In a world where climate change is a pressing issue, the need for sustainable farming practices has never been more important. That’s where xFarm Technologies comes in. The Italian company has developed a farm management platform that promises to digitize a farm “in less than 10 minutes.” And now, with a recent €36 million ($39 million) Series C funding round, xFarm is set to expand its reach across Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Led by investment firm Partech through its Impact Growth Fund, the funding will be used to strengthen xFarm’s presence in the EU, expand to Turkey, India, and other geographies, and create new fintech divisions and products. The company’s platform consolidates all farm data into a single application, integrating machinery, tools, and IoT devices to create a connected ecosystem that simplifies operations. It also assists farmers in monitoring and reducing their environmental footprint.

Decision Support Systems (DSS) help optimize the use of agronomic resources, which is important information for farmers in an era where more expect reduced use of inputs. The xFarm platform has expanded from 110,000 to 450,000 farms since raising a €17 million ($18.6 million) Series B in 2022, while the number of hectares traced on the platform has grown from 1.5 million to 7 million.

xFarm’s focus on sustainability has been a driving force behind its success. The company has fully embraced sustainability, from impact calculations to regenerative agriculture. Speaking at the World Agri-Tech show in the UK, xFarm CEO Matteo Vanotti emphasized the importance of data in measuring the starting point for change. “Regenerative agriculture is complex,” he said. “You need to measure…in order to show not only the environmental sustainability, but also to measure the economic [benefits to] the farmers.”

xFarm has made two acquisitions in the recent past to better enable farmers to transition towards more sustainable practices. Spain-based Greenfield Technologies specializes in soil characterization as a pathway to regenerative agriculture, while France’s SpaceSense is a climate intelligence service using satellite data and artificial intelligence for on-farm sustainability assessments. xFarm also has a partnership with Bunge in Brazil to support farmers transitioning to low carbon agriculture.

As a scale-up, xFarm is an attractive candidate for climate funds. Investment to farmtech has been low so far in 2024, with funding to remote sensing and software startups in agriculture reaching just $536 million in H1 2024, according to preliminary data from AgFunder. But with xFarm’s innovative platform and commitment to sustainability, the future of farming looks brighter than ever.

If you’re an insurance executive looking to support sustainable farming practices, consider partnering with xFarm. With Riskwolf, you can turn real-time data into insurance. Using unique real-time data and dynamic risk modeling, we enable insurers to build and operate parametric insurance at scale. Simple. Reliable. Fast. Learn more about xFarm’s farm management platform and how it can revolutionize the future of farming by visiting their website.

Source: AgFunderNews