US-based Hydrosat, a climate tech company, announced on Thursday, June 8, that it has acquired IrriWatch, a Dutch company that claims to offer the world’s most advanced irrigation management software.
Pieter Fossel, CEO of Hydrosat, says, “Hydrosat’s acquisition of IrriWatch marks a significant milestone in the continued growth of our company and enables us to accelerate the delivery of real solutions that fulfil our mission to increase global food production with less water.”
This deal comes after a series of developments for Hydrosat, including a grant from the US Air Force to modify its surface temperature data to meet the mission requirements of the National Air and Space Intelligence Centre, and the pilot launch of its Crop Yield Forecast product.
Recently, the firm also closed a $20M Series A round.
Helping farmers operate effectively using data
IrriWatch was founded in 2019 by Wim Bastiaanssen. It enables farmers to optimise farming practices, raise crop yields, and boost profitability. It serves clients in 57 nations.
The company measures critical crop parameters such as leaf and soil temperatures, soil moisture, water usage, and agricultural output using satellite-based data. This is used by the company’s algorithms to provide accurate watering suggestions that increase productivity.
The IrriWatch products also support carbon sequestration analysis, assess leaf nitrogen content for fertiliser management, and provide hyper-local weather information.
Bastiaanssen says, “Since our founding, IrriWatch has been focused on irrigation, crop production, soil health, and climate. We recognise that climate change is the biggest threat to food security, and the UN recently warned of society’s ‘vampiric overconsumption’ of Earth’s water supply.”
“Our joining with Hydrosat enables us to work with leading experts and technology and gain access to high-resolution thermal imagery so we can deliver critical insights that advance our shared mission to feed the world and provide a transparent understanding of the water accounts of river basins,” Bastiaanssen adds.
Aim of the acquisition
This deal supports Hydrosat’s ambition to combine data with strategies that assist farmers in producing more food with less water in the face of drought, climate change, and sustainability objectives for the environment.
Royce Dalby, President of Hydrosat, says, “Hydrosat views thermal data as the key to helping farmers use Earth’s finite resources more efficiently and increase crop yields.”
“Hydrosat’s research on farms over three continents has demonstrated that by using thermal imagery to guide irrigation decisions, growers can increase crop yields by as much as 50 per cent while consuming 25 per cent less water.”
Dalby adds, “IrriWatch has developed revolutionary technology that puts Hydrosat’s findings into practice. By combining IrriWatch’s technology with Hydrosat’s data analytic systems, we can follow through on our promise to address food and water security in the midst of unprecedented environmental challenges.”
By merging the IrriWatch software with Hydrosat’s capabilities in crop classification and crop yield forecasting, the firm will be able to create an end-to-end solution that will support the agriculture sector from field to table and everyone in between.
The IrriWatch team, which includes agronomists, hydrologists, and software engineers, will join the Hydrosat team to broaden the reach of the IrriWatch product to growers and agribusiness globally.
About Hydrosat
Hydrosat specialises in delivering satellite imagery and data analytics to measure water stress and climate impact. It is a geospatial data analytics firm that uses thermal infrared imagery to offer both commercial and government clients unprecedented technology insights.
Hydrosat’s high-resolution, daily satellite thermal imaging offers a “unique” viewpoint of the earth, and its algorithms provide financial and agricultural customers with exact crop output projections and better irrigation tools.
