Prospera Raises $15M to Transform Farms into Digital Plants

[Tel Aviv, 25 07, 2017]

Digital farming company Prospera announced today a $15M Series B funding round. Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated, has led the round, which was joined by Cisco, Israel Cleantech Ventures, Mobileye founder Prof. Amnon Shashua, and existing investor Bessemer Venture Partners. It brings the total investment in the company to $22M. Prospera transforms farm production with end to end digitalization – from agronomy to operations. Powered by advanced data analytics, computer vision, and artificial intelligence, Prospera’s system provides growers easy-to- use digital tools to achieve better yields, healthier crops, and higher profits. Prospera builds long term partnerships with leading growers worldwide, based on delivering tangible value from early on and at every stage of deployment. Already working with some of the most prominent growers around the world, Prospera will use the new funds to accelerate its global expansion and broaden its services to different crops in both indoor and outdoor environments. Agriculture is immersed in data. From the health profile of individual plants to epidemiological trends; from micro weather conditions to regional conditions; from soil nutrient percentages to operations performance – the relevant parameters for optimal growing are endless. Yet, with most systems lacking the means to handle it effectively, most farm data remains either uncollected or underutilized. Instead, the industry relies on approximations, which often result in enormous variability in output and quality. Prospera answers this challenge. Its digital farming system collects, digitizes, and analyzes vast amounts of farm data and optimizes all aspects of production, from agronomy to labor management. It allows agro-businesses to turn their farms into fully digital plants, with tighter control, higher productivity, and more predictable output. “This is an exciting time to create data analytics solutions, with the agriculture industry on the precipice of a giant leap forward,” said Daniel Koppel, Prospera Co-Founder and CEO. “While the Ag industry has been slower to adopt information technologies, it is now closing the gap with state-of- the-art data processing tools, artificial intelligence and machine learning. We’re excited to lead this paradigm shift. We help our customers surf the tide of digitalization, and become connected, agile, and data-driven businesses that can meet the growing demands of their produce. We are happy to be given the resources to reach more growers worldwide, and even happier to receive such a vote of confidence from industry titans like Qualcomm Ventures, Cisco, and Bessemer.” The US agriculture industry is worth over $200 billion, yet it is one of the least digitized sectors in the US economy, suffering a lack of IT infrastructure. This makes the industry especially ripe for a major data revolution. “We were impressed with Prospera’s innovative approach to the digitalization of farming by using computer vision, machine learning, and wireless technologies,” said Boaz Peer, Director at Qualcomm Ventures. “We are excited to be an investor and look forward to supporting them as they lead the way towards bringing greater innovation to the agriculture industry.” “Prospera changes our world in the simplest terms; it transforms the way our food is grown,” said Adam Fisher of Bessemer Venture Partners, an early investor in the company who participated in the latest round. “Digitizing farm production will be essential to meeting the challenges of feeding a rapidly growing population, with ever increasing demands for quality and reliability. We are excited to work with Prospera’s team as they continue to expand their leadership in the space.”