$40M rains on Novariant to grow agricultural GPS systems
Novariant, developer of GPS and other location-based systems used to drive agricultural equipment hands-free, took in $40 million in a fourth round of funding led by Investor Growth Capital. The Fremont, Calif.-based company will use the new money to scale operations.
Its flagship AutoFarm line of products is intended to cut down on personnel demands and up crop yields — something most farmers pinched by the downturn are looking to do. Equipment driven by GPS is said to be more precise, accurate and consistent. A tractor with the technology can work up to 3 more acres per hour — the company claims — and eliminates chance of human error and fatigue.
Another branch of the Novariant is devoted to hands-free mining equipment. Its Terralite XPS System promises uniquely strong underground GPS signals.
Sierra Ventures, Ridgewood Capital, Argonaut Private Equity, Clearstone Venture Partners, Pacifica Fund, Kirlan Venture Capital and Yasuda Enterprise Development also participated in the round of financing. Novariant has raised $35 million to date.
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About the Author, Camille Ricketts
Camille is the lead writer for GreenBeat. She came to VentureBeat from Google where she worked on its traditional platforms team, particularly in TV. Before that, she was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York and London. Follow her on Twitter at @camillericketts, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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