Agriculture is responsible for one-quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of all freshwater use. Climate change, however, is causing greater challenges for farmers spanning reduced access to water, increased weather variability, new crop development patterns and pest pressures. At the same time, the world’s growing population will require producing 50% more food by 2050.
Global issues such as the requirement for a more transparent and agile food supply chain, rising input costs and the demand for more visibility into how food is grown have heightened the need for digital transformation throughout the farm-to-food value chain.
Arable, looking to advance climate resilience in agriculture by accelerating product development, delivering new services for customers and expanding its global footprint, raised $40 million in series C financing. Arable received the first investment from Tom Steyer and Katie Hall’s new climate investment platform, Galvanize Climate Solutions, which led the fundraising round.
“It’s a global imperative that we find new solutions to reduce emissions, increase agricultural resilience, and create a more sustainable food supply,” said Saloni Multani, partner at Galvanize Climate Solutions. “We are excited to lead this investment round because the company’s technology aligns with our mission to scale vital and urgent climate solutions.”
With Arable’s streamlined solution, agricultural professionals will access the data they rely on, including weather, soil, plant health and other critical environmental conditions.
Arable combines an accurate view of the weather, soil moisture and irrigation amounts with sensors that read the growth and stress of the crop to provide a complete view in one integrated solution. The company has helped customers reduce irrigation by up to 50% while keeping yields and quality consistent.
Arable’s product also helps farmers be more precise and effective in protecting their crops from loss due to pests and disease.
“Arable is focused on building the tools for the next generation of agriculture that can unlock productivity through data and digital tools while helping secure farmers’ livelihoods and a stable food supply,” said Jim Ethington, CEO of Arable. “We are thrilled to have the teams at Galvanize and Qualcomm (News - Alert) Ventures join us on this journey.”
Arable’s ground-truth data and agronomic models help businesses across the agriculture and food value chain optimize decisions, improve efficiency and deliver greater levels of sustainability.