Leaf Agriculture fecha rodada da Série A de $11,3 milhões

Leaf, a unified farm data API and the largest farm data processing platform, headquartered in NYC with a significant presence in Brazil, has successfully closed an $11.3 million Series A funding round, led by Spero Ventures. This round also included participation from all existing investors, with Andrew Parker joining Leaf’s Board of Directors. This funding aims to accelerate Leaf’s growth, expand its product offerings, and enhance customer service.

The adoption of data collection in agriculture has significantly changed farm management practices. In 2023, data collection was applied to 72% of U.S. farmland, up from 33% in 2013. The influence of data on farm management decisions grew from 10% in 2017 to 42% in 2023. While this data-driven approach has improved yields, it has also created challenges in data management and reconciliation.

Andrew Parker, General Partner at Spero Ventures, highlighted Leaf’s role in advancing agricultural technology, stating, “As lead investors, we see Leaf as a driving force in agricultural technology, enabling agricultural service providers to deliver value to farmers on a broader scale.”

Leaf addresses the complexities of managing diverse data sources in agriculture. Traditionally, companies in crop insurance, seed and chemical production, biotech, AgTech, and cooperatives faced the daunting task of developing extensive data infrastructure, which required significant investment and extensive engineering resources. Leaf simplifies this by providing a unified API that allows companies to access necessary data without cumbersome integration efforts.

Founded in 2018 by G. Bailey Stockdale, Leaf was created to address the difficulties of connecting agricultural data, inspired by successful data solutions in other industries. The platform enables agricultural companies to focus on creating value rather than managing data infrastructure. Companies managing over 1 billion acres currently use Leaf’s platform to streamline their data infrastructure and concentrate on customer service and product innovation.

Tyler Aring, Assistant Vice President of Crop Technology at AgriSompo, emphasized the benefits of partnering with Leaf, saying, “Working with Leaf allows our internal resources to focus on our agents and producers while cost-effectively allowing us to scale our precision agriculture usage.”

Spero Ventures brings extensive B2B SaaS experience to Leaf, complementing the company’s agricultural expertise. Their commitment to mission-driven founders aligns with Leaf’s vision of enhancing the agricultural sector through technology. The new funds will support Leaf’s efforts to expand its product suite and partnerships, refine its API, and strengthen operations to support growth.