While ag has radically transformed in the last 100 years and there have been many advances in machinery, equipment, fertilizers, and seeds that help improve farm efficiencies and yields, we continue to face challenges to keep pace. Despite Canada being a natural leader in agtech, venture capital is in short supply resulting in the export of talent, wealth, and innovation to other countries.
Unlike other tech companies, agtech has unique needs when it comes to venture capital. For example, farmers don’t want to deal with minimum viable products. They have 30 to 40 growing seasons in their careers, and often have a significant portion of their net worth at stake with every harvest. As a result, agtech founders need investors to bet bigger and earlier than typically seen in the tech space. The space needs reliable solutions that deliver a clear return on investment to the farmer.
We have thrown out the Canadian playbook when it comes to venture capital and have rebuilt a new investment approach to fit the world of agtech.
Agtech requires companies that can build highly reliable products that deliver an immediate return on investment to the farm and as a result, they need investors to bet bigger and earlier then we typically see in the tech space. This is exactly what Emmertech does – when we find a company we want to invest in, we’re going to invest big.
Emmertech investments will mean more products are released to market that add significant value to the farm with a high degree of reliability.
Emmertech brings together key ag leaders from across Canada that believe Canadian agtech will flourish in smaller ecosystems. Investors of the fund are critical players and stakeholders in Canadian agriculture, ranging from farmers with boots on the ground and agribusiness to ag-focused insurance companies and specialty lenders & insurers anchored in agricultural communities. We are also proudly supported by Innovation Saskatchewan with a $15M commitment to the fund and ongoing support.
We’re looking to invest in Canadian agtech companies from ‘farm to fork’, with a special focus on ‘where technology meets the farm’. This includes:
We look to invest from seed to series B and require investees to have commercial revenue.
Have a company that falls into one of these categories, and interested in connecting?
Select a company for more information.
Emmertech is also a founding partner, alongside Cultivator powered by Conexus and Economic Development Regina, in the Agtech Accelerator. Through an accelerator program that runs once a year, selected companies will have access to resources, programming and funding they need to help them scale.
The Agtech Accelerator is venture-capital backed by Emmertech, meaning each Canadian company selected to participate in the yearly cohort has the opportunity to receive an equity investment at intake – a first for an accelerator in Saskatchewan and Canada.
Vancouver-based company, BarrelWise Technologies Ltd., announces the close of a seed funding round of $3.1 million. This round was led by Conexus Venture Capital through its Emmertech fund, with additional investment by Ag Capital Canada. Read more here.
Vive Crop Protection announced today the close of its USD $26 million ($34 million CAD) Series C investment round. The round was led by Conexus Venture Capital and its Emmertech fund. Read more here.
IntelliCulture has secured $1.7 million CAD in seed financing led by Emmertech. Learn more here.
Emmertech, an agtech focused venture capital fund managed and operated by Conexus Venture Capital has announced its final close of $60 million, headlined by The Mosaic Company and Viterra who both joined prior to the fund close on Dec. 31, 2021
Toronto-based software startup, Ukko Agro, has secured $5.1 million CAD in seed financing, led by Emmertech. Learn more here.
