrokerTech Ventures brought front and center the voice of the broker community in insurtech innovation. With today’s launch of the BrokerTech Fund, BTV once again breaks new ground with the first-ever venture fund backed by a consortium of leading insurance brokers dedicated to helping insurance brokers better serve the needs of their insurance customers through technology.”

“Standing up a broker-focused venture fund has been M3’s vision since 2017, even before BTV fully came to life,” said Mike Victorson, M3 Insurance CEO and BTV Co-Founder and Co-CEO. “To see the BrokerTech Fund come to fruition in collaboration with Holmes Murphy and several of our BTV broker partners is nothing short of a dream come true.”

For more information on BTV or the BrokerTech Fund, please visit www.brokertechventures.com.

About BrokerTech Ventures

Based in the insurance nucleus of Des Moines, Iowa, BrokerTech Ventures (BTV) is the first broker-led convening platform and accelerator program focused on delivering innovation to the insurance broker industry. Founded in 2019, BTV provides a venue for the best minds in insurance and technology to collaborate and bring to market leading-edge ideas and solutions. BTV invests in the research and testing for each of the chosen startups, provides access to veteran industry mentors, and helps scale the technology to market through broker distribution channels. Learn more at www.brokertechventures.com, or follow us on Twitter (@BrokerTechVen), LinkedIn, or Facebook.

About ManchesterStory

Backed by more than $225 million in committed capital from insurance carriers & brokers, financial services firms, and health care institutions, ManchesterStory is a preeminent lead investor in early-stage startups driving technological innovation in InsurTech, FinTech, and HealthTech across North America and internationally. Learn more at www.manchesterstory.com.

Contact:
Adam Scheurenbrand 
515-205-4080 
[email protected]

SOURCE BrokerTech Ventures

ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 2, 2023 — Sniffer Robotics, a leading environmental technology enabled services firm, today announced first and substantial close of a $2 million seed funding round, led by the Michigan Angel Fund. Other investors include Michigan Rise, Naruhisa Nakagawa (founder of Caygan Capital), and Abhishek Desai of Desai Ventures (London).

The start-up, founded in late 2016, developed a patented, drone-based solution to detect methane leak sources at ground level. Its Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), the SnifferDRONE™, is a comprehensive system to automate a hazardous and labor-intensive methane emission monitoring method where technicians walk miles to manually inspect landfills, natural gas pipelines, and similar land-based applications. In December, 2022, the US EPA recognized the benefits of Sniffer’s technology with the first and only approval of their automated tool for compliance. This system is used throughout the United States assisting sites to more accurately account for methane leaks, enhances gas collection, and reduce odors, for a triple benefit – operations, community, and the environment.

In a short period, Sniffer has become a top solution and service provider for ground based emissions monitoring. This capital raise provides funds for continued product development and expansion.

Skip Simms of the Michigan Angel Fund stated “We were happy to lead this Seed round for Sniffer Robotics. SR has a product and service that falls under the category of ‘why hasn’t someone already thought of this’. They now have first mover advantage in a huge market. The EPA has recognized their value for the environment and waste industry by approving them as a qualified vendor for reporting. Customers repeatedly confirm the value proposition with the savings they provide. And they have the IP to protect their launch. This capital gives them the fuel for acceleration.”

“I’m very grateful to the investors who see the value we offer our customers and the environment and look to harness the momentum from our US EPA approval and successful capital raise to drive the scale we all envision for this business” said Arthur Mohr, Jr, CEO.

Bodman PLC assisted Sniffer Robotics as legal counsel in the Series Seed financing.

Sniffer Robotics is a leading environmental technology enabled services firm serving waste, natural gas, biogas, and related industries. Sniffer’s technologies and services improve emission detection and measurement, odor leak identification, and revenue generation from increased gas capture for conversion to energy. To date, Sniffer has completed projects in 28 states on 150+ sites, identifying 16,500+ methane leak sources for remediation. Improving operations and our environment, Sniffer provides aerial (drone-based) and field services, automation tools, and comprehensive software analytics and reporting solutions.

SOURCE Sniffer Robotics, LLC

Education Growth Partners fuels Uwill to accelerate company growth and expand student support

NATICK, Mass., May 2, 2023 — Uwill, the leading mental health and wellness solution for colleges and students, today announced it has completed a $30 million Series A funding round. The investment further cements Boston-based Uwill as one of the nation’s fastest growing EdTech companies and the preferred mental health partner of college leaders and students across the country. Education Growth Partners (EGP), a top private equity firm dedicated to providing growth capital in the education, workplace, and learning sectors, funded the investment.

“We have been particularly impressed by the company’s ability to work collaboratively with college leaders and existing mental health support to fill unmet needs on campus. Uwill’s solution offers high value to colleges and, most importantly, to students at a time when mental health is of paramount importance,” said Andy Kaplan, Managing General Partner at EGP. “The astounding impact and growth that Uwill has achieved in a short period of time cannot be overstated.”

Founded in 2020 to assist campus counseling centers as they face overwhelming student demand for mental health support, Uwill has quickly cultivated a reputation as the premier mental health solution serving more than 1.5 million students worldwide. In just three years, Uwill has built relationships with more than 150 colleges and has achieved 9400% revenue growth making it one of the nation’s fastest growing private companies. Uwill now supports public and private institutions and students in all 50 states, and partners with leading colleges and universities including Dartmouth College, Florida Gulf Coast University and University of Michigan.

Utilizing its proprietary technology and counselor team, Uwill pioneered the first student and therapist matching platform. The solution offers an immediate appointment with a licensed counselor based on preferences, all modalities of teletherapy, a direct crisis connection, wellness events, real-time data, and support.

“We built Uwill to provide students with immediacy, choice, and a frictionless experience to receive the mental health support they need in a way that works best for them,” said Michael London, founder and CEO of Uwill. “We look forward to collaborating with our clients and EGP to continue to remove barriers to mental health support and help as many students as possible. EGP’s focus and expertise in education makes them an ideal partner to support Uwill’s continued success.” 

London has spent his career leading highly successful edtech and social impact companies including Examity, Bloomberg Institute, EdAssist, and College Coach.

Raymond James served as Uwill’s financial adviser in relation to the deal.

To learn more about Uwill, visit www.uwill.com.

About Uwill
Uwill is the leading mental health and wellness solution for colleges and students. Utilizing its proprietary technology and counselor team, Uwill pioneered the first student and therapist matching platform. The solution offers an immediate appointment with a licensed counselor based on student preferences, all modalities of teletherapy, a direct crisis connection, wellness events, realtime data, and support. The most cost-effective way to complement a college’s mental health offering, Uwill partners with more than 150 institutions, including Boston College, University of California Santa Barbara, American Public University System, and the University of Maryland, College Park.

About Education Growth Partners
Education Growth Partners (“EGP”) is an investment firm dedicated to providing growth capital to proven education, workplace, and human development companies offering compelling solutions to unmet needs. EGP’s extensive operating experience and investment expertise ensures that companies receive an infusion of highly strategic capital and insight that can accelerate reach, scale, and impact to create long-term value.

Contact:
Brett Silk
[email protected]

SOURCE Uwill, Inc

The new funds will be utilized for expanding its audio series library, augmenting its creator community and accelerating revenue

LEWES, Del., May 2, 2023 — Audio Series platform Pocket FM today announces that the company has secured US$16 million in debt funding from US-based Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With this additional capital infusion, the company will double its strategic priorities to strengthen its audio series library, expand its creator community by attracting creative minds globally, and accelerate its revenue.

Riding on the success of its micropayment-led pricing model, the company clocked 12X revenue growth last year, surpassing US$25 million ARR (annualized revenue run-rate) in October 2022.

Commenting on the new debt arrangement, Rohan Nayak, Co-founder & CEO, Pocket FM said, “We are thrilled to be leading the way in creating a new entertainment category in the form of audio series, with a focus on strong unit economics. The debt funding we have secured gives us the resources to continue expanding our content library and build the largest audio series platform globally. This investment is a testament to our growth trajectory and mission to revolutionize the audio entertainment landscape. We are excited to build on this momentum and bring our listeners even more engaging content.”

Commenting on the funding agreement, Chris Cameron, Senior vice president at Silicon Valley Bank added, “Pocket FM has an innovative vision to audio storytelling and is helping to position it as a mainstream entertainment format. Its unique approach to audio entertainment and impressive unit economics shows significant revenue potential in a massive addressable market. We are excited to work with Pocket FM and support the company’s continued growth and success as its banking partner.”

Anurag Sharma, Vice President – Finance, Pocket FM said, “We are grateful to Silicon Valley Bank for their confidence and belief in Pocket FM’s strong revenue metrics and innovative approach to audio entertainment. With them joining our growth journey, we will continue accelerating our growth curve and strengthening our content library, giving the audio series its identity.”

Pocket FM has been witnessing strong adoption of audio series and growth in listening time, catering to an 80 million listeners community globally, with listeners spending an average of over 150 minutes daily.

Founded in 2018, Pocket FM has raised US$93.5 million until Series C. With this new debt round, the total capital infusion has increased to US$109.5 million.

About Pocket FM:

Founded in 2018, Pocket FM was built to redefine the audio OTT space by pioneering the audio-series category. Being the only long-form entertainment OTT in the audio landscape, we have emerged as the preferred digital audio destination for a refined and diverse storytelling experience with the audio-series format. We pride ourselves in embedding the storytelling elements with a layer of content personalisation that resulted in the emergence of “binge listening” as a consumption habit.

Available on iOS and Android, click here to download Pocket FM.

For more information, please get in touch with Rahul Nag, [email protected] 

About Silicon Valley Bank 

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank, is the bank of the world’s most innovative companies and investors. SVB provides commercial and private banking to individuals and companies in the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity, venture capital and premium wine industries. SVB operates in centers of innovation throughout the United States, serving the unique needs of its dynamic clients with deep sector expertise, insights and connections. SVB’s parent company, First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCNCA), is a top 20 U.S. financial institution with more than $200 billion in assets. First Citizens Bank, Member FDIC. Learn more at svb.com. 

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SOURCE Pocket FM

The Atlanta-based firm raised capital to accelerate the adoption of its visual website builder that empowers marketers to build and manage websites without engineering intervention.

ALANTA, May 2, 2023 — Makeswift, the visual builder for Next.js websites, has announced that it has raised $3M to empower marketers to build and manage powerful websites without engineering intervention. The funding round was led by Active Capital, with participation from several other investors including Uncommon Capital and Silicon Road Ventures.

Makeswift introduces a new paradigm for the hand-off between engineering and marketing teams. Instead of hardcoded websites that marketers can’t update, engineers can integrate React components into Makeswift’s visual builder to give marketing teams custom building blocks. This means marketers can control website content and layout, untangling the workflow of the two teams.

“Makeswift is extending the power of Next.js and Vercel to combine Enterprise-grade visual building with the powerful frontend cloud of Vercel. We look forward to deepening our partnership with Makeswift to enhance the value we provide to our customers,” says Guillermo Rauch, CEO of Vercel. Rauch, along with Vercel’s CRO, Kevin Van Gundy, and VP of Developer Experience, Lee Robinson, participated in this round of funding.

Companies that adopt Makeswift as a part of their headless or composable stack experience:

• Faster time-to-market by reducing engineering cycles on the marketing roadmap
• Less technical debt by isolating custom code to specific React components that serve as visual building blocks for marketers to use and configure
• The ability to incrementally adopt visual editing on a page-by-page basis rather than waiting on a replatform or full stack overhaul
• Simple, intuitive API that works with existing React components
• Support for SSR and ISR out of the box, ensuring that site performance is not impacted by adding a visual editing layer

“We are thrilled to have raised this round of financing from investors that understand how the CMS market is shifting” said Alan Pledger, CEO and co-founder of Makeswift. “This funding will help us to continue to improve our product’s ability to serve customers with more complex websites. With this funding, we have a solid plan to become profitable in the next year.”

For the first time ever, WordPress’ market share started to decline in 2022 (source). Meanwhile, the global Headless CMS Software is expected to expand at a CAGR of 20.44% between 2022 and 2028 (source). Makeswift integrates into a codebase similar to a headless CMS, but the difference is marketers can get started with Makeswift’s no-code builder and extend later, preventing costly rewrites.

“Makeswift has an impressive vision for the future of enterprise website management” said Pat Matthews, Founder and CEO of Active Capital. “We believe that Makeswift is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing trend of companies moving away from WordPress to frameworks like Next.js for their marketing sites. We are excited to support the company in its next phase of growth.”

The funding round comes as Makeswift continues to see strong demand for its product. The company has already attracted thousands of users, from startups to publicly traded tech companies, who are experiencing significant workflow gains by adopting the product. “Fundamentally, Makeswift changes things for us because it allows our marketing team to maintain a world-class website. It means we’re not fighting with WordPress or fighting with performance issues — and not blocking ourselves from creating custom code — all while still allowing the entire website to be visually editable,” say Hunter Hancock, Lead Solutions Engineer at Recurrency. Recurrency, a YC -backed startup, is one of the many companies that has moved away from WordPress, giving their marketing teams more control of their websites without increasing engineering costs.

About Makeswift

Makeswift unlocks visual editing for marketers who manage sites built on composable architecture using Next.js. By allowing engineers to integrate existing React components into Makeswift’s visual builder, marketers can work autonomously on the marketing sites they’re responsible for, using pre-configured building blocks to quickly spin up new pages or iterate on existing content. Makeswift is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

About Active Capital

Active Capital is a seed-stage venture firm for ambitious founders building the future of cloud infrastructure and B2B SaaS. The firm is founded and run by former B2B SaaS founders with hands-on experience starting, building, and scaling high growth businesses. Active Capital is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. To learn more, please visit https://www.activecapital.com.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Makeswift

New strategic investors include Woven Capital and NVIDIA

TEL-AVIV, Israel and SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 2, 2023 — Foretellix, the leading provider of safety-driven verification and validation solutions for Automated Driving Systems and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), announced today it had raised $43 million in the first closing of its Series C funding round led by 83North, bringing its total raised capital to over $93 million. Woven Capital, the growth fund of Toyota, and NVIDIA joined the financing round, along with Artofin VC. All major existing shareholders participated, including MoreTech, Nationwide, Volvo Group VC, and Jump Capital. Foretellix will use the funding to accelerate the development of its expanding product portfolio and fuel expansion across new geographies.

“We are thrilled to have Woven by Toyota and NVIDIA as strategic partners,” said Ziv Binyamini, Foretellix CEO and Co-Founder. “Foretellix is addressing the largest barrier for safe large-scale deployment of automated driving systems. The new funding will help us to address the growing demand for our solutions, extend our worldwide reach, and accelerate our vision for achieving safe autonomy.”

“At Woven by Toyota, we’re on a mission to deliver the world’s safest, most intelligent, and human-centric mobility solutions,” said George Kellerman, Vice President, Investments and Acquisitions for Woven by Toyota, and Managing Director of Woven Capital. “Verification and validation technology plays a critical role in ensuring the safety and performance of innovative autonomous systems that are accelerating the future of mobility. Foretellix is a leading player in this space, and we are excited to work together to advance automated driving technologies.”

Foretellix’s Safety-Driven Verification & Validation (SDV) Platform – Foretify™ is used by Automotive, Trucking, and Mining customers, including Volvo Group, Torc – a Daimler Truck subsidiary, and many others, to accelerate the development and deployment of their Automated Driving Systems. Foretellix established partnerships with major simulation companies, including IPG, NVIDIA, dSPACE, VIRES, AI Motive, and Cognata, providing its customers with a comprehensive verification and validation (V&V) solution.

The Foretify platform is used by engineers at OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, and Autonomous Vehicle (AV) stack providers throughout the AV/ADAS development cycle. The platform consists of multiple products:

Foretify Core™ – Hyperscale virtual test generation and execution engine based on Foretellix’s state-of-the-art constrained random test generator, pre-integrated with industry-leading simulators.

Foretify Developer™ – Scenario and test development and debug tool, including a powerful visualizer that helps engineers to view and debug single-run test results, including KPIs, checks, and coverage.

Foretify Manager™ – V&V management and big data analytics tool that enables engineers to create and execute metric-based V&V plans, triage, and analyze test results and coverage across virtual simulation and real-world driving.

Foretify LogIQ™ – Automated drive log analysis tool that identifies scenarios of interest and breaks them down into their sequential building blocks, detects edge cases and anomalies, extracts KPIs and coverage, and provides a powerful log visualization tool.

Foretify V-Suite™ – Ready-to-use V&V libraries, including scenarios, verification plans, maps, coverage metrics, and KPIs, that help accelerate customers’ projects. V-Suites can automatically generate millions of relevant concrete scenarios and easily adapt to customers’ ODD and system requirements.

Foretellix led the ASAM OpenSCENARIO^® 2.0 (OSC2.0) standard development revolutionizing how safety is developed and tested in Automated Driving Systems. Foretellix contributed key syntax and concepts to ASAM, and it continues to lead further enhancements of the standard. The Foretify platform is the industry’s first solution offering native OSC2.0 support.

For more information about Foretellix, visit www.foretelllix.com, or email [email protected]

About Foretellix
Foretellix is the leading provider of safety-driven verification and validation solutions for Automated Driving Systems and ADAS. Foretellix’s Foretify™️ platform helps automotive, trucking, and mining customers to ensure safety, reduce development costs, and accelerate time-to-market. Foretellix is headquartered in Israel, with offices in the US, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.foretellix.com

Media Contact:
Scott Fosgard
[email protected]
+1 734-272-7440

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SOURCE Foretellix

Round positions for profitability, accelerates key growth initiatives

ST. PAUL, Minn., May 2, 2023 — Sentera, an industry-leading provider of ag analytics, announced today a successful expansion of its previously oversubscribed Series C funding round. The round was led by Conti Ventures (a division of Continental Grain Company) and S2G Ventures. Following this round, Sentera forecasts that its capital requirements to achieve profitability and positive cash flow are fully funded.

Sentera’s data science ecosystem is an industry leader by combining aerial data collection with machine learning engines that deliver more accurate plant-level measurements and insights. Its customers, which include agriscience leaders in research and product development, are empowered to advance their work by getting essential data to validate outcomes, augment product development, and support sustainability initiatives.

“We believe Sentera has unlocked value for its enterprise customers and partners with differentiated technology illustrated by its accelerated growth and blue-chip customer list,” said Chris Abbott, co-head, Conti Ventures. “In an environment where current capital markets continue to put stress on AgTech fundraising, we believe this funding is a strong statement about the durability, momentum, and outstanding potential of this business.”

“We’re proud to support the business in reaching the significant milestone of profitability at scale,” said Cristina Rohr, managing director, S2G Ventures. “This opens up avenues for further expansion through strategic M&A, positioning the company as a customer-focused agronomic data platform.”

Sentera serves customers in more than 45 countries. The company most recently reported 40% year-over-year growth, with key growth drivers in its innovative data capture technology, advanced machine learning, digital phenotyping, and localized data model segments.

“We’re experiencing exceptional growth by leveraging a comprehensive data capture, analytics, and modeling suite that allows our enterprise agriscience customers to bring new solutions to market faster, and with greater efficiency,” said Brian Wenngatz, chief executive officer, Sentera. “Our data science ecosystem gives us unique tools and flexibility that our customers need to drive innovation through their product development roadmaps – whether it’s developing the next-best biological, using precision data to transform product application, or unlocking precision weed chemistry with a solution that benefits everyone in the value chain.”

Sentera’s data science ecosystem features an advanced geospatial data platform powered by deep learning and agronomic machine learning that deliver comprehensive phenotyping and product performance insights. Insights scale from plant-level tracking and modeling to regional estimates of yield, nutrient uptake, and attributes of crop quality. The company integrates public and customer-proprietary data to deliver high-accuracy insights efficiently and quickly.

“Our platform catalyzes our customers’ ability to transform pools of data into the insights that inform their most critical decisions,” said Eric Taipale, chief technology officer and co-founder, Sentera. “We can deliver tailored – and therefore more accurate – tools more quickly and more cost-effectively because of the capabilities we’ve built. This forms the basis for strong partnerships that translate into meaningful competitive advantages for our customers.”

“Part of our success comes from supporting our customers with augmentation of a more tenured product with Sentera digital technology, or what we like to refer to as a digital wrapper,” continued Wenngatz. “Putting this technology in the hands of our customers has transformed how they are able to bring new products to market or differentiate those that face significant competitive pressure.”

For Sentera, one of the most impactful use cases at the forefront of this digital technology focuses on optimizing weed management strategies, given challenges with herbicide resistance and changes to weed growth patterns. Leveraging its suite of products, from its ultra-high-resolution aerial sensor and georeferencing system to its data science ecosystem, Sentera’s technology showcases a promising future for using remote sensing drone technology for identifying weed species in the field and quickly generating precision prescription maps to support variable-rate treatment applicators.

“Selective, targeted application, in this case for herbicide, serves as one example of how we use our technology. Paired with the expertise of industry leaders, we deliver solutions that solve the biggest issues at hand,” continued Taipale. “This isn’t limited to the weeds problem – it’s how we as a company approach the industry’s toughest challenges and focus on delivering technology that delivers proven value.”

For more information about Sentera, visit https://www.sentera.com.

About Sentera

Sentera helps agronomic leaders maximize every season as the industry-leading provider of ag analytics. With its data science ecosystem, powered by machine learning, Sentera delivers more reliable and scalable plant-level measurements to maximize performance outcomes, which can be informed by aerial imagery captured by Sentera’s drone technology solutions or services. Operating in more than 45 countries, Sentera works with hundreds of customers focused on research, product development, and in-field product validation. For more information, visit https://www.sentera.com.

Media Contact: Lora Osborn
[email protected] 
952.491.9835

SOURCE Sentera