AgTech Venture Capital News

DES MOINES, IA: To helping farmers manage risk and maximize profitability, Crop Pro Insurance, an insurance and technology firm dedicated, announced the close of an $8 million Series A round of financing co-led by top agriculture investors Finistere Ventures and Seed 2 Growth Ventures (S2G). Established insurance provider GuideOne Insurance also joined the round.

Headquartered in the heart of Midwest farmlands in Des Moines, Iowa, Crop Pro will use the investment to expand its team and speed the development of products and services that bridge the gap between agricultural and financial technologies.

Crop Pro also announced that, to earn approval from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to offer Federal crop insurance products to farmers it is the first Ag venture-funded insurance provider .

CIO and managing director, at S2G Ventures, Sanjeev Krishnan said, “This is a unique opportunity to bring new technology and business models to the $11B crop insurance market, and we see Crop Pro playing a significant role in connecting AgTech and FinTech. Crop insurance is a vital component in ensuring farm risk management, and we are pleased to be partnering with the leading innovator in the sector.” Crop Pro will offer risk management solutions for emerging and traditional agriculture markets for the 2018 crop season. More than 290 million acres of U.S. farmland are protected through the Federal Crop Insurance Program according to the USDA; with RMA estimating 85 percent of major crops and 73 percent of specialty crops planted acreage are covered.

Crop Pro Chairman Billy Rose added, “Our vision is to help growers minimize risk by delivering proven insurance offerings and new risk management tools through our longstanding network of independent insurance agents. Our investors have the right networks to put us at the nexus of AgTech innovation in financial services. As agriculture continues to evolve, we want to empower farmers to use the current wave of advanced technologies to solve longstanding productivity challenges while helping them manage the financial risk.”

Rose and Co-Founder and President Joe Young are veterans of the crop insurance space. With extensive experience in both the agriculture industry as a whole and the Federal Crop Insurance Program specifically, the team will leverage its experience in insurance operations at The Climate Corporation, Crop 1 Insurance and John Deere Insurance Company to advance the future of agriculture and accelerate new technology adoption among growers by providing the needed support and income assurance.

Source:http://www.croppro.com/pressrelease