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United Ventures SGR SpA, an independent venture capital manager specializing in the software and digital technology sectors, announces the €3 million A round in the startup xFarm. The Swiss fund TiVenture SA is also participating in the funding round. The decision to invest in xFarm responds to the strategy of investing in the digital transformation of traditionally analog sectors, and according to McKinsey Global Institute's Industry Digitization Index, agriculture remains the least digitized of all major industries to date.
"I am very happy to have expanded the xFarm team with United Ventures and TiVenture. The xFarm project was created to help farmers be more efficient through the use of technology, and with this investment we aim to enrich our digital platform with new features and expand the number of farmers beyond those who to date have already chosen to use our service. Digital transformation in agriculture is a topic of strong interest and great growth, both in small and large farms. This issue also touches the agribusiness supply chain industries, which we help with analytics and traceability tools. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners, my associates and all the staff at xFarm, for the incredible work done so far."
According to data from the Smart AgriFood Observatory, jointly conducted by Politecnico di Milano and University of Brescia, the global value of agriculture 4.0 in 2018 reached $7 billion (double the previous year's figure), 30% of which was generated in Europe. Growth is even faster in Italy, where the market has reached between 370 and 430 million euros (+270% in a single year), equal to about 5% of the global one and 18% of the European one, generated by more than 110 supplier companies among established players and startups offering innovative digital systems and technology consulting services.
The investment will enable xFarm to consolidate its presence in the Italian market and expand into international markets with a focus on Europe, South America and Africa; as well as to strengthen the technology platform (especially in the area of artificial intelligence applied to data and predictive models, also taking advantage of blockchain technology) and release new modules to customers that can simplify and enhance the management of agricultural fields.
With this investment we will be able to increase the size of our team, devote more forces in research and development of advanced services and devices, all the while keeping the features base free of charge, all to perfect what has so far only been a taste of our idea of digitization in agriculture.
The launch of the new website has already unveiled some of the new features coming, which will join a general improvement of the user experience.
We believe that digital can really make a difference in simplifying complex farm management, improving competitiveness, protecting traditions and increasing sustainability. This is a turning point for our company: from today we will have the strength to put in place the projects and improvements at base of xFarm, a path that we will continue to walk alongside you, always keeping in mind the needs of modern agriculture, the same ones that drove us to start.
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