German horticulture technology company targets commercial growth in Europe with wireless sensing, yield forecasting and automated pest and disease detection

hexafarms has raised €4.8 million (US$5.4 million) in a funding round aimed at expanding its technology for monitoring crops, forecasting yields and detecting pests and diseases in commercial horticulture.

The German company said the funding will support further development of its wireless crop sensors and automated scouting technology, while accelerating commercial growth in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH), the Benelux region and Spain.

The round was led by Ananda Impact Ventures and Green Generation Fund, with participation from Grey Silo Ventures and better ventures, as well as existing investors Speedinvest, Mudcake and Techstars.

hexafarms also received Rentenbank’s Startup Grant and a subordinated loan of up to €800,000 (US$900,708). The German government-backed program supports selected early-stage agriculture businesses developing technologies and services with growth potential.

The company describes its platform as an operating system for commercial horticulture that combines hardware and software to provide continuous information about crop conditions and expected production.

Its wireless sensors collect data on climate, fertigation, substrate, drainage and light every five minutes. Yield forecasting provides rolling estimates for individual crops and production zones based on more than 70 parameters.

Autonomous robots scan plants daily for early signs of pests and diseases. The robots can cover two to three hectares, while the company’s artificial intelligence models currently cover about 50 cultivars across greenhouse and soft-fruit crops, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, aubergines and berries.

The company said the technology can also help growers understand relationships between crop events and growing conditions. For example, a pest event can be traced against the climate history of the production zone where it occurred.

hexafarms said its system is already being used by more than 50 growers in 13 countries. The technology is offered through a subscription model, with hexafarms responsible for designing, deploying and maintaining the system. The company said this allows growers to treat the technology as an operating expense rather than making a large upfront investment, while reducing the need to manage multiple separate systems.

The platform also integrates with climate-control systems already used by growers, including Priva, Hoogendoorn and Ridder, through an API-based architecture.