• Investment provided by Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital aims to promote efficient and sustainable farming through Solinftec’s innovative technology.
• The transaction will allow the Company to accelerate expansion of its digital farm operations platform, ALICE AI, and its robotics solution, Solix Ag Robotics, in North America and South America.
• Funding will contribute to the achievement of several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, most importantly SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital has invested alongside the Lightsmith Group and Unbox Capital in an investment round in Solinftec (“Company”), a leading precision agriculture company with operations in Brazil, the United States and across Latin America. Founded in 2007, the Company develops innovative technological solutions that allow its clients to optimize agricultural processes, increasing productivity and sustainability in the field. The Company monitors more than 85%+ of the sugarcane operations in Brazil, in addition to the grain, fiber, and perennial crops markets, such as citrus, coffee, and forestry.

The investment is part of the recent investment round that raised $60 million in convertible debentures, aiming the scale development and expansion of the company’s new robotic platform, Solix AG Robotics, which was announced and commercially launched in Brazil in April 2022. The technology is also in tests in the United States, in partnership with GROWMARK, Inc. and Purdue University, and in Canada, with Stone Farms and the University of Saskatchewan.

Global agricultural production needs to increase by 60% to meet estimated demand by 2050, according to estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The challenge is intensified by agriculture’s extreme vulnerability to climate change, with climate variability accounting for one-third of the fluctuation in agricultural productivity worldwide. Disruptive technological solutions offered by Solinftec contribute to agriculture overcoming its biggest challenge. The Company’s artificial intelligence platform, ALICE AI, is powered by proprietary in-field data collected from the 27+ million acres of monitored area―over half a billion pieces of data on crops, equipment, inputs, and weather conditions from the field each day―providing farmers with real-time actionable insights related to planting, spraying, fertilizing, and harvesting to increase yields, which generates cost savings through reductions in fuel and agricultural inputs and reduces yield volatility. Solinftec’s solutions can help clients to achieve an increase of 30%+ in productivity and efficiency.

Agriculture is among the largest contributors to climate change, being the world’s second-largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with precision agriculture management practices regarded by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as key for improving energy efficiency in the agricultural production chain. Through the efficient use of resources, including fossil fuels and agrochemicals, the Company’s solutions allow producers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental impact of the agricultural process.

“Sustainable agriculture is critical for climate change and food security a priority within our investment mandate. It is very exciting to partner with the founders and investors of Solinftec. We are impressed by its trajectory and growth potential, a Company that thrives on innovation by understanding the needs and challenges in the field”, mentioned Cristina Penteado, Managing Director and Head of Brazil of Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital.

By exploring new technological frontiers, Solinftec helps changing the way food is produced in the field. The Company works closely with clients and other partners to tackle challenges of farm production. Its most recently launched cutting-edge technology is a robot, built to autonomously scan and monitor fields, providing farmers with 24/7 monitoring and learning about the ecosystem, which contributes to crop yields and inputs usage efficiency, lowering the environmental impact.

“We believe we have been experiencing a new historic milestone in agriculture through the introduction of robotics in the fields”, said Britaldo Hernandez, Solinftec’s CEO. “Blue like an Orange is part of this revolutionary moment by endorsing our purpose of increase food production and mitigate environmental and social impact by transforming today’s agriculture handling into a sustainable practice”, he added.

With this investment round, the Company aims to increase its product offerings and further expand its digital farm operations platform in North America and South America.

The expected development outcome supports several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including but not limited to: SDG 9 (Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation), SDG 12 (Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns) and SDG 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts).

Solinftec, a global leader in agricultural digitalization, has announced that it will expand the launch of its new cutting edge AgTech robotic platform, Solix Ag Robotics, into Canada in partnership with Stone Farms and the University of Saskatchewan.

The new technology aims to provide farmers and agronomists a new level of information to increase yields, improve the usage of inputs, lower environmental impact, and support the global demand for food supply. The goal is to have the robot commercially available for the 2023 season for wheat crops.

Solinftec will run the new robot at multiple farms, one being Stone Farms in Davidson, aiming to adapt the technology to the specific needs of the Canadian grower and improve the algorithm for identifying weeds.

With more than 15 years of experience developing digital ag solutions throughout various geographies and crops around the world, Solinftec’s Solix Ag Robotics is integrated with the company’s artificial intelligence platform, ALICE A.I., capturing information directly from the crops. Programmed with a neurological network featuring a complex detection algorithm, the new in-field robotic device has the ability not only to scan for crop health and nutrition, disease, insects, and weeds, but is built to monitor the entire field ecosystem and provide real-time insights.

“Technology and how it is implemented in agriculture will play an even more critical role in our future,” said Rob Stone, owner of Stone Farms, “We know Solinftec continues to innovate for the better of the agriculture economy and the addition of their robotics platform will only enhance our work together. We are excited about the possibility for this technology to improve the way we manage inputs with enhanced real time information.

The platform will drastically reduce many risks related to the use of chemical and biological pesticides, as extremely low volumes will be applied with high precision on the target, only in the required place, at the most appropriate time, without excess or loss.

“As we’ve done in regions across the globe, we are taking the robot directly to the fields to learn at a hyper-local level how they perform,” said Leonardo Carvalho, Solinftec’s operational director lead in Canada. “The cutting-edge robotics technology will help develop agricultural solutions and support sustainable farming practices. Having the continued support of Stone Farms and the University of Saskatchewan during a season of testing the new technology is a great opportunity for Canadian agriculture.”

Solinftec will also work in partnership with the University of Saskatchewan (USask) in Saskatoon, SK to validate field results provided by the new robotics technology.

“Solinftec’s vision and commitment to the increased incorporation of digital technologies in agriculture are exciting, and researchers at the USask College of Agriculture and Bioresources are actively engaged in supporting and promoting this digital revolution,” shared Dr. Trever Crowe (PhD), associate dean, USask College of Agriculture and Bioresources. “Researchers in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources have a world-wide reputation of conducting relevant leading-edge applied and field-based research. Canadian farmers place a tremendous amount of trust in the work of this college, and we are excited to partner with Solinftec and agriculture producers to help advance this technology.”

“At Solinftec, I’m proud we continue in our dedication to evolve agriculture practices in close partnerships with local farmers,” said Britaldo Hernandez, Solinftec’s chief executive officer. “With our expansion into Canada in 2021, we are learning so much about the farms, the business processes, and agricultural needs. We value how our partnerships allow us to innovate at a local level with new technologies – like with our new robot.”