Nov. 10, 2022 09:37 AM
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Tackling climate imperatives, leading technologists and cattle industry veterans empower ranchers with a platform to manage and monetize their land.

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Enriched Ag, the grazing and carbon insights platform, today announced a $9M seed round led by Radical Ventures and Future Ventures. Founded by a team that comes from the world's most iconic companies (Apple, Google, Yahoo!, and Intel), Enriched Ag combines technical prowess with deep cattle industry roots to provide beef producers with operational tools to improve resilience and quantify soil carbon value. Ranch land represents nearly 28%–over 600 million acres–of the US landmass. Proper ranch management is essential not only for the survival of ranching but may hold the key to meeting ambitious GHG emissions targets.

The need for new technologies that can improve the financial, productive and ecological outcomes of grazing land has never been greater. In the western United States, ranchers are experiencing drought conditions that have not been seen for more than 1,200 years. In the face of these challenges, ranchers need data and tools to better utilize the land and adapt to a changing climate while also tackling the root causes of climate change by naturally sequestering significant amounts of carbon.

Enriched Ag’s Grazing Insights product provides granular ranch-level insights in a single platform, including forage biomass, drought status, precipitation, vegetation health, and bare ground. The Carbon Insights product provides producers with estimated value of carbon credits developed on their ranch and insight into practices that can maximize that value. The Enriched Ag solution allows producers to maximize the value of grazing lands by making faster decisions, fostering healthy ecosystems, and maximizing carbon potential.

”This company’s integrated approach to data and technology at the ranch level positions the producer to not only take advantage of increased production and efficiency but also creates new revenue opportunities for the rancher,” said Leo McDonnell, Owner of McDonnell Angus.

Formed in 2019, Enriched Ag brings together unparalleled expertise in large-scale systems and applied machine learning, alongside deep roots in animal and regenerative agriculture, and sustainability.

“There is an urgent need for ranchers to optimize their practices to address the realities of a changing climate, while at the same time organize their long-term strategic business initiatives toward resilience and future value capture,” said Ash Munshi, Enriched Ag CEO. “Our solution provides producers with practical tools that are relevant to their bottom line. Data-driven insights can improve ranchers’ decision making today while partnering with Enriched Ag to monitor, manage and monetize ecosystems creating new revenue into the future.”

Munshi, former Yahoo! CTO, and serial entrepreneur has assembled a best-in-class team of technology and agricultural experts composed of leaders with experience from Carnegie Mellon University, Google, Intel, Yahoo!, and The Noble Foundation.

"The problem with most of the current approaches to carbon is that producers are being offered small payments for long-term commitments," said Billy Cook, Enriched Ag VP of Producer Relations. "We are taking a different approach to ecosystem services; we want to give people the insights they need to make the best operational decisions, both today and in the future.”

AI-focused Radical Ventures led the seed round in Enriched Ag, following a pre-seed round led by Future Ventures.

“It is a global imperative that we provide ranchers with the tools they need to optimize management, build resilience, and reduce emissions,” said Parasvil Patel, Partner at Radical Ventures who is also joining the Enriched Ag board. “Enriched Ag is at the cutting-edge of grazing and carbon insights that unlock tomorrow’s profits through better management practices today. We are excited to invest in a company applying machine learning to transform how ranches are managed and to address the challenges of climate change.”