Chrysalabs Raises $15 Million To Help Farmers Unearth Soil Data Using Ai
ChrysaLabs, a soil-testing technology firm based in Montréal, has just closed a CAD 15 million fundraising round.
The money will broaden the company's offerings to farmers, including providing real-time, mobile lab data.
New investors such as Leaps by Bayer, TELUS Ventures, and BDC Capital helped fund this round. Existing and previous investors such as Ecofuel, Emmertech, Anges Québec, AQC, and Koan Capital participated.
ChrysaLabs, led by CEO Samuel Fournier, is a soil-testing technology firm operating at the interface of the agricultural and scientific sectors. Producers and agronomists can take soil samples, and the solution uses Cloud computing, AI, and machine learning to extract real-time data from its patented spectroscopy technology. This gives field managers the ability to take action mere minutes after sampling.
ChrysaLabs, founded in 2017, produces a sample probe that can aid farmers in discovering previously unknown information about their soil. ChrysaLabs claims their probe can assess 40 soil factors and use AI to provide instantaneous insights.
ChrysaLabs asserts that its soil-testing technology can offer a comprehensive soil analysis within 30 seconds of the probe being buried in the ground, including data on macronutrients, micronutrients, pH, organic matter, cation exchange capacity, organic carbon, bulk density, and moisture.
ChrysaLabs also provides a mobile app that georeferences each soil sample to generate maps for farmers to use in determining whether areas of their fields require more or less fertilizer.
According to Samuel Fournier, co-founder and CEO of ChrysaLabs, precise soil data is desperately needed in the agricultural sector. Fournier believes this financing will allow ChrysaLabs to enter the market for certifying carbon-offset schemes and provide more farmers with access to "ground truth soil information."
ChrysaLabs asserts that with reliable information, farmers can optimize their operations for more yield and lower expenses.
More than two million acres in seven nations, six Canadian provinces, and twenty-five American states have been treated with ChrysaLabs' soil-testing technology, the company claims.
According to Crunchbase, ChrysaLabs has successfully raised over $21 million. In 2021, Sustainable Development Technology Canada will provide $1.6 million and a seed financing of $1.3 million.
ChrysaLabs contributes to a growing movement toward employing AI and ML in soil testing. The agricultural sector is adopting AI to automate some aspects of soil analysis as soil-testing technology becomes more widely used across industries.
ChrysaLabs has some competition in Canada from companies like Terramera (based in Vancouver) and Croptimistic (based in British Columbia), both launched subsidiaries to focus on soil-composition analysis this year.
More than two million acres have been treated with ChrysaLabs' tools in seven nations, six Canadian provinces, and twenty-five American states.
Conclusion
So, ChrysaLabs, a Montreal-based ag-tech startup, has raised CAD 15 million to expand its business reach among growers and provide them real-time mobile lab data. The company uses Cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence, and machine learning to extract real-time data from its patented spectroscopy soil-testing technology, providing information within seconds. New investors such as Leaps by Bayer, TELUS Ventures, and BDC Capital participated in the funding round, among others. ChrysaLabs offers a sampling probe that can analyze 40 different soil parameters and provides a complete soil analysis that includes information on macronutrients, micronutrients, pH, organic matter, cation exchange capacity, organic carbon, bulk density, and moisture, among other factors.