IOT NEWS

Industrial IoT News

Industrial IoT Home

Understory Secures $7.5 Million in New Funding to Power Weather Sensor Network

By Ken Briodagh
November 21, 2018

Understory, the weather network and analytics company, recently announced that it has secured $7.5 million in additional funding, led by 4490 Ventures. A new investor in the current round is Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, the DC-based investment firm founded by former CEO of AOL, Steve Case. Funds will be leveraged to expand Understory’s presence in the international agriculture market.

“Understory is powering innovation in weather data infrastructure with its sensor networks and on-the-ground insights,” said Steve Case, Chairman and CEO, Revolution. Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund invests in high-growth companies that, like Understory, are scaling outside of the coastal tech hubs. “We look forward to seeing how Understory continues to leverage regional expertise and talent to redefine real-time weather information for insurance, agriculture, academics, utility companies, and more.”

The injection of venture capital comes on the heels of Understory’s recent expansion into South America in partnership with Bayer (through the former Monsanto), being named as one of  Forbes’ 25 Most Innovative AgTech Startups in 2018, and their co-founder and VP of Engineering being named as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 within Manufacturing. 

“Understory represents innovation at its finest,” said Greg Robinson, managing director, 4490 Ventures. “The technology developed by Understory has real potential to redefine multi-billion dollar markets while empowering environmental efficiencies that impact our global food supply. That’s a winning combination we are proud to be investing in over the long-term.”

Understory has deployed more than 500 stations throughout five major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and plans to expand nationally to 5,000 sensors by the end of 2019. Its international presence was kicked off through a partnership with Monsanto, now Bayer, to deploy weather stations in South America to measure rainfall, temperature, humidity, evapotranspiration (moisture leaving plant), and growing degree units (where a plant is in its lifecycle to determine best harvesting time), to inform decisions around irrigation, harvest dates and times, and seed production.

“We at Bayer have seen the value that Understory provides to growers, using technology that adds a layer of hyper-local weather information in rural farming areas where local weather information is not as accurate,” said Jürgen Eckhardt, interim head, Bayer Growth Ventures. “We are eager to see how the company’s expansion can further enrich localized weather insights.”


The IoT Evolution Expo, and collocated events, IoT Evolution Health, LPWAN Expo, The Smart City Event, and IIoT Conference, will take place Jan. 29 to Feb 1 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Visit IoTEvolutionExpo.com to register now.

Edited by Ken Briodagh
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]

Editorial Director

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

New Collab Between Scanbot SDK and Cypher Robotics Set to Automate Wearying Warehouse Inventory Processes

By: Alex Passett    3/26/2024

Scanbot SDK and Cypher Robotics have officially partnered to streamline warehousing and inventory cycle counting processes.

Read More

Digi IX40: Details About this 5G Edge Computing IIoT Cellular Solution for Industry 4.0

By: Alex Passett    3/20/2024

Earlier this month, IoT/IIoT connectivity products and services provider Digi International announced the market launch of Digi IX40.

Read More

Bear Robotics Secures $60M in Series C Funding Round, Supported by LG Electronics

By: Alex Passett    3/18/2024

Last week, Bear Robotics announced the completion of a $60 million Series C funding round, which was led exclusively by LG Electronics.

Read More

Industrial Cybersecurity Forecasting, Courtesy of Kaspersky

By: Alex Passett    3/15/2024

Kaspersky recently presented an industrial cybersecurity review for a number of international entities, outlining key cybersecurity challenges for ind…

Read More