Joint News Release

Investment will fund advancements in remote sensing, artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics for in-field precision farming

BASF and TELUS Ventures invest in AgTech startup Hummingbird Technologies

London, United Kingdom; Vancouver, Canada; and Ludwigshafen, Germany; October 15, 2019 – BASF Venture Capital and Canada’s TELUS Ventures are among the lead investors in a series B investment round for British startup Hummingbird Technologies, a global leader in advanced crop analytics. Other main investors include Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) and the British investment firm Downing Ventures.

Founded in 2016, Hummingbird Technologies has developed a technology platform to evaluate the condition of agricultural fields. Hummingbird’s unique artificial intelligence, deep learning and imagery analytics solution uses proprietary algorithms driven by aerial images captured from satellites, planes and unmanned aerial vehicles. It processes image data to create precise harvest forecasts or accurately calculate how much fertilizer is needed. With its high-resolution system, Hummingbird can also locate potential pest infestation, plant diseases or planting gaps. These tools deliver real-time actionable recommendations, which both improve performance on farms through precise targeting of operations and inputs, as well as provide evidence-based justification and Return on Investment (ROI) proof for decision-making.

Within 24 hours, Hummingbird can provide farmers and their advisors with in-field zone maps that help them specifically target the application of fertilizers, crop protection products and growth regulators as well as selectively manage subsequent plantings. The main customers are progressive farm businesses which use this technology to manage their existing fields more efficiently and thus achieve significant yield increases and cost savings. There are approximately 2.2 billion hectares of agricultural land available worldwide. Key areas for the use of advanced crop analytics include: Russia, Ukraine, China, the United States, Australia, Canada and Brazil, but also the United Kingdom.

“We are delighted to have received investment from BASF and TELUS Ventures. The investment will allow us to augment our leading position in core international markets, to pursue expansion opportunities that involve API (Application Program Interface) software integration and to extend our machine learning advantage at both a team and code level. We have a clear target to become the leading global remote sensing player in AgTech, and with such strong institutional backers, and technical expertise behind us, our journey towards achieving this goal has gathered serious momentum,” said Will Wells, Chief Executive Officer, Hummingbird Technologies.

“We want to support Hummingbird to develop new markets for its unique technology and establish new business models,” said Markus Solibieda, Managing Director, BASF Venture Capital. “Our colleagues in BASF’s Agricultural Solutions division are already cooperating with Hummingbird. We are supporting these activities through this investment.” Agricultural experts from BASF UK have been working with the startup since 2016 and supply aerial images to farmers. Hummingbird analyzes these photos and gives farmers detailed maps of the various in-field zones for precision farming.

“We believe innovative companies like Hummingbird – that provide farmers with data-driven, user friendly platforms to drive decisions – have the potential for wide-scale adoption as farmers increasingly look for tools to improve their bottom lines and reduce their environmental impact,” said Rich Osborn, Managing Partner, TELUS Ventures. “Through our investment, we have the potential to change cultivation and help mature technology platforms to connect all aspects of the farm and food supply chain.”

About BASF Venture Capital

BASF Venture Capital GmbH (BVC) was founded in 2001 and has offices in Europe, the U.S., China, India, Brazil and Israel. The aim of BVC is to generate new growth potential for BASF by investing in new companies and funds. The focus of investment is on chemical products and new materials, software and services as well as innovative and digital business models in the broader field of chemistry. For more information, please visit www.basf-vc.com.

About Hummingbird

Hummingbird Technologies, founded at the Imperial College Technology Incubator by William Wells in 2016, is a global leader in remote sensing, artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics for agriculture. The company has 40 full time employees headquartered in London, with satellite offices in São Paulo, Sydney, Lviv and Moscow. The company has completed two previous fundraising rounds with backers including: Downing Ventures, Sir James Dyson, the European Space Agency, Horizons Ventures and Velcourt Farming Group.

About TELUS Ventures

As the strategic investment arm of TELUS Corporation (TSX: T, NYSE: TU), TELUS Ventures was founded in 2001 and is one of Canada’s most active corporate venture capital funds. TELUS Ventures has invested in over 70 companies since inception with a focus on innovative technologies such as Digital Health, IoT, AI and Security. TELUS Ventures is an active investment partner and supports its portfolio companies through mentoring; exposure to TELUS’ extensive network of business and co-investment partners; access to TELUS’ technologies and broadband networks; and by actively driving new solutions across the TELUS ecosystem.

Press contacts:

BASF Venture Capital                                                   

Inga Franke                                                     

Phone: +49 173 3099242                        

inga.a.franke@basf.com

Hummingbird                                               

Alexander Jevons 

Phone: +44 7917 415881

alexander@hummingbirdtech.com

TELUS Ventures                                

Jill Yetman

Phone: +1 416 992 2639

jill.yetman@telus.com

Hummingbird proud to have signed up to DEFRAs “Food Waste Pledge”, committing to game changing action to halve food waste by 2030.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:

“Congratulations to Hummingbird Technologies for stepping up to the plate and committing to game-changing action to cut food waste.

“The UK is showing real leadership in this area, and together we will end the environmental and economic scandal that is food waste.”

Food waste: major UK supermarkets and organisations sign world-leading government pledge to help halve food waste

• Major UK supermarkets and organisations sign world-leading pledge to slash food waste by 2030 and increase public awareness
• Leading names include Asda, Sainsbury’s, Starbucks, Tesco, Nestlé and Unilever
• Action taken after the government’s Food Surplus and Waste Champion urged the food sector to ‘Step up to the Plate’

More than 100 of the biggest players in food, including all of the UK’s major supermarkets, have signed a pledge to take ground-breaking action to drive down food waste following a call to action from the government.

Big-hitters from the world of food and sustainability including Aldi, Asda, Café Nero, Co-op, Costa, FDF, Lidl, Sainsbury’s, Starbucks, Tesco, M&S, Morrisons, Nestlé, Ocado, UK Hospitality, Unilever, WWF and Waitrose have signed a pledge committing to help halve food waste by 2030, and raising public awareness of the issue through a week of action.

Currently in the UK an estimated 10.2 million tonnes of food and drink are wasted annually after leaving the farm gate, worth around £20 billion. It is estimated that UK householders spend £15 billion every year on food that could have been eaten but ends up being thrown away, equating to £500 a year for the average household.

Today’s announcement comes after the government’s Food Surplus and Waste Champion Ben Elliot urged organisations to ‘Step up to the Plate’ at a landmark symposium last month. The event brought together around 300 key players from various parts of the food industry for a day of targeted discussion and action.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:

“I am delighted to see so many UK food businesses commit to game-changing action to cut food waste, and I hope that others follow suit.

“The UK is showing real leadership in this area, but each year millions of tonnes of food is wasted.”

“I want to thank our Food Surplus and Waste Champion for inspiring business to step up to the plate. Together we will end the environmental and economic scandal that is food waste.”

Food Surplus and Waste Champion Ben Elliot said:

“We are pleased to see these retailers committing to change. To those retailers yet to sign the pledge – why not? You have a responsibility to step up and do your bit.

“We will be highlighting those who participate and those who do not.  The food waste crisis can only be solved by collective action.”

Stefano Agostini, Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé UK & Ireland said:

“Food waste is a critical issue, from an environmental and social perspective and one where we all have a role to play.

“It is crucially important that we work together to help reduce food waste across our own operations, our supply chains and also support consumers to reduce food waste in the home.”

The pledge asks attendees to reduce food waste by:

• Setting an ambitious target to help halve food waste by 2030 in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, report on progress and prioritise action. As a food business, adopting the WRAP and IGD Food Waste Reduction Roadmap to have half of all 250 of the UK’s largest food businesses measuring, reporting and acting on food waste by 2019.
• Embracing a week of action in November 2019 to highlight the changes we can all make.
• Using their voice and profile to empower and encourage citizens, including the younger generation
• Changing their habits as an individual to be Food Value Champion at work and at home, buying only what they need and eating what they buy.

The list of organisations that have signed the ‘Step up to the Plate’ pledge at the date of publication of this press notice are:

• Aberdeen Ltd.
• Aldi
• Alliance for Sustainability and Leadership in Education
• Allied Bakeries
• Apetito
• Approved Food
• Approved Food Limited
• Asda
• Bakkavor Group
• Barfoots
• Baxter Storey
• Berry Gardens
• Bidfood
• Boots
• Bread and Butter Thing
• Bread and Honey
• British Frozen Food Federation
• Café Nero
• Central England Coop
• ChicP
• Chilled Food Association
• Company Shop
• Compass Group
• Cooke Genie
• Costa
• Cranswick
• Dale Farm
• Daylesford Organic
• Denhay Farms LTD
• Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)
• Direct Produce Supplies Ltd.
• Earth Changers
• East End Foods
• Eden Project
• Ellen MacArthur Foundation
• Environment Agency
• Felix Project
• Flawsome
• Food and Drink Federation
• Food Bytes
• Foodchain Technologies Limited
• Fortnum & Mason
• Fresh Produce Consortium
• Gather and Gather
• Gen Mills
• General Mills
• Greencore
• G’s Fresh Limited
• Harper Adams University
• Heckfield Place
• Hilton Food Group
• His Church

• Hummingbird Technologies
• Industry Council for Packaging & the Environment
• Institute of Grocery Distribution
• Intercontinemtal Hotels Group
• It’s Fresh
• Karma
• Karmalicious LTD
• KP Snacks
• Lidl
• London Restaurant Festival
• Marks and Spencer
• Morrisons
• National Farmers Union
• Neighbourly
• Nestlé
• Nibsetc
• Ocado
• Old Oak Primary School
• Olio
• Plan Zheroes
• Plot Kitchen
• Rubies In The Rubble
• Sainsbury’s
• Samworth Brothers
• Selfridges
• Smart Store Cooking
• Starbucks
• Sustainable Restaurant Association
• Tesco
• The Packaging Federation
• The Real Junk Food Project
• Toast Ale
• Too Good To Go
• UK Hospitality
• Unilever UK and Ireland
• Victoria and Albert Museum
• Waitrose
• Waste Food Solutions
• Wasteless
• Winnow
• World Resources International
• World Wide Fund for Nature
• WRAP

From The Startup Microdose Podcast

“Will is the founder and CEO of Hummingbird Technologies Ltd. The vision for which came to him on a hospital bed during a two-year fight with cancer. Happily recovered, Will is now realising that vision, using the most advanced machine learning and computer vision techniques to deliver actionable insights on crop health.

The company, which is backed by investors including James Dyson and Horizons Ventures, has won numerous awards including the CogX Best AI AgTech Product and the 2019 KPMG UK Best British Startup.

Will gives us an inspiring account of how he and the team are optimising sustainable farming practices and transforming the agricultural industry.

The release of this interview comes at an opportune time for Will and team who have just closed a £7m round led by SALIC – Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company.“

Listen on:

iTunes

Spotify

Entale

Hummingbird Technologies will oversee 400,000 hectares of Salic Farmland

By Martin Coulter

Salic, Saudi Arabia’s agriculture and livestock investment company, has made its debut investment in the UK, leading a £7m funding round for British agritech company Hummingbird Technologies at a £30m valuation.

Hummingbird, founded in London in 2016, uses drones, artificial intelligence and satellite imagery to produce high-resolution maps that can help farmers forecast crop stress, spot disease and weeds and predict yields.

State-backed Salic, which is led by former Cofco International head Matthew Jansen, has hired Hummingbird to oversee 400,000 hectares of farmland in Australia and Ukraine.

The agreement follows last year’s talks between the UK and Saudi Arabia, when Prime Minister Theresa May and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman set out their ambition to build £65bn worth of trade and investment ties in the coming years.

Will Wells, Hummingbird chief executive, said the investment would fund a recruitment drive in the UK and push its international expansion. “As a machine learning business, our technology thrives on having more data to work with. Gaining access to Salic’s portfolio gives us an unprecedented opportunity to hone our capabilities even further.”

Hummingbird has 40 full-time employees in London, with satellite offices in Sao Paulo, Sydney, Lviv and Moscow. Downing Ventures, a leading UK-based venture capital fund, supported Hummingbird in a previous fundraising alongside the European Space Agency and Beeswax Dyson.

Downing is currently in talks to make a further investment in the company. Mr Jansen said: “We see Hummingbird as an attractive investment, from our global portfolio’s point of view, and see it as a means of driving innovative best practice adoption across our global farmland operation.”

This article has been amended to reflect that Downing Ventures has not reinvested in Hummingbird.

Article courtesy of FT.com, printed and online 23^rd May 2019