BASF Venture Capital GmbH invests in WayBeyond

PRESS RELEASE

BASF  Venture Capital GmbH (BVC), the corporate venture capital company of BASF SE, is  investing in WayBeyond. Founded in New Zealand and now headquartered in the  United States, WayBeyond is an Internet of things (IoT) and software as a service  (SaaS) company that aims to improve crop yields, crop quality and grower profitability  for low-to-mid tech controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) operations using data  capture, farm management, and prediction tools. 

CEA refers to a variety of systems that take a technology-based approach to farming,  which includes glasshouses, greenhouses, net houses and tunnels. CEA growing  operations typically produce tomatoes, berries, cucumbers and peppers. Growth in  CEA, specifically low-to-mid tech CEA, is expected to increase steadily as the global  population increases and as sustainability goals drive concerns of food shortages,  encouraging growers to reduce the environmental footprint of their operations. Major  production markets include Mexico, Morocco and Spain, while CEA is also growing in  other regions including Southeast Asia, both North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, and  South America. Export markets include the United States and Europe. 

WayBeyond is transforming the CEA industry with their data collection tools and AI powered agronomy insights platform, FarmRoad. FarmRoad is an expert agronomist  for every farm that gives growers farm- and crop-specific insights and  recommendations to transform their growing decisions, improving yield, consistency  and quality for more sustainable farming. WayBeyond also partners with seed  producers to utilize the FarmRoad platform and FarmRoad’s crop-contextual AI for  seed efficacy and quality transformation. 

Markus Solibieda, Managing Director of BASF Venture Capital GmbH, said: “The use  of controlled-environment agriculture to grow fruits and vegetables continues to  expand globally. As the next generation of growers enters the agriculture industry, we  believe that their entry point will be CEA. WayBeyond is positioned to transform the  way these CEA farmers grow the crops that will feed our growing population.”  

“WayBeyond’s solutions not only help growers visualize their growing operations, but  also provide growers with the agronomic recommendations that they need to optimize  yield and yield quality,” added Neal Okarter, Investment Manager at BVC in Los  Angeles, California.  

“We are delighted to have BVC as an investor. As a strategic VC fund, they are in a  special position to appreciate WayBeyond as a disruptive business model. We are  perfectly aligned around the vision of a digitally empowered, sustainable agricultural  industry that will bring vast benefits to the seed and crop protection providers.  Together, we are focused on supporting farm operators and growers,” saids Darryn  Keiller, Founder and CEO of WayBeyond. 

About BASF Venture Capital GmbH (BVC) 

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF Venture Capital GmbH also contributes  to this corporate purpose. Founded in 2001, BASF Venture Capital invests in Europe, the United  States, Canada, China, India, Brazil, and Israel. Our goal is to generate new growth potential for  current and future business areas of BASF by investing in young companies and funds. The focus of  our venture investments includes decarbonization, circular economy, agtech, new materials,  digitization and new, disruptive business models. www.basf-vc.de. 

About WayBeyond 

Founded in New Zealand in 2016, WayBeyond creates technology for a better world. Its vision is to  transform the agricultural industry so it can produce food sustainably for everyone on the planet.  WayBeyond’s expertise in data, artificial intelligence, and plant science is embodied in its future focused farming solutions. FarmRoad – a farm management platform with powerful yield prediction  and crop registration tools, and Folium – a climate monitoring system which harnesses readings from  a network of wireless sensors to deliver detailed data across large growing areas.  WayBeyond is a B2B business that advocates The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,  while supporting the next generation of growers through community education  programs. www.waybeyond.io  

Media contact BASF Venture Capital GmbH: Media contact WayBeyond: Michaela Kemper Kathy Cunningham, Empire PR michaela.kemper@basf.com kathy@empirepr.co.nz 

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