Vancouver-based agtech company Verdi has raised $6.5 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round, bringing its total funding to $9.5 million.
The round was led by SVG Ventures, with backing from a broad coalition of investors including NEC, Ponderosa Ventures, Elemental Impact, GenomeBC, and Galvanize Climate Solutions-linked Ponderosa Ventures.
In 2024, Techcouver named Verdi one of 10 homegrown B.C. startups to watch.
The funding comes after a breakout year for Verdi, which now automates irrigation for over 5,000 acres of farmland in North America, working with some of the world’s largest food and beverage companies. In 2024 alone, Verdi’s technology saved growers more than $1 million in irrigation labor and conserved over 100 million liters of water.
“Our mission is to overcome the traditional adoption barriers that have prevented farmers from scaling irrigation automation,” said Arthur Chen, Verdi’s CEO and co-founder. “This round fuels our ability to scale rapidly and continue delivering impact where it matters most – on the farm.”
Unlike conventional systems that require costly infrastructure upgrades, Verdi’s patented smart devices retrofit to existing irrigation systems, offering a low-friction path to automation. The platform enables features like remote leak detection and row-level irrigation control—functionality that has led to up to 90% labor savings, 70% water savings, and 20% yield improvements for users.
Verdi has more than doubled its headcount over the past year, growing to a 24-person team of agronomy, hardware, and AI software specialists. The company plans to use the new capital to expand into additional regions, enhance its AI-powered capabilities, and build deeper partnerships with global agribusinesses.
“We invested in Verdi because they’re solving one of agriculture’s biggest challenges—climate resilience—through a solution that is not only innovative but also practical and scalable,” said John Hartnett, CEO of SVG Ventures. “Their ability to integrate with existing farm infrastructure makes their platform a game-changer.”
As agriculture faces mounting pressure from climate change and labor shortages, Verdi’s accessible automation solution is positioning the company as a key player in building a more efficient and resilient food system.
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