Brazil: The Silicon Valley of Agribusiness - Revolutionizing Agriculture with Innovation and Technology

I have no doubt in affirming that Brazil is the Silicon Valley of agtech, and this wave is our great opportunity to showcase our talents and become a true global leader.

I have been highlighting in all my lectures and classes the strength and the significant moment we are experiencing in Brazilian agribusiness. I compare Brazil's current situation to what Silicon Valley experienced in the early 1990s when large companies and brilliant minds migrated to the region, making it a technology reference point.

In Brazil, we are witnessing a similar phenomenon, with more than 1,700 agtechs attracting the attention of major agribusiness companies such as Syngenta, Bayer, and John Deere, as well as technology companies like Google and Microsoft, and financial firms such as Visa and Itaú.

My passion for these agtechs began when I was Director of New Business for a multinational company, responsible for identifying technologies and incubated companies, primarily in universities, around 2010. Since then, there has been a boom in technologies and agtech startups before, within, and beyond the farm gate. Innovations like sensors, nanotechnology, biologicals, software, drones, and artificial intelligence are spreading across all states, not only in universities but also in various innovation hubs such as AgTech Garage in Piracicaba, Dabi Business Park in Ribeirão Preto, and even in Brazil’s largest city with Cubo Itaú.

Every year, I write about the technologies and agtechs that inspire me the most and that I believe will revolutionize and help farmers become more productive, profitable, and sustainable. This selection is based on my travels across Brazil, industry publications, and online research, which usually allows me to glimpse only a part of this vibrant world.

Recently, I met a group of visionary entrepreneurs, investors, and analysts with a simple and clear purpose: to build companies that will change how Brazil produces and feeds the world. What struck me the most was how this group built a database that aids in identifying the best companies, people, and technologies through an easy-to-use and incredibly efficient platform.

I am referring to Rural Ventures, founded by Fernando Rodrigues in 2021. Since then, it has become a reference in the field. In addition to investing in and believing in the dreams of dozens of entrepreneurs, they have shared this entire ecosystem with our agribusiness through media publications, podcast programs, event organization, and international trips.

This multidisciplinary team has a clear mission: Not only to provide investments for agtechs but also to offer mentorship, market access, training, and, most importantly, in my opinion, field tests. This means the critical test of usability and scalability of these technologies on the farms of the entrepreneurs and partners of this venture capital firm.

Six agtechs are currently in Rural Ventures' portfolio: Agroboard, Arara Seed, Bem Agro, Preservaland, Campo Capital, and Um Grau e Meio. These agtechs grew more than sixfold in 2023, an extremely challenging year for Brazilian agribusiness.

The Rural Ventures funding process is pragmatic and involves several requirements and areas of focus:

• Full-Time Founders & SOP: Founders must be fully involved in the startup's operations, and part of the investment should be allocated to talent retention.

• Pre-Scale, Scale, and Traction Stage: Startups need to be in the early stages (traction) and focused on transforming Brazilian agribusiness.

• Checks between R$0.5M and R$2M: Checks of up to R$2,000,000, with the possibility of scaling up from the first round and follow-on.

• Technical Validation and Field Testing: Every approved startup is validated on the venture partners' farms. If approved, it undergoes technical validation.

The areas of focus include:

• GMOs, Genetics, Biological Control, and Genomics

• Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Decision Drivers

• Credit, Insurance, Fiduciary Analysis, and Ag FinTechs

• Food Safety, Traceability, Risk Management, and Damage Mitigation

More than 300 startups have been analyzed, some with extremely thorough evaluations involving investment memorandums and technical validations, and others with initial analyses that include recorded interviews with the founders, technical presentations, strategies, and other materials.

What impressed me most about this group is that they did not keep this prospecting information to themselves. All this data is being shared with the entire investor community and with the agtechs themselves that wish to put their information in this "barn."

Transparency, agility, and sharing align with my life principle: ″If I have an idea and keep it to myself, I will have only one idea; if I share it, the chance of improving, strengthening that idea, and adding more ideas will be much greater.″

Rural Ventures has made a significant stride by providing all participants with access to a Telegram chat bot at http://t.me/rv_rsquarebot. This bot contains information on all the analyzed startups, including pitches and videos from the founders. It is an easy-to-interact-with chat bot that delivers information in an accessible and straightforward manner. You just need to ask the right question. Soon, this chat bot will also be available on WhatsApp.

A demonstration of this tool and its capabilities can be seen in the video below: Watch Video 

This is fantastic news for those passionate about technology and Brazilian agribusiness. Whether you are an investor, a scholar in the field, or an entrepreneur looking to have your agtech undergo a rich and thorough analysis, I highly recommend getting in touch with this team. Rural Ventures Website (https://ruralventures.com.br/)

For those interested in my previous articles, predictions, and accuracy, you can easily find them online here in AgroPages.

 One thing I am certain of: My predictions for 2025 will come from this wealth of information provided by Rural Ventures.