PitchBook Q4 2020 Emerging Tech Research Agtech

EMERGING TECH RESEARCH
Agtech
Q4 2020
Contents
Q4 2020 highlights & updates 3 Credits
Executive summary 4 RESEARCH
Alex Frederick Senior Analyst, Emerging
Key takeaways 5
Technology
VC activity 6
alex.frederick@pitchbook.com
Agtech VC ecosystem market map 8
analystresearch@pitchbook.com
Segment deep dives 10 DATA
Agrifinance & e-commerce 10 Matthew Nacionales Data Analyst
DESIGN
Ag biotech 18
Kelilah King and Megan Woodard
Advanced farm equipment 27
Field monitoring & analysis 36 This Emerging Technology Research report is updated on
a quarterly basis to reflect changes in venture capital deal
Indoor farming 45 activity and other market related updates deemed valuable
Animal ag 56 by the research analyst. The previous quarterly report can

be accessed here.
Supplemental materials 65
PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 2

Q4 2020 highlights & updates
VC ACTIVITY DEAL ACTIVITY
• Q4 2020 totaled $2.3 billion in global agtech VC deal value, up 81.9% QoQ, • Vertical insect farm operator Ynsect raised a $372.0 million Series C round in October
and up 55.8% YoY. 2020 with plans to build the world's largest insect farm and expand operations globally.
• The advanced farm equipment segment recorded its strongest quarter • Synthetic biology startup Zymergen completed a $350.0 million Series D in October
on record with $166.5 million invested across 15 deals, up 105.5% QoQ in 2020. The company uses machine learning, big data, and AI to develop microbial
aggregate deal values. alternatives to agricultural chemicals.
• Median deal sizes notched higher at the early and late stages, landing at $3.0 • Seed development platform company Benson Hill raised a $159.1 million Series D co-led
million and $7.1 million, respectively, while the median angel & seed deal size by GV and Wheatsheaf Group in December 2020 to expand its soybean supply chain.
was $1.1 million.
• Vertical farming operator Plenty raised a $140.0 million Series D led by SoftBank in
• We recorded 21 VC exits in 2020, up 31.3% YoY but still low relative to other October 2020 to expand distribution and build the world's largest output vertical farm.
verticals.
NOTABLE NEWS PANDEMIC REVEALS VULNERABILITIES IN AG ECOSYSTEM
• January 21, 2021: US organic produce sales rose 14% YoY in 2020, reaching COVID-19 has created obstacles and challenges for stakeholders industrywide. In addition
$8.5 billion.1 Agtech innovations such as microbiome seed treatments and to declining demand due to ongoing trade disputes with China, shelter-in-place orders
indoor farming will be essential to increasing organic produce production. significantly reduced the number of cars on the road, which collapsed demand for
ethanol, causing corn prices to plummet and leading farmers to reduce planned corn
• February 1, 2021: Controlled Environment Ag operator AppHarvest exited
plantings by 5.1%.2 Likewise, reduced clothing demand has contributed to cotton prices
to the public markets via SPAC by merging with Novus Capital, raising an
dropping 30% during the 2020 planting season, leading to a reduction in cotton seedings
estimated $475 million in gross proceeds in the process.
from March expectations by 10.9%. COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities in the ag system,
• October 15, 2020: Ag carbon credit programs Indigo Ag and Nori announced such as suppliers' inability to pivot packaging and supply chain capabilities, leading
their first corporate buyers including JPMorgan Chase, Boston Consulting to significant food waste. We believe the pandemic will accelerate trends such as the
Group, and Barclays. adoption of automation and robotics technologies, and we expect new opportunities will
arise as growers seek out solutions in this new environment.
1: “Organic Produce Sales Up 14 Percent in 2020, Topping $8.5 Billion,” Organic Produce Network, January 21, 2021. 2: “US Farmers Leave Fields Fallow as COVID-19 Wrecks Crop Prospects,” Reuters, Mark Weinraub, August 10, 2020.

Executive summary
The agtech sector consists of technologies that increase crop yield, improve farming Agtech startups provide farmers with a variety of strategies and technologies to help
efficiency and resilience, and provide financial resources for agricultural operations. improve crop resiliency and output. These include agrifinance tools that help growers
Agricultural technologies include software, biotech inputs, and hardware such as wearable sustain operations through unexpected market volatility (such as pandemics), biotech
sensors and large machinery. Indoor farming technologies are also raising significant solutions that can improve yields and resiliency, farm management software that can help
venture funding. growers improve operations and enable more adaptability to changing conditions, and an
emerging focus on data-driven AI & ML that can help automate decision making.
Agriculture is one of the oldest areas of technology and innovation in existence, and
its objectives have changed little throughout history: finding ways to increase yields Although venture activity in agtech has experienced a boom, exit activity has stayed
and maximize key traits of crops or animals being raised, such as size, flavor, color, and remarkably low over the last decade. As we explore in detail in the report, the agriculture
resistance to pests. Modern Agtech startups began attracting venture funding roughly sector is characterized by long development times and cyclical growing cycles that drive
a decade ago, with the industry raising $322.2 million in 2010. Since then, VC funding unique risk profiles for investors and other lenders. Additionally, agtech startups face
in agtech has grown to $6.1 billion in 2020, a 33.8% CAGR. This explosive growth is a obstacles, including technology fatigue among potential customers and commoditization,
direct result of two primary factors: population growth and climate change. The global particularly for sensors and other IoT hardware. However, we expect the sharp increase in
population is expected to swell to 9.8 billion people by 2050, driving more demand for VC activity over the past decade will translate to an increase in exit opportunities in the
food.3 At the same time, greenhouse gases are warming climates and creating increasingly medium term.
frequent extreme weather events that threaten crop yields.
3: “World Population Projected to Reach 9.8 Billion in 2050, and 11.2 Billion in 2100," United Nations, June 21, 2017.

Key takeaways
Digitization and marketplaces help growers improve profit and reach more customers: of synthetic fertilizers), and grazing practices. Aside from the environmental benefits,
Agriculture is an industry characterized by high input costs and low crop prices, creating regenerative farming can revitalize depleted soil, leading to improved yields, nutrient-
a low-margin business opportunity for farmers. Digital sales channels and modern rich crops, and improved resistance to flooding and drought. These benefits sustain farm
operational technologies are helping growers squeeze out more margin. Ag marketplaces productivity and enhance the value and resiliency of crops. Regenerative ag has also
can help farmers improve profits by reducing input prices and increasing the value of helped combat climate change by sequestering atmospheric carbon into the ground,
crop yields. Other marketplaces allow farmers to share costly machinery or lease unused leading some agtech startups such as Indigo Agriculture to develop carbon credit
farmland. Consumer marketplaces can help retailers and manufacturers reach broader programs connected to regenerative farming practices. Agtech startups are finding ways
audiences and reduce marketing and sales costs. Digital sales technologies are making to monetize regenerative ag practices, as seen with Nori's Carbon Removal Marketplace.
agricultural buying and selling processes more efficient and automated relative to past
Coronavirus pandemic exacerbates labor shortage, highlighting the need for
relationship-based approaches. We believe ag marketplaces will play an increasingly
automation: Labor issues including shortages, high costs, and low dependability have
essential role in helping growers thrive in the 21st century.
long been pervasive in the agriculture industry, and can cause significant problems
Regenerative ag practices gain steam: Regenerative land, water, and resource including unharvested fields and reduced seeded acreage. Field robotics providers are
management strategies can help industrial growers maintain farmland vitality and improve developing farm machinery that automates or augments existing processes to increase
profitability. Regenerative ag consists of land management practices that improve soil productivity and safety by reducing the need for human labor. Drones, field monitoring
health, fertility, and water retention; create safe water runoff; increase farm biodiversity sensors, and analytical software help growers monitor and manage farms, improve their
and resiliency, and capture CO2 in soil. Regenerative farming practices include no ability to identify and address issues early, and allow small teams to manage more acres.
(or minimal) tillage, use of cover crops, crop rotation, compost and manure (instead

VC activity Figure 1. AGTECH VC DEAL ACTIVITY
533 521
493
The agtech industry saw a profound upward shift in VC activity in the fourth quarter of
391
2020, with $2.3 billion invested across 118 deals, an 81.9% increase in deal values QoQ. 362
Half of the deal values can be attributed to five mega-deals (deals sized $100+ million) 307
into US or French startups, the largest being a $372.0 million Series C in French vertical 229
insect farm operator Ynsect. 124 135

81
57
VC activity in Q4 helped to propel 2020 to a decade-high aggregate deal value, with $6.1
$0.5
$0.5
$0.3
$2.0
$3.6
$3.9
$2.7
$1.0
$1.0
$6.1
$1.3
billion invested across 493 deals, a 55.8% increase in deal values YoY. Aside from VCs, we
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
logged significant participation from nontraditional investors such as Temasek Holdings,
Deal value ($B) Deal count
Cavallo Ventures (CVC arm of agri-bio firm Wilbur-Ellis), and Sustainable Development
Technology Canada that are interested in the large financial, environmental, and impact Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020
opportunities in agtech.
Figure 2. AGTECH VC EXITS (#) BY TYPE
The largest sector by deal value—ag biotech—grew 41.4% larger in 2020 with deal values
surging to $2.2 billion as investors pursued opportunities in genetics, microbiomics, and 25
other biotech solutions. The indoor farming sector, also known as Controlled Environment
20
Agriculture (CEA), grew 168.3% YoY, propelled by multiple farm operators raising mega-
deals to build massive indoor farming facilities. Genetics and environmental controls offer
15
the greatest opportunity to affect plant characteristics as well as reduce environmental
impacts. To that end, we expect to see these two sectors maintain elevated investor 10
interest in the long term.

5
Median pre-money valuations reached $12.0 million in 2020, roughly even with the $11.9
0
million in 2019. This flattening comes after a 61.0% increase in overall median valuation 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
between 2018 and 2019 and may reflect concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. IPO Acquisition Buyout
Ongoing stability of median pre-money valuations will be an important indicator of

Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020

VC ACTIVITY
investor sentiment in the near term. Overall median VC deal sizes climbed 29.8% YoY
driven primarily by larger deal sizes at the earlier stages, which climbed 18.2% YoY. The
rise in deal size medians amid flat valuations suggests that investors are focusing on
the reliably strongest deals (signed contracts, proof of traction, etc.), and demanding
increased risk compensation.
Exit volume of VC-backed agtech companies reached 21 deals in 2020, surpassing 16

in 2019. Exit count has increased steadily over the past decade, led by acquisitions,
representing 18 of the total deals. As SPAC exits rise in popularity, we would not be
surprised to see more agtech startups pursue such a path. CEA startup AppHarvest
initiated one of the first agtech SPACS in January 2021.

Agtech VC ecosystem market map
Market map is a representative overview of venture-backed or growth-stage providers in each segment.
Click to view interactive market map on the PitchBook platform Companies listed have received venture capital or other notable private investments.
Agrifinance & e-commerce Ag biotech Advanced farm equipment Animal ag
Agribusiness marketplaces Animal biotech Drone manufacturers Aquaculture
Robotics & smart field equipment
Livestock & land animal technology
Plant biotech
Finance & insurance

Agtech VC ecosystem market map
Market map is a representative overview of venture-backed or growth-stage providers in each segment.
Click to view interactive market map on the PitchBook platform Companies listed have received venture capital or other notable private investments.
Field monitoring & analysis Indoor farming
Farm management software Soil sensing & analysis Indoor farming components
Imagery analytics Indoor farming systems
Field monitoring sensors & solutions
Indoor growers
Plant data & analysis
Precision irrigation & water monitoring

SEGMENT DEEP DIVE
Agrifinance & e-commerce

AGRIFINANCE & E-COMMERCE
Overview
Agricultural finance (agrifinance) startups provide financial services designed for Agrifinance & e-commerce
agricultural companies and growers. This includes business loans, insurance services, and
Agribusiness marketplaces
tools to assess risk for agrifinance purposes. Providers operating in this space tend to
focus on local opportunities and offer products specialized to specific local needs. The
financial needs of rural growers in developing countries are often vastly different from
those in developed countries (i.e., specific crop types and cycles).
We segment agrifinance into the following categories:
Ag fintech & insurance – Companies in this space are developing financial products to
help growers manage risk and access capital for operations.
Digital marketplaces – Companies in this space develop online platforms to buy, sell,
lease, and trade ag equipment or inputs. Providers may also offer auxiliary services Finance & insurance
and tools, including input and commodity price monitoring, logistics tools, weather
forecasting, and more.

Figure 3. AGRICULTURAL BANKING MARKET SIZE ($B)
$16.4
$16.3
Industry drivers $16.2
Global warming and shifting weather patterns increasing risk: The impacts of climate $16.1
$16.0
change are having a profoundly negative effect on farmers. Extreme weather such as
$15.9
drought, flooding, and severe heat, along with shifting climate trends, all increase risk
$15.8
and can reduce crop yield. Climate-smart finance can help farmers mitigate risk, adapt to $15.7
change, and provide a safety net for crop disasters. $15.6
$15.5
Emerging underwriting technology: The proliferation of farm data collection sources, $15.4
2019 2024e
including IoT sensors, mobile devices, and drones and satellite imagery, enables insurers
to more accurately price risk. Source: IBISWorld
Evolution of e-commerce: The growth of e-commerce has freed many farmers from the COMMON INDUSTRY KPIS FOR AGRIFINANCE COMPANIES
constraints of traditional distributors and buyers. Farmers can now access supplies and
Agrifinance • Unpaid principal balance
machinery from a variety of digital channels, including directly from other farmers.
• New originations (volume and • Customer acquisition cost
dollar amount) (sales and marketing as a % of
Market size • Origination margin
originations)
Marketplaces
• Cost of capital
The US agricultural banking market, a proxy for agrifinance, is expected to reach industry • Gross Merchandise Value (GMV)
• Pricing (APR)
revenue of $15.8 billion in 2020. We forecast this space to grow to $16.3 billion by 2024, • Average Order Value (AOV)
• Credit risk (average credit score
representing a 0.75% CAGR. of new applications and approved • Monthly cohort retention %
applications)
• Customer acquisition cost
• Default rates
• Lifetime Value (LTV) and LTV/CAC
• Approval rates

Figure 4. AGRIFINANCE & E-COMMERCE QUARTERLY VC DEAL ACTIVITY
$600 20
18
Business model $500 16
$400 14
Agrifinance companies monetize software through SaaS models, or by originating loans 12
$300 10
and charging fees for that service. Agricultural marketplace companies primarily monetize
8
$200
through commissions on transactions. 6
4
$100
2
VC activity $0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
0
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

It was a quiet fourth quarter for venture activity in the agrifinance & ecommerce sector,
Deal value ($M) Deal count
with only $46.6 million raised across five deals. The largest deal of the quarter was
a $24.0 million Series B in Argentinian startup Agrofy, an agribusiness marketplace Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020
that connects buyers and sellers of a broad assortment of agricultural goods. In fact,
all companies in this sector that received VC investments in Q4 were agrifinance Figure 5. AGRIFINANCE & E-COMMERCE VC DEALS ($M) BY STAGE
marketplaces, which speaks to the large opportunity to improve supply chain efficiencies.
$1,200
As one of the smaller agtech segments, it is not uncommon to see significant swings in
$1,000
deal activity. Although we recorded minimal quarterly deal flow, the sector reached a
decade high in annual deal values, with $971.1 million logged across 32 deals, up 65.9% $800
YoY. The largest deal of the year was a $250.0 million Series F in agricultural networking $600
and marketplace company Farmers Business Network. The company is seizing on an
$400
emerging trend of regenerative farming with Gro Network, a new sustainable farming
$200
business that incentivizes farmers to grow crops with lower carbon footprints.
$0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Angel & seed Early VC Late VC

Figure 6.
Agrifinance & e-commerce VC landscape ($M)
$1,400 Indigo Agriculture
Series F ($500M)
$1,200
$1,000
Farmer's Business Network

Indigo Agriculture Series F ($250M)
Series E ($250M)
$800
Total raised
Farmer's Business Network Ninjacart

Series E ($175M) Series C ($100M)
$600
Indigo Agriculture
Series D ($203M)
MachineryLink Solutions Qiandama

$400 Late VC ($23M) Farmer's Business Network Series D ($142M)
Series D ($110M)
MachineryLink Solutions Indigo Agriculture
Series B ($43M) Series C ($100M) Nongfenqi Jupiter (Media and
Nxin Information Services)
MachineryLink Solutions Series C ($16M) Series B ($53M)
$200 Series A1 ($10M) Series B ($10M)
$0
January 1, 2011 May 15, 2012 September 27, 2013 February 9, 2015 June 23, 2016 November 5, 2017 March 20, 2019 August 1, 2020
Agribusiness marketplaces Finance & insurance
Source: PitchBook
Note: The left axis indicates total VC raised as of deal date. Bubbles indicate amount raised.

Figure 7.
Notable agrifinance & e-commerce VC deals
I COMPANY CLOSE DATE SUBSEGMENT DEAL SIZE ($M) POST-MONEY VALUATION ($M)* DEAL TYPE 2 LEAD INVESTOR(S) VALUATION STEP-UP
Agrofy October 9, 2020 Agribusiness marketplaces $24.0 N/A Series B SP Ventures N/A
WeFarm October 13, 2020 Agribusiness marketplaces $12.6 $40.6 Series A1 N/A 1.02x
Agrellus November 30, 2020 Agribusiness marketplaces $3.6 N/A Angel (individual) N/A N/A
Gramophone December 29, 2020 Agribusiness marketplaces $3.4 N/A Series B Siana Capital Management N/A
Tractor Zoom December 10, 2020 Agribusiness marketplaces $3.0 $14.2 Series A N/A 3.73x
Figure 8.
Key VC-backed agrifinance & e-commerce companies
I COMPANY VC RAISED TO DATE ($M)* SUBSEGMENT KEY PRODUCTS PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION LEAD INVESTOR(S)
Indigo Agriculture $1,116.6 Agribusiness marketplaces, plant biotech Crop marketplace Grain and carbon credit marketplaces Flagship Pioneering
Farmer's Business Agribusiness marketplaces, farm Sophisticated input evaluation and

$619.3 Input marketplace N/A
Network management software, buying tools
Agribusiness marketplaces, finance & Largest grower-focused financial

Nongfenqi $135.8 Equipment marketplace N/A
insurance services platform in China
Shenma Finance $85.3 Agribusiness marketplaces Agriculture financial products Short and mid-term credit products N/A
Growers Edge $58.3 Finance & insurance Crop insurance Data-backed insurance products Finistere Ventures, S2G Ventures

Opportunities Considerations
Ag fintech & insurance: Agrifinance tools and services provide growers with risk Systemic threats pose concentrated portfolio risks: Many agricultural risks tend to be
management and mitigation tools and services. This is becoming essential given systemic in that they will affect many farmers in the same geography. Given agriculture
increasingly frequent extreme weather occurrences and pressure to adopt new crop inputs insurance providers have traditionally been more local, an insurable event could affect
and technologies to increase profitability. Growers Edge provides product warranties many accounts, threatening the solvency of a localized insurance provider. Global insurtech
and other financial risk products that offer money-back guarantees to reduce the risk companies such as WorldCover provide local-level insurance across many geographies by
of adopting new crop inputs and ag technologies. Worldcover provides crop insurance utilizing satellites and remote sensing technology to offer insurance at the local level, but
to hedge against weather-related harvest shortfalls using satellites to monitor weather across a wide range of geographies. Startups that are not able to distribute risk across a
activity. broader portfolio face more solvency risks.
Digital marketplaces: Marketplace startups develop online platforms for buying, selling, Seasonality and cyclicality: Agricultural activities tend to be subject to seasonality and
leasing and trading of ag equipment, inputs and outputs (for example, crops or animal gestation periods (time from seed to harvest), which can last several years (particularly in
products). Online agtech marketplaces such as Farmers Business Network (FBN) act as animal ag and tree crops). This affects the ROI of invested capital and the cash flows of
modern co-ops, enabling growers to buy ag inputs at reduced costs. Alternatively, ag growers. Financing substantial assets such as farm machinery requires significant capital
output marketplaces such as Indigo Agriculture help link growers with buyers looking for outlays that may take several years to generate revenue. Extended loan maturity timelines
crops with specific characteristics, elevating crops from commodity status to premium and irregular payment schedules increase oversight costs and the risk for lenders, and
products. Significant benefits for retailers include reduced marketing and sales costs present lower profitability potential compared to other sectors.
and access to more buyers, while benefits for buyers include a more extensive selection
Contracting margins: Increasing production expenses and persistently low commodity
of goods and access to inputs, technology and equipment that might otherwise be out
prices are shrinking profit margins in the agricultural sector. Significantly depressed
of reach. Notable startups include Tractor Zoom, which connects growers with farm
interest rates (WSJ prime rate has dropped to 3.3% from 5.3% a year ago) due to the
equipment (for example, tractors) auctioneers, and Tillable, which helps growers lease and
coronavirus pandemic have constrained banks’ ability to generate interest income. More
manage farmland.
affordable access to capital through traditional means may curtail the efforts of agrifinance
startups in offering new financial products.

Agrifinance companies may not be suited to help farmers finance long term strategic underwriting agrifinance policies and provides proprietary weather-related insurance to
decisions: While many farmers may want to make long-term investments in progressive growers. We expect to see these tools deployed with increased frequency as extreme
farming practices such as regenerative farming, near-term profit goals and limited extra weather events accelerate.
cash may prevent them from doing so. Many lending facilities are structured on a short-
Coronavirus to catalyze investment in agrifinance tools: We believe agrifinance tools,
term basis, limiting farmers' ability to experiment with new farming models. Several
combined with sound policy decisions, will help stakeholders mitigate current and future
progressive funds and agriculture financing organizations seek to help farmers address
pandemic risk. The coronavirus pandemic has unveiled the fragility of global food systems
these financing needs. For example, Mad Agriculture's Perennial Fund and Replant Capital
and has disrupted food production leading to broad price increases. The beef index saw
provide agriculture loans for sustainable farming practices, while the Black Farmer Fund
a record monthly increase of 10.8% in May, with overall US food inflation increasing 4%
provides funding for Black farmers and agricultural businesses. These organizations, which
over the same period.⁴ Food system disruptions not only exacerbate food insecurity but
tend use non-profit or concessionary capital, may limit agrifintech companies' ability to
threaten production and trade flow, creating ripple effects across markets, elevating food
take share in the market.
prices and affecting incomes within the agriculture industry.
Outlook
Climate change and weather events to be a key driver of risk management platforms:
Many growers are inherently exposed to uncertainties such as prices, weather, government
policies and disease that pose potentially catastrophic financial impact. Advances in big
data, predictive analytics, and IoT technology have led to notable advancements in risk
management solutions that empower growers to make informed decisions that mitigate
risk and increase access to capital and insurance. For example, recent flooding and
drought events have highlighted the importance of utilizing these tools as a defensive
strategy. Startups deploying risk management solutions include Growers Edge, S4, and
Semios. S4 employs a selection of climate-risk coverage solutions to aid insurers in
4: Concessionary capital: for-profit capital targeting below market rates, typically for impact investing purposes

SEGMENT DEEP DIVE
Ag biotech

AG BIOTECH
Overview
Ag biotech includes agricultural inputs and services that improve crop or animal Ag biotech
production yields using biological or chemical processes. Technologies in this segment Animal biotech
are expansive, including everything from genetics and microbiomics to fertilizers and
genetically modified organisms (GMOs), from breeding technologies to animal health feed
additives.
For decades, the industry has been dominated by the “big six” agribusinesses: Dow
(NYSE: DOW), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Monsanto, Bayer (ETR: BAYN), Syngenta, and BASF
(ETR: BAS). However, recent consolidation and the emergence of innovative VC-backed
startups has allowed the industry to evolve. Despite several new names, the new “big
five”—ChemChina, Bayer (ETR: BAYN) BASF (ETR: BAS) DuPont (NYSE: DD), and Dow Plant biotech
(NYSE: DOW)—continue to overshadow the industry. However, ag biotech startups are
finding a niche by addressing emerging trends and evolving consumer preferences, such
as developing inputs that support sustainable, organic, and GMO-free agriculture.
Subsegments of ag biotech include:
Plant biotech: Companies developing GMOs, microorganisms, fertilizers, and other

treatments to maintain and improve crop yields
Animal biotech: Companies developing biotech solutions to optimize animal health and

AG BIOTECH
Figure 9. AG BIOTECH MARKET SIZE ($B)
$60
production including genetics, breeding, feed, and animal health

$50
Industry drivers $40
Climate change, severe weather, and infestation events: Crop production is vulnerable to $30
the increasingly visible effects of climate change. Aside from the impact of temperature
$20
change, extreme weather events such as drought, flooding, and insect swarms are
necessitating the development of hardier and more resilient crop varietals. $10
Changing consumer preferences: Consumers are increasingly aware of agricultural $0

2020e 2026e
practices, including the use of herbicides, sustainability, and the nutritional content of
agricultural products. This is creating more demand for premium products (e.g., organic Source: Reportlinker, Research & Markets, and PitchBook
or non-GMO) and traceability assurances (e.g., local or sustainably sourced).
Changing demographics: Rising populations combined with limited resources (such as

COMMON INDUSTRY KPIS FOR AG BIOTECH COMPANIES
water and arable land) have forced growers to find ways to increase yields. Additionally,
• Increase in production
rising global income and demand for animal proteins is pressuring farmers to increase
• Yield per plant/acre
crop production for animal feed, such as corn.
• Treatment (fertilizers/pesticides/
herbicides) usage
Market size
We estimate the global ag biotech market to be $31.5 billion in 2020, growing at 10.1%
CAGR to reach $56.2 billion by 2026, excluding any structural market disruptions due to
COVID-19.

AG BIOTECH
Figure 10. AG BIOTECH QUARTERLY VC DEAL ACTIVITY
$1,200 30
$1,000 25
Business model $800 20
$600 15
Companies in the space monetize principally by developing and selling proprietary
agricultural inputs to growers. Other revenue sources include consulting services. $400 10
$200 5
VC activity $0 0
Ag biotech continues to be a magnet for venture activity, attracting $816.3 million across 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
14 deals in Q4, a 6x increase over 3Q deal values, in part due to three mega-deals in the
quarter. Annually, VC deal activity reached $2.2 billion across 68 deals, up 41.4% YoY. The Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020
largest deal in 4Q was a $350.0 million Series D for synthetic biology startup Zymergen.
The company is focused on microbial seed treatments, a popular area of investment given Figure 11. AG BIOTECH VC DEALS ($) BY STAGE
its potential to reduce reliance on pesticides and fertilizers. We also logged a $165.2
$2,500
million early VC investment in Innovafeed, a French startup producing animal ag inputs
from insects. We anticipate continued substantial investment in ag biotech companies
$2,000
given the price premiums retailers are willing to pay for organic products, growing
demand for resilient and environmentally friendly agricultural practices, and increasing $1,500
awareness of climate change and food security issues.

$1,000
$500
$0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

AG BIOTECH
Figure 12.
Ag biotech tools VC landscape ($M)
$1,400 Indigo Agriculture
Series F ($500M)
$1,200 Zymergen
Series D ($350M)
$1,000 Zymergen Ginkgo Bioworks

Series C ($407M) Series E ($290M)
Inscripta
Series D ($125M)
$800 Precision BioSciences
Series B ($147M)
Total raised
DNAnexus
$600 Series G ($68M) Benson Hill
Ginkgo Bioworks Series D ($159M)
Series D ($275M)
Provivi
Zymergen Series C2 ($46M)
$400
AgraQuest Series B ($130M)
Series K ($8M) Zymergen
CoolPlanet Series B ($12M)
Precision BioSciences
Series D ($80M) Late VC ($105M)
$200
$0
Animal biotech Plant biotech
Source: PitchBook

AG BIOTECH
Figure 13.
Notable ag biotech VC deals
Aphea.Bio December 1, 2020 Plant biotech $19.0 N/A Series B Astanor Ventures N/A
Boost Biomes December 8, 2020 Plant biotech $7.5 N/A Series A Yara International N/A
MOA Technology November 25, 2020 Plant biotech $6.5 $25.4 Early-stage VC N/A 1.27x
WeedOUT November 17, 2020 Plant biotech $4.2 N/A Series A Syngenta Ventures N/A
Pursell Agri-Tech November 17, 2020 Plant biotech $4.0 N/A Angel (individual) N/A N/A
Figure 14.
Notable ag biotech VC exits
I COMPANY CLOSE DATE SUBSEGMENT EXIT SIZE ($M) POST-MONEY VALUATION ($M) EXIT TYPE TICKER/ACQUIRER
mOasis July 1, 2020 Plant biotech N/A N/A Merger/acquisition Carbon Neutral Ag Sciences
RnAgri June 18, 2020 Plant biotech N/A N/A Merger/acquisition RNAissance Ag
GD Tianhe September 3, 2020 Plant biotech N/A $237.4 IPO SHE: 002999
Ostara July 7, 2020 Plant biotech N/A N/A Merger/acquisition Wheatsheaf Group
Milkalyser January 1, 2020 Plant biotech N/A N/A Merger/acquisition Lely Holding

AG BIOTECH
Figure 15.
Key ag biotech VC-backed companies
Agribusiness marketplaces, plant Microbial cotton seed coating in increase water use
Indigo Agriculture $1,116.6 Seed treatments Flagship Pioneering
biotech efficiency
Zymergen $942.4 Plant biotech Crop protection products Microbial treatments that reduce reliance on fertilizer N/A
Inscripta $309.5 Plant biotech Genomics platform CRISPR tools to aid in gene-editing N/A
DNAnexus $275.7 Plant biotech Genomics platform Genome assembly First Round Capital
GreenLight
$261.1 Plant biotech RNA-based products RNAi biopesticides N/A
Biosciences

AG BIOTECH
Opportunities which providers are developing animal ag solutions. As with plant biotech, one benefit
of animal biotech is reduced dependence on undesirable inputs and activities in modern
Plant biotech: Companies operating in plant biotechnology develop biological or
industrial agriculture, such as antibiotics. Phage Technologies is developing animal ag
chemical products, including custom plants, organisms, fertilizers, and other transgenic
treatments that combat bacteria in intensive animal rearing processes, reducing the
inputs. Plant biotechnology aims to improve resiliency, yield, and nutrition qualities of
need for antibiotics in most cases. Leaders in animal biotech include Calysta, Roslin
crops. Benefits include increased productivity per acre, enhanced environmental practices
Technologies, and Recombinetics.
(for example, a reduction in fertilizer usage), improved nutrition, and a reduction in crop
losses from extreme weather, pests, and disease. Drivers of plant biotech innovation
include population growth and demand for organic and sustainable produce, which
Considerations
is motivating growers to produce commercially viable crops without the use of toxic Environmental concerns: Critics of ag biotech take issue with its potential negative
herbicides or pesticides. While some providers focus on singular solutions, others utilize impacts. Improper use of fertilizers or potent insecticides and herbicides could leak into
multi-input solutions (that is, combined GMO seed and herbicide) or take a platform bodies of water, killing plants and animals. These new technologies bring rational fears
approach. For example, Boost Biomes uses a proprietary discovery platform to research of unknown consequences, such as the creation of super viruses or genetically modified
and develop multi-microbial products for ag applications. Pivot Bio is developing self- animals that are more susceptible to disease.
fertilizing cereal crops to reduce or eliminate the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizer
Food safety concern: In market-oriented economic systems such as the US, consumers
and the accompanying environmental impacts. Leaders in plant biotech include Pivot Bio,
are the ultimate arbiters of the food supply. Many consumers have become concerned
Benson Hill, and CoolPlanet.
with the health impacts of consuming GMO produce, GMO-fed animals, and food products.
Animal biotech: Animal biotech companies are motivated by the same primary objectives Concerns primarily include possible allergenicity and toxicity. As such, many countries
as plant biotech: optimizing health, production, and other characteristics (such as have passed laws regulating where GMOs can be sold and for what purposes. Ag biotech
nutrition) in animals. Technologies and solutions within the category include breeding, in animals is a cause for concern for many critics, as well. The use of antibiotics in animal
animal health, genetics (genetic engineering, genetic modification, and cloning), breeding, production is attributed to antibiotic resistance in humans. Providers need to factor in
and feed (feed additives and feedstuffs). CRISPR-Cas9 is one emerging technology for consumer perceptions when considering biotech inputs with food product use cases.

AG BIOTECH
Outlook
Gene editing will be critical to the advancement of regenerative farming: Historically, a
primary focus of agtech has been on maximizing yield; however, this often results in soil
degradation and nutrient loss. Regenerative farming aims to optimize farm soil health,
water quality, and biodiversity by rotating crops and livestock. The practice is gaining
steam among growers, technologists, and sustainability advocates. Biotechnologies
such as gene editing can be an excellent match for regenerative farming as it allows the
development of plants capable of thriving in poor soils and other challenging conditions.⁵
Gene-editing startups have logged several significant VC investments over the past
two years. We believe gene-editing technology may be necessary to scale regenerative
farming practices and to overcome modern farming challenges such as soil degradation
and the effects of global warming.
Skepticism of GMO-derived foods will continue to decline: Along with the increasing
popularity of organic foods, consumer sentiment has become highly skeptical of GMOs.
In Europe, genetically modified foods are highly regulated, and in the US, federal law
has required the labeling of GMOs since 2016. Regulatory constraints are likely hindering
the global opportunity for GMO innovation, but that may be changing. A recent study
indicated that 77% of Gen-Z respondents were willing to eat GMO-derived foods,
compared with 58% of baby boomers.⁶ Additionally, the pandemic has, for the first time,
made clear the vulnerability of the food system to many disconnected consumers. We
believe shifting sentiment will enlarge the market opportunity for GMO technologies in
the long term.
5: Mitchell Presser, interviewed by Lauren Stine, “Q&A: MoFo partners talk agrifoodtech exits, regenerative tech, and Covid-19,” AFN, July 10, 2020.
6: “Most Consumers Will Eat Tech-Assisted Food, Especially Those in Gen Z,” Food Dive, Cathy Siegner, November 4, 2019.

SEGMENT DEEP DIVE
Advanced farm equipment

ADVANCED FARM EQUIPMENT
Overview
The advanced farm equipment segment includes farm equipment, robotics, and machinery
that help optimize or automate in-field operations such as seeding, fertilizing, irrigating,
and harvesting. Emerging products in this segment include unmanned ground vehicles
Advanced farm equipment
(UGVs), which replace heavy tractors with small autonomous machines that use sensors
Drone manufacturers
and digital maps to get closer to plants without damaging them, as well as crop-picking
robots and drones that can seed fields. Advanced farm equipment providers primarily
differentiate through hardware and software features that may be specialized for
individual crops or have broad applications. Robotics & smart field equipment
Industry drivers
Labor shortages: Widespread agriculture labor shortages, along with cost and
dependability, have challenged farm fieldwork for years. The COVID-19 pandemic and
ongoing political issues have worsened the situation, especially for farms relying on
migrant workers.
Expanded digital infrastructure: Communications providers have historically prioritized

densely populated urban environments to deploy internet infrastructure. Communications
providers are increasingly expanding internet access to rural locals, enabling autonomous
technology and improving farm productivity.

Figure 16. FARM MACHINERY MARKET SIZE ($B)
$130
Loose regulatory environment: Unlike autonomous passenger vehicles, autonomous farm $125
machinery, such as autonomous tractors, face few regulations if they stay on farms and
$120
away from public roads. While California’s OSHA regulations require an operator to be
$115
onboard moving autonomic equipment, we believe the lax regulations are favorable for
$110
commercialization and innovation.
$105
Market size $100
$95
The estimated size of the entire farm equipment market, based on the global revenues of 2020e 2025e
agricultural equipment manufacturers, is estimated to be $106 billion in 2020 and growing
Source: FutureWise Market Research, Valuates Reports, Tractor Power
at a CAGR of 3.5% to reach $126.1 billion by 2025.
Output, and PitchBook
Business model COMMON INDUSTRY KPIS FOR ADVANCED FARM EQUIPMENT COMPANIES
Farm machinery is typically sold through traditional sales and service business models.
Operational Financial
However, that model is beginning to shift as manufacturers increasingly utilize a robotics-
• Number of pieces of machinery or • Addressable markets
as-a-service model. This model is necessary for autonomous farm machinery in which
systems deployed
• Gross margin
commercialized technology is in its infancy and requires significant human oversight and
• Patents
on-the-ground refinement. • Unit sales
• Acres serviced (e.g., harvested,
• Revenue mix
weeded, planted) per hour
• Horsepower

Figure 17. ADVANCED FARM EQUIPMENT QUARTERLY VC DEAL ACTIVITY
$180 25
$160
VC activity $140 20
$120
15
Advanced farm equipment startups attracted $166.5 million in VC across 15 deals, a $100
$80
105.5% increase in deal values QoQ and the strongest quarter of the past decade. Annual 10
$60
deal values reached $317.9 million across 39 deals, a 46% increase despite a 37.1% drop in $40 5
deal counts. The largest deal of Q4 was a $60.9 million series A for Chinese agricultural $20
$0 0
robotics company FJ Dynamics. The company sells various autonomous agri-robots
including tractors, transplanters, and harvesters to cover end-to-end farming and 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
harvesting tasks. Tevel raised a $20.0 million Series B in October 2020 at a $25.0 million Deal value ($M) Deal count
pre-money valuation, which we estimate to be a $1.5 million step-down from the prior
round in April 2019. We believe capital-intensive robotics startups have likely faced added
financing struggles stemming from pandemic-driven economic uncertainty.
Figure 18. ADVANCED FARM EQUIPMENT VC DEALS ($M) BY STAGE
$350
$300
$250
$200
$150
$100
$50
$0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Figure 19.
Advanced farm equipment VC landscape ($M)
$100
Clearpath Robotics
Series C ($35M)
$90
Soft Robotics
Series B ($25M)
$80
Soft Robotics
Series A1 ($20M) Hyliion
$70 Early VC ($25M)
FarmWise Labs
$60 Series A ($17M)
Clearpath Robotics Hyliion
Series B ($30M) Nileworks
Total raised
Series A ($21M)
Early VC ($14M)
$50
Blue River Technology Tevel (Other Hardware)

Series B ($18M) ecoRobotix Series B ($20M)
$40 Harvest Automation
Series B ($11M)
Series C ($12M)
Tevel (Other Hardware)
Series A ($10M) Pyka
$30 Early VC ($11M)
Clearpath Robotics
$20 Series A ($11M)
Blue River Technology

$10 Series A1 ($10M)
$0
Drone manufacturers Robotics & smart ﬁeld equipment
Source: PitchBook

Figure 20.
Notable advanced farm equipment VC deals
Tenacious Ventures, Artesian

SwarmFarm Robotics October 8, 2020 Robotics & smart field equipment $7.6 N/A Late-stage VC
Capital Management
N/A
Sabanto December 22, 2020 Robotics & smart field equipment $3.0 N/A Early-stage VC N/A N/A
Greenfield Robotics November 1, 2020 Robotics & smart field equipment $1.5 N/A Seed round N/A N/A
Mesur.io December 21, 2020 Robotics & smart field equipment $0.8 N/A Early-stage VC N/A N/A
Fieldwork Robotics December 31, 2020 Robotics & smart field equipment $0.7 $5.4 Early-stage VC N/A 0.71x
Figure 21.
Notable advanced farm equipment VC exits
I COMPANY CLOSE DATE SUBSEGMENT EXIT SIZE ($M) POST-MONEY VALUATION ($M) EXIT TYPE TICKER/ACQUIRER
Robotics & smart field

Blue River Technology September 12, 2017
equipment
$305.0 $305.0 Merger/acquisition John Deere
Robotics & smart field AgJunction (acquired in

Novariant October 16, 2015
equipment
$23.2 $23.2 Merger/acquisition
2012)
Robotics & smart field

Smart Ag November 1, 2019
equipment
N/A N/A Merger/acquisition Raven Industries

Figure 22.
Key VC-backed advanced farm equipment companies
Positioning and machine control

Novariant $81.5 Robotics & smart field equipment
products
Automated steering N/A
Clearpath Retrofits agriculture machinery with autonomous

$77.0 Robotics & smart field equipment Autonomous robotics N/A
Robotics capabilities
Blue Ocean
$57.0 Robotics & smart field equipment Autonomous robotics Targeted solutions (e.g. mink feeding robots) N/A
Robotics
Picking robots designed for delicate products (e.g.

Soft Robotics $54.3 Robotics & smart field equipment Industrial robotics
produce)
Material Impact Fund
Nileworks $21.5 Drone manufacturers Agricultural drones Crop spraying drones N/A

Opportunities autonomously spray crops on demand. Kiwi Technologies provides a drone service that
can both spray and seed commercial farms. Although a single drone may have limited
Field robotics & automation: Field robotics providers develop farm machinery that carrying capacity, providers are moving toward deploying multiple drones, or swarms, to
automates or augments current technology or existing manual processes. These machines increase output. Drones are heavily regulated in some places, but the Federal Aviation
increase productivity and safety while compensating for labor shortages. The startup Administration recently authorized startup Rantizo to operate up to three drones for
Burro manufactures autonomous robots that ferry crops from pickers to packers, spraying applications.⁷
increasing the productivity of field workers. Other startups such as Small Robot Company
develop autonomous robots to replace tractors and other machinery to perform technical Considerations
in-field activities such as planting, weeding, and treating arable crops. Startups are not
the only providers getting in on the autonomous robot action. Incumbent John Deere Automation in early stages: Experts agree that the deployment of full autonomous
(NYSE: DE) has been making an autonomous tractor prototype, although no launch tractors is likely years if not decades away despite limited field testing already in progress.
date has been released. Even semi-autonomous machinery equipped with advanced A more likely scenario, at least for incumbents, is incremental innovation through sensors
technologies offer value to growers. The owner of the farm Fazenda Diamente has said and software that add semi-autonomous features. John Deere (NYSE: DE) sells a “pod” of
machinery equipped with GPS and autopilot systems improve efficiency and have led to a sensors to retrofit tractors that add autonomous operation capabilities.8 Sensors include
5%-10% decrease in costs. lidar, GPS, and cameras capable of producing 3D images. Although these sensors allow
Drone manufacturers: Companies developing drones for ag use focus on seeding and machinery to perform straightforward activities autonomously, challenges persist in their
other non-imagery applications. The speed, precision, and adaptability of agriculture ability to utilize AI & ML software to detect and react to real-time information, such as
drones present the most significant benefits to growers. Aside from the imagery identifying and stopping for a person in the path of the machine.
applications by attaching cameras and sensors (discussed in the field monitoring &
Regulations may hinder benefits and deployment: Autonomous farm equipment
analysis segment), drones are increasingly utilized for seeding, spraying, and other in-
technology has seen minimal regulation in the US by the federal government. However,
field tasks. Pyka develops autonomous electric airplanes that can safely, accurately, and
California’s OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) agency has published
7: “Drone Swarm Takes Off in USA,” Future Farming, Mick Roberts, July 16, 2020.
8: “A Vision in Focus,” Progressive Farmer, Joel Reichenberger, January 30, 2020.

regulations requiring “self-propelled equipment” to have an operator on board at the with level five being fully autonomous and level zero being fully manual operation.⁹ We
controls during operation, negating the central benefit of autonomous operation. The expect commercialized level 4/5 autonomous passenger vehicles are a long-term (10+
regulation intends to maintain the safety of field workers when working near-autonomous year) reality. While autonomous farm equipment is similarly complex, it does not require
vehicles. California is the largest producer of food in the US, and these regulations the capability to navigate many of the challenges of public roads, especially interpreting
will likely affect the entire industry, limiting the growth of this emerging technology. the behavior of pedestrians and human-driven vehicles. For this reason, we believe the
We expect to see other states or possibly federal agencies follow California’s lead as automation of farm equipment will see commercialization much sooner than passenger
autonomous farm equipment technologies become widespread. vehicles.
Tech companies lead innovation in autonomous technology: The most disruptive

Outlook agricultural equipment innovations are being driven by startups developing novel
approaches to the industry. Whereas startups such as Sabanto, Rabbit Tractors, and
Growing labor shortages spur competition and innovation: The pandemic has
FarmWise Labs are developing smaller, less expensive, and more nimble autonomous
exacerbated existing labor shortages in the agriculture system, highlighting the potential
farm robots, incumbents such as John Deere (NYSE: DE) and Fendt are simply
benefits of robotics and automation in maintaining operations. Despite reported
augmenting existing tractors and other farm machinery with sensors and software. We
consumer “technology fatigue” in other segments of agtech, we believe the significant
expect the purpose-built platform approach from startups will propel development, while
pain point of labor shortages, cost, and dependability will increasingly drive demand for
the financial pressures of the pandemic will likely distract incumbents from non-core
autonomous farm equipment and will help catalyze increased innovation, competition,
R&D projects such as autonomous technology. In the medium term, we expect that farm
and commercialization.
equipment startups will play a much more significant role in driving innovating in the
Autonomous driving will be used on farms before public roads: The Society of industry.
Automotive Engineers (SAE) has defined six levels of autonomous driving sophistication,
9: “Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, December 13,
2019.

SEGMENT DEEP DIVE
Field monitoring & analysis

FIELD MONITORING & ANALYSIS
Overview Field monitoring & analysis
Farm management software Soil sensing & analysis

Field monitoring & analysis technologies, collectively referred to as “precision agriculture,”
provide software and sensors to monitor, analyze, predict, and optimize in-field elements
including crops, water, weather, and pests. Startups in this sector offer hardware sensors
designed to collect specific farm data such as weather, moisture, and plant health. Other
providers in the space develop software that can interpret data and improve decision making.
Imagery analytics
Growers have long been a critical market for field monitoring & analysis companies
Field monitoring sensors & solutions
promising significant benefits through data collection. However, the promises of
meaningful improvements through data collection have largely fallen short because
growers have lacked sufficient tools to interpret and act on the data. This has led to a
significant level of technology fatigue and resistance to new technologies. However, with
data collection infrastructure well advanced, emerging AI & ML and predictive analytics
technologies are poised to complete the loop by improving decision-making capabilities
and offering meaningful recommendations based on data trends and analysis. Plant data & analysis
Industry drivers
Advances in AI and IoT technology: AI is becoming easier to use, and IoT sensors are
Precision irrigation & water monitoring
getting cheaper, smaller and quicker.
Increasing global food demand: Population growth pressures growers to increase farm
productivity. Limited arable land means that growers need to increase crop yields on
existing acreage.

Figure 23. FIELD MONITORING & ANALYSIS MARKET SIZE ($B)
$12
Agriculture profit margin squeeze: Profit margins have become increasingly tighter.10
$10
Widespread crop price declines have not been met with equivalent cost reductions.
$8
Improving connectivity: The increasing availability of internet connectivity options
$6
(examples include wifi, high-speed cellular, fiberoptic, satellite) in agricultural
environments makes it possible to collect and transmit data from IoT sensors. $4
Market size
$2
$0
2020e 2025e
The estimated market size of the field monitoring & analysis, based on the global revenues
of precision agriculture providers, is estimated to be $5.8 billion in 2020 and growing at a
Source: BIS Research, ReportBuyer, Reportlinker, and PitchBook
CAGR of 13.6% to reach $11.1 billion by 2025.
COMMON INDUSTRY KPIS FOR FIELD MONITORING & ANALYSIS

Business model COMPANIES
Companies operating in the field monitoring & analysis segment tend to sell a combination Hardware Software
of hardware and software or software only. Business models tend to be a combination • Power budget (active battery • Number of APIs
of traditional sales and service business models and subscription services. For instance, time)
• Financial
Climate FieldView sells a data-collection device and accompanying software platform. • Form factor (size)
• Gross margins
Customers buy the devices outright and subscribe to the software through a Software-as-
• Memory (RAM)
a-Service (SaaS) model. • Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
• Connectivity range
• Customer lifetime value (CLV)
Device manufacturers are increasingly deploying Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS) models,
as well. Benefits to manufacturers include stable revenue streams, improved inventory
forecasting, and faster sales cycles. Customers benefit from lower upfront costs.
10: “Understanding the Margin Squeeze,” Purdue University Center for Commercial Agriculture, Brent Gloy, January 5, 2015.

Figure 24. FIELD MONITORING & ANALYSIS QUARTERLY VC DEAL ACTIVITY
$350 40
VC activity $300 35
30
$250
Field monitoring & analysis companies logged $223.8 million across 17 deals in Q4 2020. 25
$200
While the full-year deal count of 54 was down 40.7% relative to 2019, Q4 deal counts were 20
$150
15
up 41.7% relative to Q3, suggesting activity may be resuming as the pandemic subsides. $100
10
Deal values totaled $698.0 million in 2020, down 10.6% YoY because of muted investment $50 5
activity in H1 2020. $0 0
The farm management software category attracted the most investor interest in 2020, 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
with $291.9 million invested across 16 deals. The largest round was a $250.0 million series Deal value ($M) Deal count
F in Farmer's Business Network (FBN) led by Blackrock Innovation Capital Group. The Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020
company provides farmers with a variety of farm management and analytics tools as well
as a suite of diverse agri-business tools including an ag marketplace, financial services, Figure 25. FIELD MONITORING & ANALYSIS VC DEALS ($M) BY STAGE
and marketing tools. We also logged two late-stage VC deals in 2020 for Conservis,
$900
which totaled $20.0 million. The company provides farmers with a suite of financial and
$800
operational tools to manage day-to-day operations, budgeting, and forecasting.
$700
Startups focused on field monitoring sensors & solutions raised $197.5 million in 2020, up $600
$500
143.7% YoY. In October, San Francisco-based Arable raised a $20.0 million Series B led
$400
by Prelude Ventures. The company provides in-field sensors that capture environmental
$300
data such as precipitation, wind speed, and humidity. The Yield raised $7.1 million in late- $200
stage funding led by Yamaha Motor Ventures to accelerate the product development $100
of its Sensing+ platform, which combines in-field sensors and data analytics to monitor $0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
microclimates and improve decision-making. We expect field monitoring & analysis
products will increasingly incorporate AI & ML software solutions.

Figure 26.
Field monitoring & analysis VC landscape ($M)
$800
Farmer's Business Network
Series F ($250M)
$700
$600
Planet Farmer's Business Network
Series D ($168M) Series E ($175M)
$500 10x Genomics

Farmer's Business Network Series D ($125M)
Planet Series D ($110M) 10x Genomics
Series C ($131M) Series D1 ($35M)
Total raised
$400 10x Genomics

Series C ($75M) Gro Intelligence
Series B ($85M)
10x Genomics
Climate FieldView Series B ($56M) ETwater
Series B ($42M) Sol Chip Series D ($10M)
$300 Hortau SunCulture
Planet Late VC ($5M)
Climate FieldView Series A ($10M) Series A ($14M)
Series C ($50M) Series B ($53M)
DroneDeploy
$200 HydroPoint Series D ($35M)
Series D1 ($11M) Waterbit Hortau
Series A ($11M) Late VC ($20M)
Planet
$100 Series A ($13M)
$0
Farm management software Field monitoring sensors & solutions Imagery analytics Plant data & analysis Precision irrigation & water monitoring Soil sensing & analysis
Source: PitchBook

Figure 27.
Notable field monitoring & analysis VC deals
N/A
I COMPANY CLOSE DATE SUBSEGMENT DEAL SIZE ($M) POST-MONEY VALUATION ($M)* DEAL TYPE LEAD INVESTOR(S) VALUATION STEP-UP
Precision irrigation & water

SunCulture December 4, 2020 $14.0 N/A Series A N/A N/A
monitoring
Field monitoring sensors &

Cervest November 30, 2020 $8.0 N/A Early-stage VC N/A N/A
solutions
HUVR October 6, 2020 Imagery analytics $5.0 N/A Series A Montrose Lane N/A
South Central Ventures, European

Agrivi November 17, 2020 Farm management software $4.7 N/A Series A Investment Fund, Hrvatska banka N/A
za obnovu i razvitak
Apollo
December 3, 2020 Farm management software $3.6 N/A Late-stage VC N/A N/A
Agriculture
Figure 28.
Notable field monitoring & analysis VC exits
I COMPANY CLOSE DATE SUBSEGMENT EXIT SIZE ($M) POST-MONEY VALUATION ($M)* EXIT TYPE TICKER/ACQUIRER
10x Genomics September 12, 2019 Plant data & analysis $3,270.1 $3,660.1 IPO NASDAQ: TXG
Growers February 19, 2020 Farm management software $27.5 $27.5 Merger/acquisition Israel Chemicals
Farm At Hand August 13, 2019 Farm management software N/A N/A Merger/acquisition Telus
Lodestone Data
November 4, 2019 Farm management software N/A N/A Merger/acquisition Yobi (internet retail)
Technologies
Regen September 10, 2020 Precision irrigation & water monitoring N/A N/A Merger/acquisition CropX

Figure 29.
Key VC-backed field monitoring & analysis companies
Draper Fisher
Planet $365.5 Imagery analytics Satellite imagery Daily time series field analysis
Jurvetson Management
Climate FieldView $116.6 Field monitoring sensors & solutions Weather coverage services Input management tools N/A
Spaceflight
$225.5 Imagery analytics Satellite imagery AI-based geospatial monitoring N/A
Industries
Benson Hill $292.1 Plant biotech Crop breeding platform Seed improvement through computational biology Middleland Capital
Only drone technology provider granted relatory

PrecisionHawk $138.7 Imagery analytics Drone imagery
approval to fly drones beyond visual line of sight
N/A

Opportunities decisions and provides a key reason for the adoption of management software. Conservis
provides a comprehensive farm-management software platform that tracks field activities,
Soil health and water management: Soil health and water management are critical communicates work orders, manages inventories, and provides cost and yield analysis
components for growing healthy crops and maximizing yields. Companies operating in tools. FarmLogs offers a mobile-enabled software platform that includes a comprehensive
this segment focus on automating manual tasks, capturing soil health data and providing suite of financial and operational analysis tools, as well as a host of other features (such
meaningful recommendations. Teralytic leases soil-quality-measurement devices that as futures prices, satellite imagery, reports, and marketing tools) to manage a farm and
capture a variety of soil and environmental data points, including soil moisture, salinity, maximize profits.
and NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) nutrient levels. The devices provide a
Imagery analytics. Imagery analytics companies develop software and imaging sensors
continuous data feed, helping growers optimize fertilizer and irrigation applications. With
affixed to drones, planes, and satellites that can gather crop health information, such as
increasing extreme weather conditions, healthy soil can help handle excess moisture
disease and pest detection. These products utilize predictive analytics to improve decision
after rains and floods to allow crops to grow where they would have otherwise failed.
making. Similar to in-field sensors, imagery analytics companies use aerial imagery and
WaterBit sells a hardware and software suite that takes continuous water measurements
data analytics to improve farm management. Startup Ceres Imaging incorporates high-
and provides automated drip irrigation, optimizing the watering schedule. This is
resolution multispectral imagery and fixed-wing aircraft to gather data readings on plant
especially important for crops such as wine grapes, where watering affects crop quality.
nitrogen content, canopy density, cumulative stress index, and water stress index. These
Precision irrigation technology also aids in water conservation, which is especially vital in
datapoints help identify irrigation and plant health issues and project yields. Startup
geographies where water access is limited or costly.
Sentera develops software and sensors that affix to drones and help farmers monitor
Farm management software: Farms today are nearly unrecognizable from 20-30 years crop health data. Although drones are more easily deployable, critics argue they are less
ago and have evolved from small-scale to large-scale operations with millions of dollars efficient and cannot carry the same quantity of robust sensors that can be attached to a
in assets. Farm management software provides modern farmers with visibility and larger aircraft.
control over field activities, operations, finances, and crop performance. The ability
to tie production activity with financial data helps farmers make more finance-driven

Considerations visible companies to pilot an “outcome-based pricing” model using predictive analytics
from subsidiary Climate Corporation. In this model, growers pay a set price for inputs
Technology fatigue: For decades, farmers have been promised tools to improve yields, based on a target objective and share profits if they exceed that outcome or receive a
reduce costs, and increase profits, yet most early in-field sensor technology did not rebate if they fall short. Although there was immediate pushback from growers against
provide software sophisticated enough to give meaningful insights or automate processes this model due to the opaqueness of prediction algorithms, we believe it will gain steam
based on data. For this reason, field monitoring & analysis products frequently failed to from those looking to adopt new technology while mitigating risk.
live up to expectations. Although analytics software has improved significantly in recent
Field monitoring & analysis will become more critical to combat climate change:
years, providers still struggle to overcome resistance from growers.
According to the World Economic Forum, food systems are responsible for 20%-30%
Data ownership concerns: Field monitoring & analysis companies are generating massive of greenhouse gas emissions.11 Climate change caused by these emissions threatens to
amounts of data to improve decision making, improve outcomes, and gain competitive reduce crop yields by over 25% by 2050. We believe that field monitoring & analysis
advantages. As the agriculture industry becomes increasingly data-centric, farmers are companies will be essential to combating climate change by reducing reliance on water
becoming more concerned about data privacy, security, and ownership. and inputs, cutting down greenhouse gas production, and maintaining the viability of
food systems in the long term by reducing costs and increasing yields.
Outlook
Outcome-based pricing will become widespread: Although SaaS (and HaaS) business
models are quickly becoming the norm in many industries, growers are beginning to
realize that this model is eating into already minuscule margins with no guarantees for
ROI. Some providers are experimenting with new partnership models that share the risk
by tying fees to improved profitability. Bayer Crop Science has been one of the most
11: “Innovation with a Purpose: The role of technology innovation in accelerating food systems transformation,” World Economic Forum,
Sarita Nayyar, et al., January 2018.

SEGMENT DEEP DIVE
Indoor farming

INDOOR FARMING
Overview
Indoor farming, also known as Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), includes

Indoor farming
software, hardware, infrastructure, and operators focused on commercial and consumer
Indoor farming components
indoor agriculture. Companies in this sector are developing new technologies to produce
plants and insects in enclosed environments that allow growers and scientists to control
for environmental factors and using alternative grow techniques such as vertical farming,
aquaponics, and hydroponics to maximize yield and minimize inputs.
Indoor ag provides a host of benefits, including:

Indoor farming systems
• Creating a local produce supply to reduce reliance on imports
• Increased control over grow conditions and inputs
• Increased sustainability through reduced (or eliminated) reliance on water, fertilizer,

herbicides, pesticides, and energy Indoor growers
• Faster growing cycles
Although many companies are developing pure-play technologies or services to serve the
sector, the most well-funded startups develop much of the technology in house, shielding it
from public view as a trade secret and competitive advantage. We expect that this trend will
become less frequent as vertical farming technologies become ubiquitous.
Current subsegments in the indoor farming space include:
Indoor farming components: Precision technologies designed to optimize the growing

environment, such as lighting systems, monitoring sensors, irrigation, and environmental

INDOOR FARMING
Figure 30. INDOOR FARMING MARKET SIZE ($B)
$135
controls, as well as the software to manage grow operations.

$130
Indoor farming systems: Complete growing environments that span from small consumer
$125
table-top solutions to massive commercial facilities. Most solutions are turnkey, allowing
$120
customers to step in and begin operations.
$115
Indoor farming growers: Operators of indoor farming facilities. Many growers build out
proprietary components and systems to reduce costs and increase yields. $110
Industry drivers
$105
2020e 2025e
Consumers are prioritizing food traceability and local foods: Similar to organic produce, Source: Mordor Intelligence
consumers are paying a premium for locally sourced foods. Indoor farming allows for local
production of crops that would otherwise be inaccessible due to lack of arable land (for COMMON INDUSTRY KPIS FOR INDOOR FARMING COMPANIES
example, in an urban environment) or climate (for example, fresh tomatoes in winter).
• Startup costs
Improving the quality and yield of high-profit plants: One of the most considerable
benefits of indoor agriculture is the ability to control virtually every factor affecting • Production volume (harvest
weight)
growth, such as light, temperature, and nutrients. This allows growers to decrease
production times and improve desirable plant traits. For example, cannabis can be • Crop prices
manipulated in a controlled indoor environment to provide a highly profitable yield. • Transportation costs (or savings)
Climate change driving pursuit of sustainable farming practices: According to the • Energy consumption
World Economic Forum, food systems are responsible for 20%-30% of greenhouse gas
emissions, account for 70% of freshwater withdrawals, consume about 30% of the world’s
available energy, and are the most significant drivers of deforestation.12 Climate change
is diminishing crop yields and the availability of water and arable land. Indoor farming
12: Ibid.

INDOOR FARMING
Figure 31. INDOOR FARMING QUARTERLY VC DEAL ACTIVITY
$1,000 25
$900
promises significant sustainability gains on water consumption, arable land requirements,
$800 20
and fossil fuel emissions. $700
$600 15
$500
Market size $400 10
$300
$200 5
The market size of the indoor farming space, based on the global revenues of indoor farming
$100
technology providers, is estimated to be $115.5 billion in 2020 and grow at a CAGR of 2.6% to $0 0
reach $131.2 billion by 2025.
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Business model
Indoor farming components and systems are primarily sold through traditional hardware
sales & service business models. Software and a growing number of systems are sold through Figure 32. INDOOR FARMING VC DEALS ($M) BY STAGE
SaaS or HaaS models. Indoor farming growers sell crops, insects, and other yields through
$2,000
traditional distribution models.
$1,800
$1,600
VC activity $1,400
$1,200
$1,000
The indoor farming sector experienced a meteoric rise in investment activity in Q4, with
$800
$877.0 million invested across 13 deals, up 73.6% from the quarter prior. Despite the low $600
deal count, we logged three mega-deals ($100+ million), leading to the strongest quarter $400
$200
on record. Indoor insect farming deals made up 61.3% of deal value this quarter. The
$0
largest deal was a $372.0 million Series C in vertical insect-farm operator Ynsect, led by 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Astanor Ventures. The company will use the funding to build an insect farming facility Angel & seed Early VC Late VC
and expand operations globally. InnovaFeed logged the second-largest deal, with a

INDOOR FARMING
$165.2 million early-stage round led by Creadev and Temasek Holdings. The company,
which recently opened the world's largest insect protein plant, will use the latest funding
round to accelerate international expansion. Indoor growers Plenty, Gotham Greens, and
BrightFarms also raised sizable funding rounds this quarter.
Annually, indoor farming was a magnet for capital in 2020, with $1.74 billion invested
across 65 deals, over 2.6x 2019's deal value. Most of the capital was secured by indoor
growers, many of whom seek massive funding rounds to build sprawling state-of-the-art
indoor farming facilities that achieve productivity gains and scale efficiencies. Funding for
indoor growers totaled $1.66 billion in 2020, a 3x increase from 2019. Funding for indoor
farming components declined YoY, however, with $44.4 million invested across 12 deals.
One of the key indoor farming component deals of 2020 was a $7.0 million Series A round
in greenhouse management platform iUNU. The company uses rail-mounted cameras and
computer vision to monitor crops and environmental controls.

INDOOR FARMING
Figure 33.
Indoor farming VC landscape ($M)
$500
Ynsect
Series C ($372M)
$450
Infarm
Series C ($170M)
$400
AeroFarms
Series E ($100M)
$350
BrightFarms
Series D ($55M)
$300
AeroFarms Infarm
Total raised
Series D ($40M) Series B ($99M) BrightFarms

$250
BrightFarms Series E ($65M)
Series C ($30M)
$200 Gotham Greens
Protix
Series C ($29M) Gotham Greens
Late VC ($50M)
Series D ($87M)
Click & Grow
$150 AeroFarms Late VC ($11M)
Series B ($20M) Shenandoah Growers
Back to the Roots
Late VC ($66M)
Series A ($10M)
$100 AeroFarms
Late VC ($40M) Upward Farms
Freight Farms Late VC ($15M)
Series B ($15M)
$50
$0
Indoor farming components Indoor farming systems Indoor growers
Source: PitchBook

INDOOR FARMING
Figure 34.
Notable indoor farming VC deals
Pure Harvest Wafra International Investment

November 10, 2020 Indoor growers $20.6 N/A Series A N/A
Smart Farms Company
Beta Hatch December 10, 2020 Indoor growers $9.3 $23.3 Series A2 Cavallo Ventures, Innova Memphis 1.13x
iUNU December 7, 2020 Indoor farming components $7.0 N/A Series A S2G Ventures N/A
Elevate Farms October 23, 2020 Indoor growers $6.5 N/A Early-stage VC N/A N/A
ChamPerchÃ© November 13, 2020 Indoor growers $2.6 N/A Early-Stage VC N/A N/A
Figure 35.
Notable indoor farming VC exits
I COMPANY CLOSE DATE SUBSEGMENT EXIT SIZE ($M) POST-MONEY VALUATION ($M)* EXIT TYPE TICKER/ACQUIRER
Sousacamp May 28, 2020 Indoor growers $13.4 $13.4 Merger/acquisition CoRe Capital (Portugal)
Jones Food Company June 10, 2019 Indoor farming components $10.9 $18.9 Merger/acquisition Ocado Group
Hydrogreen January 1, 2020 Indoor farming components $3.5 $3.5 Merger/acquisition CubicFarm Systems
Urban-gro August 8, 2018 Indoor farming components N/A N/A IPO NASDAQ: UGRO
Kalera June 17, 2020 Indoor growers N/A N/A IPO OSL: KAL

INDOOR FARMING
Figure 36.
Key VC-backed indoor farming companies
Plenty $541.0 Indoor growers Vertical farming Targeting fruits such as berries and tomatoes N/A
Freight Farms $28.0 Indoor farming systems Hydroponic grow systems Systems built within shipping containers Morningside Group
Revol Greens $215.0 Indoor growers Hydroponic farming Utilises closed-loop hydroponics Equilibrium Capital
FarmVisionAI $72.6 Indoor farming components Horticultural vision systems AI-based monitoring and decision support N/A
Bowery In-house ag science team researching & designing new

$187.5 Indoor growers Vertical farming First Round Capital
(Horticulture) crop varietals

INDOOR FARMING
Opportunities systems include IoT farm management tools to automate processes and optimize growing
variables.
Components: Indoor farming startups focused on precision technologies are designed
Commercial indoor ag system providers develop large-scale greenhouses and grow facilities
to optimize the growing environment such as lighting systems, monitoring sensors
that allow operators to replace or enhance plant supplies. For example, TruLeaf develops
and irrigation, as well as the software to manage grow operations. One startup, Xiant
turnkey vertical farm facilities specializing in leafy greens that enables operators to provide a
Technologies, produces photon modulation lighting systems to provide artificial light in
year-round food supply, reducing transportation costs and reliance on produce imports.
“sunless” environments. Lighting systems promise to maximize plant yields and growing
cycles by allowing for nonstop photosynthesis. Startup Artemis has developed an Consumer indoor ag systems are increasingly being developed on a smaller scale to allow
enterprise Cultivation Management Platform (CMP) to help indoor ag operators analyze consumers to grow crops indoors at home. This concept is not new: One of the first widely
and manage all aspects of indoor farming operations, including people, plants, processes, available countertop “indoor gardens” was a hydroponic system called AeroGarden launched
and compliance with food safety and government regulations (such as those for growing by AeroGrow (BER: 118) in 2006. Today the competitive landscape has expanded, with
cannabis). The increasingly complex operational activities required to run a profitable providers offering products with a wide range of complexity and capabilities. Startup LEAF is
indoor ag operation necessitate comprehensive tools to manage business processes and developing an almost fully automated system that allows customers to grow a wide variety of
stakeholders. Key VC-backed providers include Illumitex, Crop One Holdings, iUNU, and produce and monitor and manage the entire process from a mobile device.
Xiant Technologies. Growers: Companies within this category operate indoor farming facilities. Growers that
Systems: Indoor farming systems are comprehensive growing environments that span receive VC-backing often build out proprietary components and systems that can yield higher
from small consumer table-top solutions to massive commercial facilities. Key VC-backed ROI relative to turnkey systems. Indoor farming grow operations involve the management
providers include Freight Farms, Back to the Roots, TruLeaf and LEAF. and operations of an indoor farming facility. However, the cost-effectiveness and efficiency
of operations can be a competitive advantage in this field. Many operators utilize proprietary
One of the most attractive benefits of indoor ag is the ability to grow plants in
facility design, technology, and even exclusive crops. For instance, vertical farm grower
inhospitable environments. Some providers are converting shipping containers into ultra-
SinGrow performs plant breeding in addition to typical operations to develop crops that
portable indoor farming facilities that can be dropped anywhere to rapidly introduce
will thrive in the climate of the facility’s location. Grower Iron Ox achieves elevated levels of
ag capabilities into a community. Freight Farms is a leader in indoor ag containers
automation and efficiency using robots for many tasks. Key VC-backed providers include
developing climate-controlled, vertical, hydroponic farms. The company’s container
AeroFarms, Bowery Farming, Ynsect, and AppHarvest.

INDOOR FARMING
Considerations maintaining the technology required (such as lighting and irrigation) in an indoor ag
facility.
Energy costs challenge profitability: Overhead costs in most indoor ag facilities are high,
Crop variety limitations: Growing crops in a controlled environment requires advanced
primarily due to the cost of powering LED lights and climate control systems. These costs
knowledge of plant varieties that perform well in these environments. Most plant varietals
eat into margins, making it difficult to compete against traditional farms on price. Startups
are designed to grow in outdoor environments or greenhouses and may not be suitable
such as GrowFlux are working to develop smart lighting controls to reduce the energy
for “sunless” environments. Although horticulturalists are rapidly researching and
needs and costs of indoor ag lighting systems.
developing crops designed for indoor ag, many operators of indoor farms are limited to
Real estate costs a barrier to entry: One of the most significant benefits of indoor producing the same easy-to-grow crops such as strawberries, herbs, and leafy greens.
farming is the ability to grow food in urban environments near the highest demand. Aside
from a reduction in transportation costs and an increase in local produce, indoor farming Outlook
facilities can address food deserts, a growing health and social issue. A significant barrier
to urban indoor ag is the cost of real estate, which can be prohibitively expensive in many Indoor ag will see initial adoption in specific environments: We believe indoor ag will
major cities. Growers of low-margin crops such as vegetables may not be able to make see the highest growth in environments such as the Middle East where indoor farming’s
the numbers work, although specialty crops such as cannabis may hold more promise. weaknesses are minimized, and benefits maximized. In Saudi Arabia, solar energy is
inexpensive and drastically reduces the overhead costs of operating an indoor ag facility.
Limited arable “land”: Production volumes in indoor ag facilities are limited compared to
In addition, nearly all produce is imported at a premium. Produce grown locally in
traditional farms due to the square footage constraints of growing facilities. The largest
indoor ag facilities will reduce the reliance on imports. We expect that indoor farms will
traditional farm in the US is 190,000 acres.13 Contrast that with the world’s largest indoor
see the most success in these types of environments in the near term until the energy
farm: AeroFarm’s 70,000 square foot (1.6 acres) vertical farming facility in Newark, NJ.
requirements of indoor farming components are significantly curtailed.
Although arable “land” is increased through vertical stacking, it is unlikely that indoor
facilities will be able to match the potential output of traditional farms. Despite some Labor shortages and supply chain weaknesses to help drive adoption: The COVID-19
operational advantages, there are considerable financial and operational challenges when pandemic has highlighted vulnerabilities within global food systems, specifically in food
13: “Top 5 Farms with The Largest Acreage in The US,” Successful Farming, Eric O’Keefe, September 28, 2019.

INDOOR FARMING
safety and labor availability. The spread of pathogens from unsafe cultivation methods
and through post-harvest activities have caused severe illness in the past. Controlled
environments, such as in an indoor farm, allow for cleaner, healthier, and overall safer
growth and processing activities. As mentioned earlier in the report, the pandemic
exacerbated labor shortages across the agriculture system, especially in the US, where
many farms and agricultural facilities rely on migrant labor. Labor shortage challenges
could be curtailed by indoor farming facilities, which are becoming increasingly
automated. We expect that these growing strains on traditional agriculture will accelerate
the adoption of indoor ag in the medium to long term.

SEGMENT DEEP DIVE
Animal ag

ANIMAL AG
Overview
Animal ag companies are developing technology solutions to monitor, analyze, and optimize
animal health and production. Software platforms are differentiated by use case and animal
type, with the primary two categories being livestock (including dairy operations) and Animal ag
aquaculture (or fish production). Within these categories, companies are focused on a variety Aquaculture
of objectives, such as activity tracking (wearables), herd management, automation, and
operations management.
Industry drivers
Livestock & land animal technology
Labor challenges: Animal ag is a labor-intensive industry. Although some practices may
be seasonal, animals need nonstop feeding and care. For this reason, the cost, availability,
and dependability of labor pose challenges that incentivize market participants to seek
alternatives.
Maximizing animal health and production value: Maximizing animal health and productivity
is key to operating a profitable farm. Animal ag technologies such as sensors and wearables
can monitor animal health, prevent disease, and identify sick animals earlier, helping keep
animals healthy and productive longer.

ANIMAL AG
Figure 37. ANIMAL AG MARKET SIZE ($B)
$12
Consumer demand for food traceability: Consumers are increasingly demanding and paying $10
a premium for visibility into the origin of animal products. That transparency helps build
$8
consumer trust, conveys product safety, and adds brand value by providing an opportunity to
$6
tell a story about the product.
$4
Market size $2
The estimated market size of the animal ag space, based on the global revenues of animal $0
2020e 2025e
ag technology providers, is estimated to be $5.28 billion in 2020 and growing at a CAGR of Livestock monitoring Precision livestock farming Precision aquaculture
12.6% to reach $9.56 billion by 2025.
Source: PitchBook
Business model
COMMON INDUSTRY KPIS FOR ANIMAL AG COMPANIES
Animal ag may use one of several business models depending on the product or service sold:
Operational Financial
• Hardware, such as dairy parlor automation technology, is typically sold through traditional
sales and service business models. • Number of animals monitored • Gross margin
• Increase in production • Unit sales

• Wearable and sensor technology, such as herd monitoring devices, may be sold through
traditional sales models or HaaS combined with a software element. • Connectivity range • Revenue mix
• Software, such as farm management platforms, is typically sold through SaaS models.

ANIMAL AG
Figure 38. ANIMAL AG QUARTERLY VC DEAL ACTIVITY
$40 16
$35 14
VC activity $30 12
$25 10
Venture funding for Animal Ag in Q4 was similar to the previous quarter at $21.4 million
$20 8
across three deals. The largest deal consisted of a $14.4 million late-stage round in December $15 6
for Finnish aquaculture provider Fifax. The company operates a land-based fish farm that $10 4
uses RAS water recirculation technology. In October, SwineTech raised a $7.0 million Series A1 $5 2
$0 0
led by Innova Memphis. The company develops hardware and software platforms leveraging
IoT, computer vision, and automation to maintain animal health. 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Investment in animal ag declined in 2020 with $58.5 million invested across 15 deals. While
COVID-19 has highlighted the vulnerability of agriculture systems and the importance of Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020
maximizing animal health and nutrition, deal values have nonetheless receded from their 2018
peak, and deal counts were the lowest since 2013. Figure 39. ANIMAL AG VC DEALS ($M) BY STAGE
$100
$90
$80
$70
$60
$50
$40
$30
$20
$10
$0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

ANIMAL AG
Figure 40.
Animal ag VC landscape ($M)
$50
Advanced Animal Diagnostics

Advanced Animal Diagnostics Series D ($4M)
$45
Advanced Animal Diagnostics Series C1 ($4M)
Series C ($15M)
$40
eFishery
Series B ($15M)
Fifax
$35 Late VC ($14M)
Stellapps Aquabyte
AgriWebb Series A ($10M)
$30 Series B ($14M) Series A ($10M)
Advanced Animal Diagnostics
Series B ($17M)
Total raised
Agersens
$25 Angel & seed ($10M)
InnovaSea
Series A ($15M)
$20
Algal Scientiﬁc
Series B ($7M)
$15
$10
Greengage
Early VC ($1M)
$5
$0
Aquaculture Livestock & land animal technology
Source: PitchBook

ANIMAL AG
Figure 41.
Notable animal ag VC deals
Northstar
eFishery August 12, 2020 Aquaculture $15.0 N/A Series B
(Singapore), Gojek
N/A
Fifax December 16, 2020 Aquaculture $14.4 N/A Late-stage VC N/A N/A
SwineTech October 11, 2020 Livestock & land animal technology $7.0 $30.0 Series A1 Innova Memphis 1.77x
HerdDogg August 13, 2020 Livestock & land animal technology $3.2 $13.2 Series A N/A 1.33x
Ace Aquatec July 8, 2020 Aquaculture $1.9 $19.2 Angel (individual) N/A N/A
Figure 42.
Notable animal ag VC exits
I COMPANY CLOSE DATE SUBSEGMENT EXIT SIZE ($M) EXIT TYPE ACQUIRERS(S)
Performance Livestock Analytics April 8, 2020 Livestock & land animal technology N/A Merger/acquisition Zoetis
GrowSafe Systems August 13, 2020 Livestock & land animal technology N/A Merger/acquisition Vytelle
Quantified June 17, 2020 Livestock & land animal technology N/A Merger/acquisition Merck Animal Health
PastureMap June 2, 2020 Livestock & land animal technology N/A Merger/acquisition Soilworks Natural Capital
Smartbow July 9, 2018 Livestock & land animal technology N/A Merger/acquisition Zoetis

ANIMAL AG
Figure 43.
Key VC-backed animal ag companies
Advanced Animal Technology assesses herd health variables to reduce

$41.4 Livestock & land animal technology Diagnostic technology Intersouth Partners
Diagnostics reliance on antibiotics
eFishery $19.0 Aquaculture Fish farm technology Smart fish feeding N/A
Greengage $15.7 Livestock & land animal technology Livestock lighting systems Smart lighting improves animal performance and health N/A
Improves heard health and provides transparency to

HerdX $15.4 Livestock & land animal technology Herd tracking
consumers
N/A
InnovaSea $15.2 Aquaculture Fish farm technology Environmental monitoring and controls N/A

ANIMAL AG
Opportunities Considerations
Livestock and land animal tech: Companies in this category are focused on optimizing the Large herds can lead to high wearable costs: Although animal wearables pose valuable
health and productivity of livestock and other land animals. Companies such as Stellapps benefits, pricing can be steep for large herds. While some e-tags cost as little as $10 per
produce wearable devices to monitor the health, fertility, and location of livestock. Stellapps’ tag, this can add up to a significant investment with herd sizes in the US as large as 14,000
MooOn device provides preventative health tracking devices to reduce health expenses cattle, pegging the cost at $140,000 before including data collection hardware and software.
and intercalving periods and improve milk quality. It also monitors herd activity to improve With a tag lifespan that can reach two years, the outlay may be challenging for farm owners
management. Herd management is a mature category of the animal ag space with well- in an industry characterized by low margins. Stellapps is working to make wearables more
established incumbents such as Amelicor, VAS, and DRMS; however, startups are disrupting affordable for customers, primarily farmers in India, by commoditizing the hardware, using
the space with innovative tools and technologies focused on the management of livestock cloud services, and working with local banks to help farmers finance the technology.
such as cattle, poultry, and pigs. Connecterra’s Ida platform aids dairy farmers by capturing
Competition is large and established: Despite innovative technological offerings, animal ag
livestock data and using AI & ML to improve decision making.
startups face challenges from firmly established incumbents. Legacy providers GEA, Lely,
Aquaculture: Aquaculture is the practice of farming fish and other aquatic plants and and DeLaval have an oligopoly on milking, feeding, and hygiene automation and robotics
creatures. Agtech companies in this category are focused on optimizing production through technologies. Due to the high capital requirements to replace a legacy system, new entrants
a wide range of practices, from biotech to sensors, to building and operating aquaculture may need to develop product offerings that retrofit existing technologies. Similar to animal
facilities. InnovaSea Systems is developing all-in-one fish farming systems for fish farmers to robotics, incumbents dominate the herd management technology space. Switching costs
deploy in open-sea environments. These systems help fish farmers monitor fish health and from legacy providers such as Amelicor, VAS, and DRMS are also high owing to a lack of
water conditions, automate tasks, minimize environmental impact, and improve efficiency. industry data standards that make interoperability among providers complicated.
Aquaculture can be performed onshore in tanks, offshore in fresh or saltwater. Early tests
indicate that deep offshore systems developed by companies such as InnovaSea can help fish
grow faster, improve mortality rates, and reduce environmental impact.14
14: “Velella Drifter Pen Project Completes Grow-out 3 to 75 Miles Offshore,” Aquafeed.com, March 1, 2012.

ANIMAL AG
Outlook
Increasing meat demand will continue to expand the market: Global demand for meat is
expected to double by 2050 due to population gain and wealth accumulation in developing
nations. We believe that animal agtech will play a critical role in enabling farmers to manage
the increased burden of larger herds. A combination of herd management software,
wearables, and robotics will help farms increase productivity and maintain herd health in a
more crowded environment.
Coronavirus driving ag changes: The coronavirus sent shockwaves through the ag industry
and exposed systemic vulnerabilities. In March 2020, schools and restaurants closed, and
food demand shifted from restaurants to grocery. Ag suppliers were mostly unprepared to
handle the changes in packaging and transportation required by grocery stores, food banks,
and other off-premise merchants, leading to widespread food waste.15 As the industry seeks
to minimize the impacts of future supply-chain disruptions, we believe that animal ag farmers
will adopt herd management software that can help them be nimbler and more flexible.
15: “Spoiled Milk, Rotten Vegetables and a Very Broken Food System,” The New York Times, Jennifer Clapp, May 8, 2020.

Supplemental materials
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
Select company analysis

Business overview
Figure 44. INDIGO AGRICULTURE VALUATION TIMELINE
Indigo Agriculture is an ag biotech and agrifinance startup. The company started off
developing seed treatments containing microbes to improve crop performance and $600 Late-stage VC Late-stage VC $4,000
Series D+ Series D+
resilience. Indigo Agriculture expanded to offer an e-commerce marketplace to connect $500
$3,500
growers with crop buyers. The company’s latest business line is a carbon sequestration $3,000
$400
program that incentivizes growers to shift to regenerative farming practices and creates a $2,500
carbon credit marketplace from the sequestered greenhouse gases. $300 Late-stage VC $2,000
Series D+
$1,500
$200
We believe Indigo Agriculture’s business lines, although disparate, touch on growing
Late-stage VC $1,000
trends of improving crop resiliency, de-commoditizing crops, and reversing climate $100 Early-stage VC Series C
Early-stage VC Series B $500
Leadership Financing history Series A
$0 $0
CEO, Board Director: Ron Hovsepian Raised-to-date: $1.1 billion over eight rounds 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020*
Deal size ($M) Post-money valua�on ($M)

COO: Elizabeth Graham
Most recent round: $500.0 million Series F
CFO: Jim Young (June 2020) Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020
Co-founder, CIO, Board Member: Geoffrey Last valued at $3.5 billion post-money
von Maltzahn, PhD (December 2018)
Competitors First institutional round: $7.5 million Series A

AgBiome, Agrinos, BioConsortia, ZeaKal, (November 2014)
Syngenta
Ownership
FedEx, Riverstone Holdings, Saltwater
Capital, Lian Group, Starport Capital
Management, among others.


Business overview
Figure 45. AEROFARMS VALUATION TIMELINE
AeroFarms is a developer and operator of indoor farming facilities that use aeroponic
$120
technology to achieve higher yields and reduced inputs. AeroFarms claims to achieve Late-stage VC
Series D+
productivity that is 75x higher than a standard outdoor farm field and 10x higher than a $100
typical hydroponic greenhouse. It also claims to use 95% less water, 40% fewer nutrients,
$80
and no pesticides or herbicides. The company operates one of the largest indoor vertical
$60
farms in the world in Newark, NJ, and is planning to build an even larger (90,000 square Late-stage VC
Late-stage VC Series D+
feet) facility in Abu Dhabi with recent funding from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office $40
Late-stage VC
(ADIO). $20
Series D+
Late-stage VC
Seed round
Leadership Financing history $0
Q1 Q3 Q4 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q4 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q4 Q1 Q3 Q4 Q2
CEO: David Rosenberg Raised-to-date: $314.5 million over eight
2010 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020*
rounds Deal size ($M)
CTO: Roger Buelow
Most recent round: $100.0 million late-stage
CMO: Marc Oshima, Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020
VC (April 2020)
Competitors Last valued at $500.0 million post-money
Bowery Farming, BrightFarms, Pure (July 2019)
Harvest, Gotham Greens
First institutional round: $2.0 million seed
Ownership (February 2010)
ADIO, Ingka Group, Wheatsheaf Group, GSR
Ventures, ADM Capital, AllianceBernstein
and MissionPoint Partners among others


Business overview
Figure 46. PRECISIONHAWK VALUATION TIMELINE
PrecisionHawk is an imagery analytics provider that utilizes drones for agricultural
$80 $250
mapping and analytics. The company sells drones and sensors, develops aerial mapping Late-stage VC
Series D+
$70
software, and provides drone mapping, maintenance, and consulting services. Commercial $200
$60
and professional drones are primarily manufactured by mass-market providers such as
$50 $150
DJI, BirdsEyeView, and SenseFly, and sensors are produced by a small group of providers $40 Late-stage VC
Series D+
such as Sentera and MicaSense. PrecisionHawk has outsourced the hardware and instead $30 $100
Late-stage VC
Early-stage VC
differentiates by developing specialized aerial mapping and agronomy software to $20 Series B
Series C
$50
simplify the mapping process and provide extensive analysis tools. $10 Early-stage VC
Series A Late-stage VC
$0 $0
Leadership Financing history Q1 Q3 Q4 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q4 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q4 Q1 Q3 Q4 Q2
2010 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020*
CEO: Michael Chasen Raised-to-date: $138.8 million over eight
rounds Deal size ($M) Post-money valua�on ($M)
CFO: Brian Bharwani
Most recent round: $32.0 million Series E
Competitors (December 2019)
Planet, Spaceflight Industries, Orbital
Insight, DroneDeploy Last valued at $210.1 million post-money
(January 2018)
Ownership First institutional round: $1.0 million Series A
Millennium Technology Value Partners, (August 2013)
Third Point Ventures and Eastward Capital
Partners among others


Business overview
Figure 47. FARMERS BUSINESS NETWORK VALUATION TIMELINE
FBN is an agribusiness marketplace and network that provides growers with a variety of
services, including an input marketplace, farm analytics, crop marketing, and agrifinance $200 Late-stage VC $1,200
$180 Series D+
tools. The company has enabled growers to become more competitive and reduce input $1,000
$160
costs in a time of persistently low commodity prices and pandemic-related pressures.
$140
Late-stage VC $800
Although the company has faced intense challenges and possible antitrust activity from $120 Series D+
major industry suppliers, it continues to develop new tools and services to empower $100 $600
$80
grower customers.15 Late-stage VC
Series C $400
$60
Leadership Financing history
$40 Early-stage VC Early-stage VC
Early-stage VC $200
Co-Founder, President, CEO: Amol Raised-to-date: $629.3 million over ten $20
Series B Series B
Series A
Deshpande rounds $0 $0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
President, FBN Direct, Global: Tom Staples Most recent round: $250.0 million Series F
Deal size ($M) Post-money valua�on ($M)
(August 2020)
CFO: Maria Olide
Last valued at $1.1 billion post-money
CTO: Ed Rowe
(January 2019)
Co-Founder & CIO: Charles Baron
First institutional round: $6.0 million Series
Competitors A (April 2014)
AgVend, Agrofy, Agriconomie, Maihuolang,
Ownership
HarvestPort, Inputs.ag
Blackrock Innovation Capital Group, GV, Fidelity
Investments Canada ULC, Kleiner Perkins, DBL
Partners, Expanding Capital, Mandi Ventures, Ron
15: “Canadian Antitrust Officials Probe Farm Giants,” WSJ, Jacob Bunge, February 6, 2020.
Shaich, Lupa Systems, among others.

Additional VC data Figure 49.

Notable agtech VC deals in 2020 by size
Figure 48.
Agtech quarterly VC deal activity I COMPANY CLOSE DATE
DEAL SIZE
($M)
POST-MONEY
VALUATION ($M)*
$3 160
FJ Dynamics December 15, 2020 $60.9 N/A
140 Percepto
November 22, 2020 $45.0 $72.5
Robotics
$2
120 Clearpath
September 22, 2020 $35.4 N/A
Robotics
100 Soft Robotics January 20, 2020 $25.0 $115.0

$2
Tevel (Other
October 1, 2020 $20.0 $45.0
80 Hardware)
Blue Ocean
$1 July 1, 2020 $20.0 N/A
60 Robotics
Agrointelli October 15, 2020 $17.1 N/A

40
$1 Naïo
January 9, 2020 $15.6 N/A
Technologies
20
Saga Robotics July 21, 2020 $10.7 N/A
$0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Rantizo November 20, 2020 $8.9 $127.0
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Deal value ($M) Deal count Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020

Figure 50. Figure 51.

Agtech VC deals ($B) by region Agtech VC deals (#) by region
$7 600
North America North America
Europe Europe
Asia Asia
$6 Middle East Middle East
500
Africa Africa
Oceania Oceania
Rest of World Rest of World
$5
400
$4
300
$3
200
$2
100
$1
$0 0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020 Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020


Agtech VC deals ($B) by stage Agtech VC deals (#) by stage
$7 600
Late VC Late VC
Early VC Early VC
Angel & seed Angel & seed
$6
500
$5
400
$4
300
$3
200
$2
100
$1
0
$0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020


Median agtech VC deal size ($M) by stage Median agtech VC pre-money valuation ($M) by stage
$8 $70
$7
$60
$6
$50
$5
$40
$4
$30
$3
$20
$2
$10
$1
$0 $0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Angel & seed Early VC Late VC Angel & seed Early VC Late VC


Agtech VC exit activity Notable agtech VC exits
EXIT SIZE POST-MONEY
$4.5 I COMPANY CLOSE DATE
($M) VALUATION ($M)*
$4.0 10x Genomics September 12, 2019 $3,270.1 $3,660.1

21
Precision
19 March 28, 2019 $658.1 $803.5
$3.5 BioSciences
Prevtec Microbia July 31, 2019 $59.9 $59.9

$3.0 16
Growers February 19, 2020 $27.5 $27.5

$2.5 13
11 Terragen Biotech December 11, 2019 $18.2 $31.8

$2.0 10
Sousacamp May 28, 2020 $13.4 $13.4

8 8
$1.5
Jones Food
6 6 June 10, 2019 $10.9 $18.9
Company
$1.0
BoMill October 20, 2020 $4.7 $8.0
$0.5 2
Hydrogreen January 1, 2020 $3.5 $3.5
$0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Luda.Farm October 1, 2020 $2.7 $2.7
Exit value ($B) Exit count
Stem Shock February 28, 2019 N/A N/A


Agtech VC exits ($B) by type Agtech VC exits (#) by type
$4.5 25
Buyout Buyout
IPO IPO
$4.0 Acquisition Acquisition
20
$3.5
$3.0
15
$2.5
$2.0
10
$1.5
$1.0
5
$0.5
$0.0 0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Agtech VC funnel
This VC funnel uses PitchBook data to analyze the VC funding life cycle by highlighting, by
round, the number of firms that successfully raised a subsequent round exited (through
Start with 365 companies
acquisition or IPO), went out of business or did not have a further liquidity event. having raised their first
round of funding between
2008 and 2014.
365
Round 1
248 18 25 74
Round 2
Round 3 192 13 12 31
3
74 companies did not raise
Round 4 142 8 39 any further funding after
round 1 (to date).
1
Round 5 89 8 44
25 of the cohort have gone
42 bankrupt or out of business
after their first funding round.
Round 6 53 30
13
Round 7 24 25 8 companies were acquired or
went public after having raised
four rounds of funding.
Raised a VC round Acquisition/buyout/IPO Out of business/bankruptcy Did not advance/self-sustaining

Figure 60.
Top VC investors in agtech by deal count (2018-2020*)
INVESTOR NAME DEAL COUNT (ALL STAGES) ANGEL/SEED EARLY VC LATE VC INVESTOR TYPE
S2G Ventures 25 3 8 14 VC
SOSV 23 16 7 0 VC
Innova Memphis 19 8 8 3 VC
AgFunder 18 4 10 4 VC
Enterprise Ireland 18 9 5 4 VC
Cavallo Ventures 17 6 6 5 Corporate VC
iSelect Fund 16 2 8 6 VC
Omnivore. 15 8 4 3 VC
Finistere Ventures 14 1 5 8 VC
Artesian Capital
14 8 3 3 VC
Management
Alumni Ventures Group 14 3 9 2 VC

Figure 61.
Top VC-backed companies by total VC raised to date ($M)
INVESTOR NAME VC RAISED TO DATE ($M)* SEGMENT CATEGORY COUNTRY
Agribusiness marketplaces, plant

Indigo Agriculture $1,116.6 Agrifinance & e-commerce, ag biotech
biotech
United States
Zymergen $942.4 Ag biotech Plant biotech United States
Ginkgo Bioworks $797.3 Ag biotech Plant biotech United States
Agrifinance & e-commerce, field Agribusiness marketplaces, farm

Farmer's Business Network $619.3
monitoring & analysis management software
United States
Plenty $541.0 Indoor farming ndoor growers United States
Ynsect $397.8 Indoor farming Indoor growers France
Planet $365.5 Field monitoring & analysis Imagery analytics United States
Inscripta $309.5 Ag biotech Plant biotech United States
Infarm $298.1 Indoor farming Indoor growers Germany
Benson Hill $292.1 Ag biotech Plant biotech United States

Buyers list
Top strategic acquirers* Top PE investors*
(Corporates, PE-backed companies, VC-backed companies) (PE/buyout, growth & expansion, mezzanine)
I INVESTOR NAME DEAL COUNT I INVESTOR NAME DEAL COUNT INVESTOR TYPE
Pinnacle Agriculture Holdings 23 Unigrains 23 Growth/expansion
Wilbur-Ellis 14 IDIA Capital Investissement 17 Growth/expansion
Danish Agro 10
Sofiproteol 14 PE/buyout
Origin Enterprises 10
Eurazeo 9 PE/buyout
ADM Germany 8
Paine Schwartz Partners 9 PE/buyout
Syngenta 8
Bridgepoint Advisers 5 PE/buyout
Trimble 8
BNP Paribas DÃ©veloppement 5 PE/buyout
Jimmy Sanders 7
ForFarmers 7 Permira 4 PE/buyout
Nutrien 6 Multicroissance 4 PE/buyout

*Since 2010 *Since 2010

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EMERGING TECH RESEARCH

Agrifinance & e-commerce 10 Matthew Nacionales Data Analyst

Animal ag 56 by the research analyst. The previous quarterly report can

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 2

NOTABLE NEWS PANDEMIC REVEALS VULNERABILITIES IN AG ECOSYSTEM

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 3

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 4

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 5

insect farm operator Ynsect. 124 135

interest in the long term.

Ongoing stability of median pre-money valuations will be an important indicator of

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 6

Exit volume of VC-backed agtech companies reached 21 deals in 2020, surpassing 16

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 7

Agrifinance & e-commerce Ag biotech Advanced farm equipment Animal ag

Agribusiness marketplaces Animal biotech Drone manufacturers Aquaculture

Robotics & smart field equipment

Livestock & land animal technology

Finance & insurance

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 8

Field monitoring & analysis Indoor farming

Imagery analytics Indoor farming systems

Field monitoring sensors & solutions

Plant data & analysis

Precision irrigation & water monitoring

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 9

Agrifinance & e-commerce

We segment agrifinance into the following categories:

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 11

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 12

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 13

Farmer's Business Network

Farmer's Business Network Ninjacart

MachineryLink Solutions Qiandama

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 14

Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020

Farmer's Business Agribusiness marketplaces, farm Sophisticated input evaluation and

Agribusiness marketplaces, finance & Largest grower-focused financial

Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 15

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 16

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 17

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 18

Subsegments of ag biotech include:

Plant biotech: Companies developing GMOs, microorganisms, fertilizers, and other

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 19

production including genetics, breeding, feed, and animal health

Industry drivers $40

Changing consumer preferences: Consumers are increasingly aware of agricultural $0

or non-GMO) and traceability assurances (e.g., local or sustainably sourced).

Changing demographics: Rising populations combined with limited resources (such as

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 20

Business model $800 20

awareness of climate change and food security issues.

Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 21

$1,000 Zymergen Ginkgo Bioworks

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 22

Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020

Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Agtech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 23

Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of December 31, 2020