This is a company I’m so proud of. We’re solving a problem I’ve been obsessed with for a while — creating a more efficient, traceable, compliant agricultural economy. We’re the first to offer a true Cultivation Management Platform (CMP) focused on not just tracking data, but making that data accessible and functional for the growers we work with.

We’re now 30 people. We work with some of the biggest agricultural companies in the world — companies worth a collective $5 billion use Agrilyst each day. Every 5 minutes, a crop is planted using our software. Agrilyst users have been promoted, farms have expanded their acreage, and businesses have become more profitable as a direct result of our software.

Our customers are our lifeblood and we exist to make their lives better. To keep up with the pace our customer base is growing, we have to continue growing as a company. We have to invest in our team, our product, and our service. So today, I’m thrilled to announce our $8m Series A round of financing. The round was led by Astanor Ventures, along with Talis Capital, and with participation from current investors New York Ventures and iSelect Ventures.

New Board Members

With our new round of funding, we welcome two new Directors — Dr. Kathleen Merrigan and Charlie O’Donnell. Kathleen is the former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture under President Obama and is the first Executive Director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University. Kathleen helped write the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and managed the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative at the USDA. Much of the way our food system exists today is due in part to Kathleen’s leadership. I’ve gotten to know Kathleen over the past few years and there’s no one better to help us build this business.

Charlie led our first round of financing and has been a supporter of ours since day 1. I even pitched Charlie about a year before starting the company with nothing but a bad company name and a pretty nebulous idea, so technically a supporter since day -365. Anyone in New York knows that Charlie is an incredible asset to our team and we are thrilled he’s joined our Board.

Our New Name — Artemis

As we continue to grow among enterprise operations, businesses with many locations across many states and sometimes countries, we continue to focus on what we do best — managing people, plants, processes, and compliance to create a virtually risk-free environment. We want a brand that reflects this growth.

Artemis is the goddess of all things living. We are more than just software. We are building technology to create a world that can sustain itself. This is Artemis.

We also wanted a name that is pronounceable for our users and as we continue to stretch across the Americas and out into Europe, we recognized that Agrilyst just wasn’t easy to pronounce for most languages.

I’m incredibly excited about the new brand, which we’ll be fully unveiling in early June.

What Comes Next?

Growers are not protecting themselves from risk without technology implementation across their full operation. Right now, the technology offered for our industry is incapable of helping growers expand their business. Enterprise operations have to deploy expensive, bulky, ERP systems or use regulatory software mandated by states. That alone leaves them at a disadvantage in what is already a low-margin, high-risk business.

We are the first-ever true solution for closing this gap. Adding a CMP to your technology stack (CMP + ERP or Seed-to-Sale) will set you up for success in an economy that is quickly consolidating and becoming more competitive than ever.

This funding enables us to continue growing. If you’re a grower in the vegetable, fruit, flower, hemp, or cannabis spaces, we want to hear from you. If you’re an engineer, designer, marketer, salesperson, or anyone else interested in working on our team, we would love to work with you.