Seattle-based Koidra, an AIoT data and analytics company that helps farmers analyze growing patterns, recently announced that it secured $4.5 million in a seed round. The funding was led by Ospraie Ag Science, an investment firm focused on sustainable farming.
Koidra got its start in 2018 and was a product of Microsoft’s research team and students from Dutch and Danish universities. The team won a cucumber growing competition hosted by Wageningen University for demonstrating “massive yield and profitability improvements achievable through intelligent greenhouse automation,” according to a company statement.
Two years after the competition, Koidra launched as a standalone company. It is now led by Kenneth Tran, a former Microsoft scientist.
The Koidra platform is used in industrial or agricultural applications to increase efficiency and yield. By combining machine learning, modeling technology and artificial intelligence, the platform gives clients optimal data that helps them make the best decisions in their line of work.
“Koidra is obsessed with modernizing basic industries and making them more sustainable. We are excited to be partnering with quality investors from both the agtech and deep tech spheres. Their collective industry knowledge and connections will add enormous value as we deploy our products, and their funding will help Koidra advance our vision much quicker,” Tran said in a statement.
With $4.5 million in new funding, Koidra wants to help agricultural growers optimize their crop yields and eventually automate greenhouses, farms and factories.
Koidra is actively hiring several engineers and a designer.
