Farmers Business Network, maker of a software platform that helps farmers across the country pool data, announced today that it has raised a $110 million Series D round. The round was led most notably by Temasek, Singapore’s state investment firm. Other participants included returning investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and GV (formerly Google Ventures). The series D round brings the total amount raised by Farmers Business Network to more than $194 million.
The company was launched in 2014, and its leadership team is well-connected within Silicon Valley. Cofounder and CEO Amol Deshpande was formerly a partner at KPCB, and cofounder and VP of product Charles Baron previously led investment initiatives in alternative energy at Google. That background has enabled Farmers Business Network to secure a large amount of venture capital in a field that’s traditionally been overlooked by VC firms. According to AgFunder, an online investment platform for ag tech startups, venture capitalists invested $3.2 billion in agtech startups during all of 2016.
A membership to Farmers Business Network costs farmers $600 a year. Customers then get access to three different types of services: an analytics platform, where farmers can submit information on things like seed performance and fertilizer cost; an ecommerce platform, where farmers can buy chemicals, seeds, and fertilizers; and a crop marketing platform that allows farmers to manage bids from potential buyers.