Israeli Agtech startup Prospera announced yesterday that it will be acquired by Valmont - a U.S. manufacturer of farming infrastructure - for a total of $300 million. The Israeli company had only raised $26 million to date. Due to Valmont’s NYSE listing, the acquisition should be finalized by Q2 this year. As part of the deal, Prospera employees will receive stock options in Valmont.

On a mission to take AI lead in the agriculture industry

Israeli startup Prospera develops technologies that automate continuous data collection from the fields through special in-house developed sensors. The data, which includes images, soil and weather condition, and a satellite view of the fields, is then uploaded to the cloud for deep analysis. Prospera uses advanced machine learning algorithms to predict spikes in disease, pests, lack of water or nutrients for the crops, as well as generally managing crop’ health and growth.

Prospera's system also enables the identification and improvement of farmer labor, alongside the forecasting of weekly and seasonal output. This way farmers and companies utilizing the technology can reduce their use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers which poison the soil and groundwater. This also works both ways, as farmers are required to less work, while also enjoying quite a bit of savings - decreasing the amount of crops tossed away and more educated use of pesticides and water, along with healthier crop growth.

The company’s digital crop monitoring system collects, processes, and analyzes all relevant crop data to continuously improve crop yields. The system further contributes to farming companies' transition to the digital era, equipping them with a centralized dashboard and tighter control; leading to higher productivity, and improved predictive analytics.

The connection between Prospera and Valmont was formed back in 2019, when the companies partnered to find new methods leveraging AI to manage large crop fields. Now, both companies unite tech with resources to create “the largest global, vertically-integrated AI company in agriculture”.

Prospera was founded in 2014 by CEO Daniel Koppel, Shimon Shpiz, and Raviv Itzhaki. The company has 90 employees split between offices in Israel, U.S., and Israel. As we previously noted, the Israeli company had raised $26 million to date from investors, such as Bessemer Venture Partners,  Qualcomm, Cisco, MoreVC, and Tekfen. The company had also previously engaged with German life-sciences giant Bayer to bring AI to greenhouse growers, among other key partnerships.