ProducePay, an eLab alumni (Class of 2015), just closed a $38 million Series D funding round led by Syngenta Group Ventures, with participation from Commonfund and Highgate Private Equity, G2 Venture Partners, Anterra Capital, Astanor Ventures, Endeavor8, Avenue Venture Opportunities, Avenue Sustainable Solutions, and Red Bear Angels. The startup, founded by Cornell alumni Pablo Borquez Schwarzbeck MBA ’15, provides growers the ability to monetize their crops ahead of harvest and maximize their returns.
ProducePay is helping fight the epidemic that is food waste. In the U.S. roughly 30-40% of the produce supply ends up in landfills. ProducePay’s solution to this problem is simple: monitoring the supply chain and financing products for food growers and suppliers.
“ProducePay is on a mission to eliminate the economic and food waste caused by the volatile and fragmented nature of today’s global fresh produce supply chain,” CEO Pat McCullough told TechCrunch in an email interview. “Our [platform] is giving growers and buyers greater control of their business by providing unprecedented access to capital, a global trading network, insights and supply chain visibility.”
The new capital raised, which brings their total to $136 million, will be used for the company’s extension into Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. As ProducePay continues to grow so does their team, as they become roughly 300 full-time employees.
To learn more about ProducePay’s funding round read TechCrunch’s article.