Vancouver-based Verdi has raised $6.5 million CAD in seed funding to retrofit farm irrigation systems with digital management and automation capabilities.
The round was led by Los Gatos, Calif.-based SVG Ventures, with most participating investors hailing from the United States, including NEC X, Ponderosa Ventures, Elemental Impact, One Small Planet, Dangerous Ventures, VentureUs, Echo River Capital, Jetstream, and Baker Hall Capital. Non-American participants included Toronto-based Waterpoint Lane, GenomeBC, and Melbourne, Australia-based Cyan Ventures.
Founded in 2020 by CEO Arthur Chen and CTO Roman Kozak, Verdi provides farms with small internet-of-things (IoT) devices that can be connected to existing irrigation systems to precisely control, automate, and monitor the watering of crops row by row. Verdi claims it’s powering irrigation automation on more than 5,000 acres of farmland in North America.
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Verdi will use the capital to expand into new regions, hire more employees, build artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools, and deepen its relationships with major agribusinesses. Verdi said the round brings its total funding to date up to $9.5 million.
“We invested in Verdi because they’re solving one of agriculture’s biggest challenges – climate resilience – through a solution that is not only innovative but also practical and scalable,” SVG Ventures CEO John Hartnett said in a statement. “Their ability to integrate with existing farm infrastructure makes their platform a game-changer for growers looking to stay competitive in a changing world.”
Verdi said its accessible approach in allowing farms to retrofit existing infrastructure over replacements has fueled its growth across the US and Canada. The company has more than doubled its team size over the past year to 24 employees, working in agronomy, hardware, and AI-driven software.
Feature image courtesy Verdi.