Aurea Imaging, a Dutch agtech company specializing in sensor systems to enable orchard farming at tree levels, announces closing its Series A investment of EUR 2.8 mln. The round will enable Aurea to further scale deployments of its TreeScout, a tractor-mounted sensor system enabling tree-level execution of farm applications throughout the season. The investment will also fund the continuous development of new applications for the TreeScout.
Joining existing pre-Series A investor Pymwymic, a Netherlands-based impact investor, a consortium of ROM Utrecht Region, Knop Ventures, Goeie Grutten Impact Fonds and BarUni Family Fund. The group investor and entrepreneurial experience in agtech and impact investing, which will help the company in navigating the next phase of growth.
Next phase with focus on TreeScout
Aurea was founded in 2016 when precision technology in fruit orchards was in its very first days and pioneering growers were looking for ways to farm at tree-level. There’s an average of 3.000 trees planted for every hectare, with strong variation in fruit load. To get the most out of every tree, they were looking to get their machinery to perform custom treatments for every individual tree, replacing conventional full-field applications.
The TreeScout scores individual trees for parameters such as blossom density and vigor, generating digital prescription maps for machinery behind the tractor such as sprayers. This results in yield increases of up to €3.500 per hectare and drives savings in labor and agrochemical use of up to 90%.
The investment marks the start of the next phase for the company where the company will direct all its focus on the TreeScout and its applications. To align with this focus, going forward Founder Bert Rijk will take on the responsibility for product as Chief Product Officer. At the same time, the execution of the company’s development, distribution and commercial roadmap will be very instrumental in ensuring the company’s goals. Therefore, the company is also welcoming co-founder Joost Hazelhoff as its new CEO.
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