NAICAM, Saskatchewan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Croptimistic Technology Inc. (Croptimistic) announces $3.5M in Series A investment from Forage Capital Partners (Forage) to complement an additional $1.7M in funding from the founders and institutional debt. This new capital will help accelerate the growth of Croptimistic’s SWAT MAPS technology. The SWAT technology ecosystem provides farmers and partners with high resolution soil foundation maps to execute variable rate fertilizer, seed, soil amendment, herbicide, and precision water management. Since the first year of operations in 2018, Croptimistic has grown to 18 staff across Canada, the USA and South Africa. It has nearly 100 partners spanning 4 countries and $2M in revenue in 2020.
Croptimistic CEO and co-founder Cory Willness says, “We are excited to take the next step of our journey with the team at Forage. Jim Taylor and Steven Leakos have already made strides due to their extensive expertise in the Agtech space. We want to acknowledge our incredible team based in 3 countries who have worked tirelessly to get us here and our COO, Rob Harris, who was instrumental in executing this funding.” CTO and co-founder Derek Massey adds, “The funds raised will be used to add developers and professional staff to our Kelowna, BC hub to build out the software and hardware solutions in order to meet the high growth demands from the millions of acres in our system.”
Steven Leakos of Forage says, “We are proud to partner with the team at Croptimistic, a world leader in variable rate farming applications. Croptimistic’s SWAT MAPS, software, world class hardware, and current IP portfolio together with their strong agronomic background provides farmers with an excellent return on investment and significantly reduces the overall environmental footprint to their farming operation.”
Croptimistic also welcomes new investor, Greg Stewart, who has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors. Stewart is currently a director at the Bank of Canada and was a former President and CEO at Farm Credit Canada (FCC), a leading agricultural lender and self-sustaining Crown Corporation. Stewart says, “I’m honoured and excited by the opportunity to be an investor and appointed Chairman of the Board for Croptimistic Technology. Their proprietary technology is solving real-world issues in the agricultural space, leading the way with effective variable rate application, and reducing and monitoring environmental impact in the sector. The future is bright for global agriculture, and this is a crucial piece of the puzzle to allow for sustainable and cost-effective farming.”
About Croptimistic Technology Inc.: Croptimistic is an internationally operating Agtech company founded by Cory Willness, Shannon Willness and Derek Massey. It has built a vast partner network with SWAT MAPS, a turn-key variable rate process that prioritizes Soil, Water, And Topography (SWAT) factors of fields for the creation of management zones. Their technology includes SWAT Records (software and apps), SWAT BOX (autonomous soil mapping system), SWAT CAM (machine learning sprayer cameras) and SWAT WATER (soil moisture maps). The value proposition for their technology is strong, with annual retention rates above 95% on SWAT Mapped acres along with documented environmental and climate change improvements. Key APIs include Climate Fieldview™ and John Deere™. To learn more about Croptimistic and the SWAT ecosystem, visit swatmaps.com.
About Forage Capital Partners: Forage is Canada’s most experienced team of Ag & Food investors, having managed over $500 million in commitments to the industry over the last 18 years. Forage Capital Ag & Food Business Solutions Fund works to provide its portfolio companies with the stability and flexibility they need to expand and adapt their business models during these challenging times. The fund will invest with creative business owners that are looking to capitalize on new and innovative opportunities that will emerge as the Canadian economy recovers and prospers. For more information on Forage Capital Partners, visit www.foragecapitalpartners.com.
