Augmenta Seed Round Closing Press Release

Austin, Texas & Athens, Greece
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July 17, 2018

Augmenta Delivers Next-Gen, Fully-Automated Precision Application of Farm Inputs, Completes $600k Seed Investment

Augmenta (http://augmenta.ag), a pioneer in next-generation, fully-automated precision application of farm inputs, announces today the completion of a $600k seed financing round by Marathon Venture Capital (https://marathon.vc).

The investment will help the company address demand from farmers in Europe and the US. Farmers rely on fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and water to expand output. Fertilizers alone generally account for about 25% of a farmer's input costs. However, the usage of fertilizers remains far from optimized; more often than not, fertilizers are spread uniformly all over the field.

By taking this imprecision out of the equation, Augmenta helps farmers boost yield and enhance crop quality while reducing costs and protecting the environment.Augmenta's plug-n-play device scans and analyses crops as the tractor moves across the field. It then controls the spreader or sprayer to make sure that only the required amount of fertilizer, pesticide or fungicide is applied exactly where it is needed.A simple idea in principle, Augmenta is advancing the state-of-the-art to make precision application of inputs fully automated, for the first time.

The device is ISOBUS-compliant and capable of capturing close-range, 4K video data to analyze every inch of the field in real-time. Its deep learning algorithms control the fertilizer spreader and optimize the performance of each farm. Also, Augmenta's web app tracks crop progress on each farm, enabling data-driven decisions.According to studies conducted by the University of Thessaly, Augmenta’s technology achieves 12% increase in yield, 13% less use in chemicals and a 15% improvement in protein levels.

A number of pilots have been successfully completed on various crops in Europe, including cereals grown for Barilla. The company is part of the MassChallenge Texas and the NVIDIA Inception Program, which nurtures exceptional startups revolutionizing industries with advances in AI and data science.George Varvarelis, co-founder and CEO, stated:

“We founded Augmenta with a clear vision in mind; to help fellow farmers leverage the latest technologies to perform better and worry less. We are excited by the enthusiastic market reception so far, and we look forward to getting Augmenta in the hands of more farmers in Europe and the US.”

George Tziralis, Partner at Marathon Venture Capital, added:

“Augmenta uses a farmer's tool of the trade, their tractor, to analyze the field with unprecedented precision and act on it without the hassle. We are inspired by the elegance of the plug-and-play solution and are happy to be part of Augmenta's journey.”

About Augmenta

Augmenta (http://augmenta.ag/), founded by farmers and engineers, is a pioneer in next-generation, fully-automated precision application of farm inputs. Its plug-n-play device for tractors leverages a hyperspectral camera and deep-learning algorithms to analyze the field in real-time and controls the spreaders/sprayers to optimize performance in each farm.

About Marathon Venture Capital

Marathon Venture Capital (https://marathon.vc) is an early-stage venture capital fund, helping ambitious founders build world-class technology companies. Its latest investments are Norbloc, Landoop, and Inaccel. Marathon partners’ track record includes Bugsense, Taxibeat, Workable and Resin.io, among others.