Its intelligent agricultural radar is expected to travel around the world. Greek startup from Volos, Augmenta, following its acquisition by New York-listed CNH Industrial, the world’s second-largest tractor company with a capitalization of approximately $20 billion. “Significant capital will be invested in the company and in the Greek hub. Our goal is to highlight Greek talent and ensure the company’s exponential growth,” says one of the founders, who assures that there will be no change in the company’s management after the acquisition. The creation of two talented engineers, Dimitris Evagelopoulou and his George Varvarelis, Augmenta is one of the first Greek start-up companies to develop technological solutions that free farmers’ hands and reduce their production costs. The company made its first steps in the field of agricultural technologies in 2017 under the name Agile Agriculture Technologies (the name was later changed to Augmenta), and an important milestone in its development was participation in the Eurobank Innovative Entrepreneurship Program and the first financing of 500,000 euros from the Greek fund Marathon Venture Capital in 2018.

The team has developed a system (hardware and software) that is installed on the roof of agricultural machinery, scans the field and monitors the crop (rice, wheat, cotton, corn and generally all grains) in real time. The system, which consists of multispectral cameras, then “captures” those areas of the field that need fertilizer or some other chemical using artificial intelligence and machine vision technologies, and automatically decides to pour out as much fertilizer as is required in that area of ​​the field. areas where it is needed. In the eyes of manufacturers, this solution is useful, as it allows you to reduce the amount of chemicals and fertilizers, while limiting the impact on the environment. As Mr. Varvarelis mentioned in K, in addition to fertilizer distribution, the system is also used for the application of pesticides (herbicides, fungicides), which saves more than 50% of chemicals. This has a positive impact on the environment, on the grower’s pocket and on their health and the health of the consumer, and the team’s goal is to automate every action that the farmer performs with his machines in the field. The company has about 50 employees, most of whom are employed at the research and development center in Metamorfosi, where the company develops and manufactures its products. His system has been to almost every continent, the company has sold about 500 such systems in 26 countries.

There will be no changes in the management of the company after the conclusion of the agreement.

The acquisition comes two years after CNH Industrial invested in a Greek start-up, which saw it acquire a minority stake in Augmenta (10.5%).

The price was $110 million (the deal will be done in cash) and was reportedly about 35 times the revenue of the Greek tech company. If the company also plans to integrate this technology into new CNH Industrial tractors, its solution will be available to all manufacturers. The Greek startup will operate under the brand name Raven, a company acquired by CNH Industrial that provides technology solutions for many agricultural machines.

Natek

Technology company Natech, which has entered into a strategic joint venture with Piraeus Bank, has raised €10 million in funding to “build” its digital bank. As stated in the related announcement, the financing was provided through the issuance of a private convertible bond, which was covered by the Orasis fund along with the Giorgos Mundreas family office, Codrus Capital and existing shareholders. Based in Ioannina, Athanasiu Naurozoglu has been offering technology to local and multinational banks and payment systems for more than 20 years. This funding will enable it to expand its services in Europe and support the launch of the Piraeus Bank digital bank.