Ontario-based feed technology company BinSentry raised $50 million in Series C funding, led by Lead Edge Capital, which will fuel the agtech provider’s growth plans, including expansion in Brazil.
Launched in 2017, BinSentry offers a hardware- and software-based solution to monitoring feed bins. BinSentry installs Internet of Things (IoT) cameras on the top of feed bins, which map the tank’s interior, with data transmitted via cellular connection to a centralized digital platform, Ben Allen, CEO of BinSentry, told AgTechNavigator.
Users can monitor their feed consumption through this cloud-based platform, Allen explained. Additionally, the platform “uses artificial intelligence algorithms to forecast the future demand for feed at an animal site based on a trailing 72-hour real-time consumption data set,” he added.
The animal feed supply chain is “one of the biggest and bulkiest supply chains on the planet,” and inventories are typically managed via human estimations, which can often be inaccurate, Allen explained.
“Animal feed is a challenge because it does not have a clean angle of repose — a pile of sand is always the same shape. Animal feed does not play by those rules because of the consistency and moisture issues, and so it is a harder technical challenge than most people would have hoped, and it is why it has taken so long to solve,” Allen elaborated.
Partnering with Cargill, teeing up future growth
The fresh funding will build upon BinSentry’s commercial success in recent years, which includes monitoring “nearly 50,000 assets under contract for monitoring,” Allen said.
“We are excited about how this round will allow us to build on our momentum. We have 100% year-over-year growth for three years now, with 0% churn, so we have real commercial results at volume that we are excited to continue to accelerate,” he elaborated.
Earlier this year, BinSentry partnered with ag giant Cargill to bring the AI-powered feed monitoring technology to Brazilian ranchers, as the agtech company seeks growth outside North America.
BinSentry is learning about the intricacies of the Brazilian ag market with this Cargill partnership, but sees many of the same dynamics at play in South America’s largest ag market, Allen said.
“There are unique conditions in Brazil around technology and language and other complexities that will be new to us. But what is not new to us is the market structure. Brazil is similar to the United States in that it is heavily consolidated — a number of big enterprise customers — which is who we work with in the North American market, and it is who we are excited about serving in Brazil in our partnership with Cargill,” he elaborated.
