Israeli agtech startup Prospera acquired by Valmont for $300 million

Prospera, which became the first local agtech company to be acquired, is a developer of machine vision technologies that continuously monitor and analyze plant development, health and stress

Valmont, a global leader in designing and manufacturing products and services for infrastructure development and agricultural productivity, announced on Wednesday that it is acquiring Israeli agtech company Prospera Technologies for $300 million. Tel Aviv-based Prospera is a developer of machine vision technologies that continuously monitor and analyze plant development, health and stress. Prospera captures multiple layers of climate and visual data from the crop field and provides actionable, easy-to-read insights to growers via mobile and web dashboards.

 

Valmont is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and currently has a market cap of over $5 billion. Prospera has raised $26 million in total to date.

 

Founded in 2014 and backed by strategic investors including Bessemer, Qualcomm, Cisco, More VC and Tekfen, Prospera has recently been listed among the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers and CB Insights Top 100 AI Companies, Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation and Fast Company World Changing Ideas, and has received the AgFunder Innovation Award.

Prospera's team. Photo: Prospera Technologies

 

Prospera employs 90 people in Israel, the U.S. and Mexico.

 

Since 2019, Valmont and Prospera have successfully integrated AI technologies with center pivot irrigation to develop real-time crop analysis and anomaly detection solutions, resulting in strong adoption and greater returns for the grower. Leveraging Prospera’s unique technology, the partnership has expanded its intelligent solutions, monitoring five million acres in 2020 against an original estimate of one million, with twice as many growers using the service as compared to 2019. Grower adoption is expected to double in 2021 with greater acceleration in the near-term.

 

“Our strategic partnership has demonstrated the unique combined value of Prospera’s capabilities and Valmont’s agricultural expertise and market leadership,” said Prospera co-founder and CEO Daniel Koppel. “This combination is the fastest way to scale impactful ag-tech solutions. We are excited about the future and the opportunity to continue to further our work to feed an expanding global population through our machine learning technologies that allow growers to make more informed, efficient and scientific decisions.”

 

Valmont President and CEO Stephen G. Kaniewski added: “Today’s acquisition is a testament to our commitment to make the farm more efficient and increase productivity while dramatically improving sustainability. Building on the successful partnership with Prospera, we are accelerating our commitment to provide services that enhance the lives of our customers and the communities in which they operate, as well as finding new ways to achieve higher crop yields using less – land, water, chemicals, fertilizers, fuel and time.".

 

Adam Fisher, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, which is the largest investor in Prospera, said: "Prospera is an amazing company with wonderful people who stuck to the important mission of revolutionizing global agriculture with AI. This is a great success for its shareholders and also a proud Israeli moment being the first local exit in the agtech sector."