South Africa-based agriculture tools supplier Aerobotics has raised $17m in a series B round led by media and e-commerce group Naspers through subsidiary Naspers Foundry, TechCrunch reported yesterday.
Naspers Foundry had provided $8.3m for the round in May 2020 and was joined by Cathay AfricInvest Innovation, FMO: Entrepreneurial Development Bank and Platform Investment Partners.
Aerobotics’ technology helps track and assess the health of food-growing trees. It secured $610,000 in seed capital from 4Di Capital and Savannah Fund in 2017.
The company closed a $4m series A round featuring banking group Nedbank Group, media, data and investment firm AgFunder, AngelList, Paper Plan Ventures and 4Di Capital in early 2019.
Naspers set up the $100m Foundry fund in 2019 after spinning off its consumer internet holding group as Prosus into a Euronext-listed company.
Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, CEO of Naspers South Africa, said: “Food security is of paramount importance in South Africa and the Aerobotics platform provides a positive contribution towards helping to sustain it.
“This type of tech innovation addresses societal challenges and is exactly the type of early-stage company that Naspers Foundry looks to back.”
