Los Angeles-based agtech company ProducePay says it has raised $38 million in Series D financing.
ProducePay will use the latest capital to accelerate its expansion to Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, as well as advance the development of technology and services, including comprehensive Predictable Commerce Programs in partnership with leaders and innovators across the global fresh produce industry, according to a news release.
The latest financing round was led by Syngenta Group Ventures, the venture capital arm of Syngenta Group, according to a news release. Additional participants in the round include new investor CF Private Equity, as well as existing investors G2 Venture Partners, Anterra Capital, Astanor Ventures, Endeavor8, Avenue Venture Opportunities, Avenue Sustainable Solutions, and Red Bear Angels, the release said.
Due to oversubscribed demand, the series D round will remain open while additional investors complete diligence, according to ProducePay.
ProducePay says its Predictable Commerce Platform gives growers and buyers an unprecedented level of transparency and predictability in the increasingly volatile fresh produce supply chain, as part of a mission to transform the global agricultural industry by eliminating economic and food waste.
To date, the company reported it has supported more than $4.5 billion in fresh produce transactions globally.
“Extreme weather events, supply shortages, and price fluctuations are just a few examples of factors contributing to the increasing volatility of the fresh produce industry,” ProducePay CEO Patrick McCullough said in the release. “Our exponential growth and global scalability attracted a best-in-class group of investors who valued the company at a significant up-round from our last funding. We appreciate their support as we take ProducePay to the next level of helping growers, marketers and retailers around the world expertly manage these volatilities to avoid disruption of their business — while reducing the massive amount of economic and food waste that impacts every touch point across the supply chain.”
The company’s latest partnership with Four Star Fruit, one of the world’s largest growers and shippers of table grapes, created a first-of-its-kind Predictable Commerce Program that has significantly improved efficiency and waste reduction across Four Star’s transactions in just the first six months, the release said.
Since the start of the partnership in March of 2023, according to the release, the program has enabled:
- 90% reduction in rejection rate to nearly 0%.
- 31% fewer days in transit for fresh produce.
- 50% fewer stops along the delivery pathway to retail.
- 41% fewer days in cold storage.
- A reduction of 356 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, or CO2e, that would otherwise have been emitted from food waste.
ProducePay and its investors aim to replicate this success across more partners, more produce categories and more regions around the world, the release said.
“ProducePay’s mission aligns closely with Syngenta’s commitment to innovation and to making agriculture more sustainable,” David Pierson, managing director of Syngenta Group Ventures, said in the release. “By connecting growers from around the world with quality retailers and buyers, ProducePay is making it possible to reduce food and economic waste while giving farmers greater financial security, and we are excited by this opportunity to work closely for a stronger future in agriculture.”
