NATURAL VENTURES INVESTS IN CONSTELLR, A LEADING EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY WITH ENHANCED GLOBAL WATER MONITORING CAPABILITIES
Constellr is pioneering the combined use of thermal infrared and hyperspectral instruments in a constellation of microsatellites to deliver actionable insights optimised for high-precision agriculture, crop health management, yield forecasting and sustainable resource management.
Abu Dhabi, 3rd November 2022 – Natural Ventures (a venture capital fund under formation at the Abu Dhabi Global Markets) today announced an investment in Constellr, a leading earth observation satellite technology company with unique capabilities to deliver actionable insights to enable transparent and predictive crop stress data with a significant positive impact across food supply chains and resulting food and water security.
The €10m financing round, in which Natural invests alongside first-tier investors including Lakestar, Vsquared, FTTF, In-Q-Tel, Amathaon Capital, EIT Food, OHB Venture Capital, Next Humanity Ventures, and Seraphim Space, will allow ConstellR to develop its first two satellites, conclude its existing pilot programs and develop its processing platform, in order to comprehensively map the world’s crops to enable the early detection of water stress symptoms and help facilitate a sustainable global food system.
The global food system uses 70% of available freshwater, with the impact of climate change, land degradation and a growing population building pressure to use resources more efficiently and effectively, particularly as it relates to water.
The lack of transparent data on crop stress at a macro and field level can have a material impact across supply chains, with unmitigated water stress causing major crop yield losses. Detection of early water stress through Constellr’s unique combination of thermal infrared and multispectral data can materially contribute to enhanced yields, reduced operating costs and optimised resource and supply chain management.
Natural Ventures and the investment in Constellr combines the capabilities of Natural Ventures’ focus of investing in innovative technologies across the water – food – energy nexus and Constellr’s experience of the developing global space ecosystem; helping to address the impact of climate change on the world’s water system and enhancing food and water security.
Commenting on the participation of Natural Ventures, Max Gulde, Chief Executive Officer of Constellr stated:
“I am thrilled to have Natural Ventures join our cause: The strong mission alignment, their tremendous know-how in agriculture as well as water-related topics, adding a vast network in complementary geographies, and the professionalism and enthusiasm of the entire team will be of great value for us in this crucial early stage of company development. I am looking forward to joining forces in support of global food security.”
Mark Jenkins, Managing Partner of Natural Ventures, adds:
“Water around the world is rapidly moving from being abundant to being increasingly scarce and under pressure, requiring innovative technologies to address the need for a more sustainable use and management of this critical resource. Natural Ventures views Constellr as a key enabler in the provision of informative and actionable data to drive water efficiency and enhanced crop management. We are excited to be working alongside the company and our stellar co-investors to support management in this mission”
About Constellr
Constellr is a German deep-tech start-up from Freiburg that operates at the interface of Earth Observation and agriculture. A spin-off of the Fraunhofer, Europe’s largest organisation for applied science, constellr is dedicated to supporting global food security in times of climate change. Based on a proprietary space infrastructure with unique sensing capabilities, constellr offers precise and plot-level water monitoring for the agricultural sector worldwide. As a space data and services company, constellr is leading the way in delivering daily, global land surface temperature data for the agri-tech industry. constellr provides the fundamental global data for smart crop monitoring, identifying changes in crop health days to weeks before they become visible and enabling farmers to react early to and mitigate for potentialcrop risks and losses. This advanced warning means the risk of crop failure or damage is significantly reduced, allowing more accurate crop yield forecasting and thus better stability and management across supply chains.
Visit us on LinkedIn and our website constellr.space
About Natural Ventures
Natural Ventures, a venture capital firm under formation at the Abu Dhabi Global Markets is an impact-driven fund that is at the center of addressing the interrelated challenges arising from climate change, world population growth and the transformation of the world’s water system. Natural Ventures invests across the water – energy– food nexus globally whilst accelerating the adoption of innovative technologies into the Middle East and Asia.
Visit us on LinkedIn and our website natural.ventures
Press Enquiries
Constellr
Tom Climie
Email: tom.climie@kekstcnc.com
Tel.: +44 7760 160 248
Marisa Wagner
Email: marisa.wagner@kekstcnc.com
Tel: +49 152 543 727 77
Natural Ventures
Mark Jenkins mark@natural.ventures
Managing Partner +31 636 074 425
Maarten ter Keurst maarten@natural.ventures
Managing Partner + 86 131 6620 6997