Herndon, VA, June 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that CIT GAP Funds has invested in Alexandria, Va.-based Agrology, developer of prediction agriculture technology that helps farmers boost crop yields. Agrology’s solution uses machine learning to convert high-quality data into predictive guidance for crop growers that directs them to the right amounts, location and timeframe to apply inputs to their farm for maximized results. The startup plans to use this GAP Funds investment to continue developing its technology and the user experience of farmers, as well as to support sales and marketing efforts.
The global population is expected to hit 9.8 billion by 2050, which poses a serious problem for the agriculture industry. Farmers are also challenged by extreme weather conditions, climate changes and an overall decline in agricultural workforce. To ensure higher yields and protect the environment, many farmers are turning to IoT solutions. Agrology provides farmers an integrated IoT and machine learning system that offers predictive guidance, not just agronomic data. Farmers install Agrology devices in their fields, which takes just minutes and requires no technical skills, and a mobile application on their smartphones provides easy-to-use guidance. Agrology empowers farmers to apply precise amounts of water, fertilizer, pesticides/fungicides, and bio-stimulants for the right area of their farms at the right time.
“Agrology is helping farmers gain better control over the crop growing process – making it more predictable, improving efficiency, and lowering risk,” said Adam Koeppel, CEO of Agrology. “We thank CIT for their support, which is helping accelerate our channel-sales initiatives.”
Tyler Locke, CTO of Agrology, added: “We will also use CIT’s support to continue developing our integrated and proprietary sensing and machine learning systems, as well as filing additional patents to protect our innovations.”
Agrology’s affordable software/hardware-as-a-service seamlessly fits into existing workflows without requiring integration or modification of existing equipment or irrigation systems. With Agrology, farmers can boost crop yields by 10% – including irrigated specialty crops like tree fruits, tree nuts, and vegetables – while reducing inputs such as water or fertilizer by 10%. Farmers can affordably deploy 10 times more sensors using Agrology’s products than traditional IoT farming solutions, enabling guidance for every microclimate on their farm.
“Over 90% of farmers do not have any sensors or software to guide their irrigation and inputs, a process that is overwhelmingly manual across a majority of farms. As a result, many farmers do not get the coverage they need to monitor the individual micro-climates on their farms,” said Tom Weithman, Managing Director of CIT GAP Funds. “Agrology is meeting a critical market need for the agriculture industry, allowing farmers to achieve maximum profitability across their entire farm while using optimal levels of inputs. CIT looks forward to following Agrology this year as they continue to grow.”
About Agrology
Agrology is a developer of prediction agriculture technology that helps guide crop growers to apply the right amount of water, fertilizer, pesticides/fungicides, and bio-stimulants for the right area of their farms at the right time. Agrology’s technology uses machine learning to get high quality data from low cost sensors and convert this data into guidance for farmers. For more information, please visit: www.agrology.ag.
About CIT GAP Funds
CIT GAP Funds makes seed-stage equity investments in Virginia-based technology, cleantech, and life science companies with a high potential for achieving rapid growth and generating a significant economic return for entrepreneurs, co-investors and the Commonwealth of Virginia. CIT GAP Funds’ investments are overseen by the CIT GAP Funds Investment Advisory Board (IAB). This independent, third-party panel consists of leading regional entrepreneurs, angel, and strategic investors, and venture capital firms such as New Enterprise Associates, Grotech Ventures, Valhalla Partners, Harbert Venture Partners HIG Ventures, Edison Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Intersouth Partners, SJF Ventures, Carilion Health Systems, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, and Alpha Natural Resources. For more information, please visit www.citgapfunds.org.
About the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT)
Investing in Virginia's Growth | CIT concentrates on the early commercialization and seed funding stages of innovation, helping innovators and tech entrepreneurs launch and grow new companies, create high paying jobs and accelerate economic growth throughout the entire state of Virginia. Founded in 1985, CIT accelerates next-generation technologies and technology companies through commercialization, capital formation, market development initiatives, and expansion of broadband throughout Virginia. Our programs include | CIT GAP Funds | Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) | Virginia Founders Fund | Broadband/Rural Broadband | Smart Communities | Cybersecurity | Unmanned Systems | SBIR/STTR Support (Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) & Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs) | University Partnerships | Startup Company Mentoring & Engagement. CIT’s CAGE Code is 1UP71. Contact: 2214 Rock Hill Road #600, Herndon, VA 20170 | 703.689.3000 | www.cit.org | You can also follow CIT on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.