Bluewhite Raises $39M to Bring Sustainable Autonomous Innovation to Farms Worldwide
The funds will be used to expand autonomous tractor operations into new markets and further scale the agricultural robotics solution, which reduces costs of crop production by up to 75%
TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Bluewhite, the agricultural Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) company enabling data-driven autonomous farming, announced today that it secured $39M in Series C financing led by Insight Partners, with participation from new investors Alumni Ventures and LIP Ventures, among others. Existing investors Entrée Capital, Jesselson, and Peregrine Ventures also participated in the financing round. The company, which already works with more than 20 of the leading permanent crop growers in the US, will use the funds to further scale its agricultural autonomous tractor and farming solutions, and expand into new markets worldwide based on its successful track record.
The global market for autonomous tractors is due to reach $11.5B by 2030, as growers face increased pressure to produce more with fewer resources amid challenges including labor shortages, rising operational costs, global population growth, and environmental changes. While autonomous farming solutions can alleviate these issues, successful implementation and scale have largely remained problematic and elusive. Bluewhite’s autonomous farming solution is breaking down these barriers by equipping growers’ existing fleets with unique proprietary autonomous technology and a user-friendly experience to provide growers with data-driven insights to help better manage their farms, thus increasing yields and profitability.
“Having already proven the commercial success of our solution with growers, this new round of funding will enable us to continue providing sustainable autonomous innovation to more markets and work with different types of partners across the ecosystem to impact every level of the food supply chain,” said Ben Alfi, co-founder and CEO of Bluewhite. “This next phase of our growth will help provide unprecedented transparency throughout the food supply chain and ensure healthier, safer, and more sustainable food production and consumption. We are thrilled to have forward-thinking investors and amazing customers who share our vision to make sustainable, autonomous farming a reality worldwide.”
Bluewhite combines hardware and software into a single solution, allowing for completely remote fleet and data management. The company’s Pathfinder product is retrofitted onto any tractor and leverages computer vision, AI, and smart implements integration to navigate and execute multiple tasks autonomously, from crop seeding and spraying to mowing and harvesting, even in challenging conditions. Compass, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) component of Bluewhite’s solution, collects data from the field, analyzes it using advanced AI algorithms, and provides real-time dashboards, reports and insights, ensuring maximum efficiency across farm operations on any device.
“Particularly in these challenging times, we’ve been excited to see Bluewhite defy the odds and successfully deploy its solution while also raising this next round of funding so it can continue to scale,” said Daniel Aronovitz, Principal at Insight Partners and Bluewhite Board Member. “The combination of Bluewhite’s unique autonomous technology and incredible team have led the company to rise above the pack, and we’re thrilled to be working with them as they move into this next critical phase.”
Bluewhite’s autonomous solution can be applied across all permanent crop types, including nuts, berries, apples, grapes, hops, stone fruit, and more. The company’s solution has already helped execute more than 50,000 hours of autonomous farming activity across 150,000 acres of crops in California and Washington, USA.
About Bluewhite
Bluewhite, formerly Blue White Robotics, drives the growth of resilient farms by bringing sustainable autonomous innovation to permanent crop growers worldwide. The company’s solution combines sensor technology, advanced AI algorithms, and a user-friendly experience to help growers manage their fleets and data– and ultimately produce more with less. Bluewhite works with over 20 leading permanent crop growers, enabling autonomous farming across 150,000 acres of farmland in the US. Founded in 2017 by Ben Alfi, Yair Shahar, and Aviram Shmueli, Bluewhite is headquartered in Tel Aviv with offices in Fresno, California.
About Insight Partners
Insight Partners is a global software investor partnering with high-growth technology, software, and Internet startup and ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. As of June 30, 2023, the firm has over $80B in regulatory assets under management. Insight Partners has invested in more than 800 companies worldwide and has seen over 55 portfolio companies achieve an IPO. Headquartered in New York City, Insight has offices in London, Tel Aviv, and the Bay Area. Insight’s mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with tailored, hands-on software expertise along their growth journey, from their first investment to IPO. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners.
