US-based online farmer network platform Farmer’s Business Network (FBN) has completed a $300m series G round featuring food processing and commodities trader ADM and internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet.
The round was led by investment and financial services group Fidelity and included funds managed by its Fidelity Investments Canada subsidiary as well as Temasek, LN Mittal Family Office, Colle Capital Partners, Walleye Capital, Tudor Investment Corporation, T Rowe Price, DBL Partners, BAM Elevate, BlackRock and Baron Capital Group.
ADM and Alphabet invested through corporate venturing units ADM Ventures Investments Corp and GV respectively, and the cash was secured at a $3.9bn valuation, an FBN spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal.
FBN’s network allows farmers to communicate with each other on relevant issues including seed performance or prices for products like agricultural equipment, biologicals and even financing options.
The capital will be used to develop the company’s financial services offering to include land, equipment and operating loans, in addition to its technology and research and development.
GV took part in FBN’s $250m series F round, in August 2020, which was led by BlackRock at a $1.75bn valuation and also backed by Fidelity,DBL Partners, T Rowe Price, Expanding Capital, Baron Capital Group, Lupa Systems, Mandi Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Balyasny Asset Management, Temasek and Ron Shaich.
Kleiner Perkins led a $175m series E round for FBN in early 2019 valuing it at $1bn. Temasek and T Rowe Price had led its $110m series D in November 2017 and were joined by GV, Kleiner Perkins and Acre Venture Partners to take the company’s total funding to approximately $200m.
FBN had received $40m in a March 2017 series C round co-led by GV and DBL Partners that also featured Acre Venture Partners, Bow Capital and Kleiner Perkins predecessor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB).
GV, DBL Partners and KPCB had participated in a $20m round led by Acre Venture Partners in 2016, the year after the three had supplied $15m in series B funding the previous year.
