The round was backed exclusively by Raw Ventures, a venture capital firm based in the UK that specialises in early-stage investments primarily within the technology sector.
The investment will support Fermata’s ambition to develop a ‘centralised digital brain for the horticulture industry’.
This aims to allow autonomous management of crops through advanced data analysis, creating an ever-evolving system that continuously learns from available data.
Why is it needed? According to Fermata, the agricultural industry faces a twin challenge. On the one hand, much of it remains predominantly non-digital, with farmers relying on intuition and experience to identify and diagnose crop issues – an approach that is often time-consuming and imprecise.
On the other hand, even in advanced greenhouses where tech solutions are implemented, the sheer volume of data generated can overwhelm growers, leaving them unable to extract meaningful insights. As a result, many continue to rely on traditional methods, rather than using the potential of the data to make informed, actionable decisions.
Initially focusing on identifying pests and diseases, Fermata says the funding will be used to expand its system into a ‘command centre for crop health’, further developing its suite of AI-driven solutions to address a range of agricultural challenges.
Using advanced data analytics, this system is looking to monitor a wide range of plant health factors, from fertilisation to pollination status, with future capabilities set to include forecasting tools like yield prediction tracking.
These new capabilities aim to build on Fermata’s current offerings. Fermata’s existing flagship AI-driven platform designed for crop monitoring and management – called Croptimus – provides 24/7 crop monitoring through computer vision to ensure plants remain healthy while scouting for potential threats.
This company claims this approach has already demonstrated the potential to generate 30% savings on lost crops, while minimising the need to use harmful pesticides.
Fermata says its proprietary data will allow it to build models that are not only accurate and highly efficient but also cost-effective to run.
How will the ‘brain of ag’ work?
The Croptimus will process visuals collected through its products and integrate third-party data sources to build more accurate models.
If a grower is already using solutions for data collection, this information could be integrated with Fermata’s products in the future to generate advanced predictive insights. For growers not yet collecting data, cameras can be installed to monitor plant health. As visual data is gathered – whether from sensors or other sources – Fermata will continuously use it to refine and improve the accuracy of its insights and predictions.
The company has so far forged collaborations with Microsoft, NVIDIA, Wageningen University, Bayer Crop Sciences, yieldsApp, and agRE.tech, and plans to continue partnering with the industry to expand its impact throughout the agritech sector.
“Over the past five years, Fermata has been on a journey to discover the best applications of computer vision to meet growers’ needs,” says Fermata’s CEO and founder Valeria Kogan. “We proudly call what we’ve built, ‘The Eyes of Ag.’ With the new funding, I’m thrilled to see Fermata scaling to bring all the other senses to the agricultural industry, ultimately evolving into its Brain. I’m happy we are a part of a global collaborative effort to shape the farming of tomorrow.”
Victoria Palatnik, managing partner of Raw Ventures, says this latest funding round highlights Fermata’s impressive achievements. These include “significant technological milestones, the development of impactful partnerships, and a transformative effort by its management team, which has guided the company from an early-stage start-up toward becoming a resilient and mature business”.
