CropX Technologies is acquiring SCIO, a developer of portable near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy technology, in a move designed to connect farm management decisions with crop quality and composition data collected at harvest and during processing.

The acquisition is CropX’s eighth since 2020 and expands the company’s digital agriculture platform beyond crop production into harvest and post-harvest operations.

CropX’s platform combines soil sensors, weather data, satellite imagery and agronomic models to help growers and agricultural businesses make production decisions. SCIO adds portable sensing technology that can rapidly measure crop characteristics without sending samples to a laboratory.

The companies say combining the technologies could create a feedback system in which information about crop quality and composition at harvest is used to assess earlier agronomic decisions and improve future recommendations.

“The future of agronomy isn’t just about making recommendations. It’s learning from outcomes,” CropX CEO Tomer Tzach said. He added SCIO provides a way to connect those recommendations with harvest and quality results, helping CropX develop a broader agricultural intelligence platform.

SCIO’s technology uses NIR spectroscopy to analyze materials based on how they interact with near-infrared light. Its portable systems are designed for rapid analysis at the point where decisions are being made, rather than relying exclusively on conventional laboratory testing.

The company’s products include the SCIO Mini and SCIO Cup, along with integrated sensing technologies used in areas including seed production, grain and oilseeds, feed and forage, dairy, berries, sweet corn and food processing.

SCIO has 44 granted patents covering its technology and has raised $64 million since its founding. The company also brings a growing software-as-a-service business that CropX says has reached profitability.

The acquisition also gives CropX access to SCIO’s established enterprise customer base, which includes major agricultural companies such as Corteva, Syngenta, Bayer, Bunge, Cargill and Novonesis.

SCIO Head of Sales Avi Rosenbaum said joining CropX should give the company access to a broader agricultural market. CropX’s existing customer relationships, global presence and commercial infrastructure can help expand adoption of SCIO’s sensing technology, he said. The combined business will serve customers across a wider portion of the agricultural value chain, including growers, agribusinesses, grain handlers, seed producers, dairy operations and food companies.