US-based Australia agtech startup Regrow Ag has raised $50 million (US$38m) from leading American investors to help the farming sector meet net-zero targets.
The round is led by Tom Steyer and Katie Hall’s Galvanize Climate Solutions. Existing investors including Cargill, Main Sequence Ventures, Ajax Strategies, Neglected Climate Opportunities (NCO), Microsoft’s M12 and others returned, joined by new backers such as Salesforce founder Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures, and Rethink Impact, the largest US-based VC firm focused on female leaders.
The venture previously raised $23.5 million in a Series A in August 2021 and will use the fresh cash to deepen the reach of its customer programs in the key food-producing regions across the globe, connecting more farmers to the benefits of regenerative agriculture and revenue streams provided by the ecosystem markets.
Regrow Ag is a SaaS platform to help food and agriculture companies to achieve net-zero carbon goals in their supply chains. It also verifies their progress. Food and agriculture accounts for around 26% of global carbon emissions. The startup counts food sector giants such as Kellogg’s, Cargill, and General Mills among its client base.
Regrow began in 2016, as part of Sydney University’s “Inventing the Future” innovation program. Its Ukrainian-born founder and aeronautical engineer Dr Anastasia Volkova – she has a PhD in autonomous drone navigation – moved to the US from Australia in 2020 to drive the company’s growth in that market.
She also concluded the raise while helping her mother relocate to the US from Ukraine to escape Russia’s invasion and war on her homeland and its citizens.
Dr Volkova said the funding comes during a time of tremendous momentum for Regrow, amid increased attention to natural solutions as a powerful tool to reduce and to offset carbon emissions.
Regrow’s global solutions power regenerative agriculture programs on over two million acres and touch scope three supply sheds covering over 500 million acres.
“This new round of funding from leading climate-focused investors is a big milestone for Regrow and for soil carbon MRV space at large. We are thrilled to enter the new stage of growth with the support of an exceptional group of partners,” she said.
“Agriculture needs resilience not just to put food on our plates today, but to support a liveable planet for future generations. At Regrow, we are excited to be the trusted partner in delivering on organisations’ net-zero goals by leveraging the global opportunity of regenerative agriculture.“
Galvanize partner Veery Maxwell said Regrow has filled a gap in the market with its all-in-one sustainable agriculture to tackle monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) solutions – unlocking a credible path for agriculture to participate in ecosystem service markets on a global scale.
“Regrow’s enterprise software platform is making it possible for all organisations committed to net zero to leverage regenerative agriculture to meet their commitments,” she said.
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