Fundraising

Anterra Capital invests $5.6m into agri analysis firm

The Dutch VC firm has invested $5.6m into LemnaTec, the agricultural data analysis and phenomics company.

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LemnaTec, a German plant phenomics and agricultural analysis company, has raised $5.6 million in equity capital from agtech-focused Dutch venture capital firm Anterra Capital.

Phenomics is the measurement of traits in organisms as they change in response to genetic mutation and environment; LemnaTec specialises in capturing images of these traits and processing the data.

The proceeds will be used to accelerate the company’s growth and market expansion globally, according to the press release, although it will maintain a strong US focus for now.

“The partnership between Anterra and LemnaTec will help accelerate our expansion, particularly in the US, and allow us to extend our software and service capabilities,” said Dirk Vandenhirtz, chief executive and founder of LemnaTec, in a statement.

The financing round is the latest for LemnaTec after DEWB, a German private equity firm, invested $2.6 million in May 2013 for a 43.6 percent stake in the company, according to its website. DEWB invests mostly in companies working with photonics and sensor systems.

“Our investment in LemnaTec provides a platform for the company to grow and support its already global customer base,” said Dudley Hawes, partner at Anterra Capital. “We see tremendous potential in LemnaTec’s data and bioinformatics tools and believe that the company will contribute massively to the infrastructure needed to better connect and use genotyping and phenotyping information.”

Anterra is an independent growth capital fund investing in companies that are working to strengthen the global food supply chain by making it safer, more efficient and more sustainable. The firm currently has six investments in its portfolio, all in the agtech sector.

Some of LemnaTec’s customers include agribusiness, technology and chemicals giants Bayer CropScience, Monsanto, Syngenta Global and Du Pont. Founded in 1998, LemnaTec’s discovery platforms are used in agricultural and research facilities globally. It currently has 29 employees.