Seabex Secures Seed Funding to Revolutionize Agricultural Water Management with AI and Sensorless Technology
21.06.2024 — Seabex, a French agri-tech startup pioneering the use of AI and sensorless technology to revolutionise farming practices, has successfully closed its seed funding round, led by Water Unite Impact, with participation from Mercy Corps Ventures (US), Digital Africa (France), and three strategic business angels.
Since its inception in 2020, Seabex has made significant strides in France and Tunisia, managing over 50,000 hectares with its cutting-edge platform. This system delivers precise, actionable irrigation recommendations that rival the accuracy of traditional sensor-based methods, yet is more cost-effective and scalable.
Seabex’s technology has already achieved substantial impacts, saving an average of 30% in water usage and increasing crop yields by 20%, results validated by independent organisations like the Chamber of Agriculture of Loiret (France).
“Whether in drought or rain, knowing the available water in the soil for my crops is crucial. Respecting the resource, organizing my work, controlling my irrigation costs — Seabex allows me to have an informed view on my irrigation management decisions,” says Rémi Dumery, a farmer in Loiret (France) and a client of Netirrig by Seabex.
Global agriculture consumes nearly 70% of the world’s annual water supply, with approximately 40% lost to inefficiencies and poor management. By optimising irrigation practices and reducing water waste, Seabex’s solutions not only conserve vital resources but also improve productivity and sustainability in farming.
The funds from this round will fuel the growth of Seabex’s team and AI capabilities. The goal is to refine its technology to achieve up to 95% accuracy compared to ground-truth measurements by traditional sensors.
Water Unite Impact’s Portfolio Manager, Cyrille Antignac, welcomed the new investment: “Leveraging intelligent systems and AI to deliver measurable reduction in agricultural water usage whilst maintaining and even increasing production is a win-win for both communities and the climate.”
“We are thrilled to have the support of such esteemed investors in our mission to revolutionise agricultural water irrigation. This funding will enable us to scale our innovative solutions, helping farmers worldwide conserve water, enhance yields, and build more sustainable practices,” said Taher Mestiri, Co-founder and Chairman of Seabex.
“The funds from this round will fuel our ambitious plans to expand our operations into new countries, including the South of Europe, Africa and the Middle East,” added Amira Cheniour, Co-founder and General Manager of Seabex.
About Water Unite Impact — Water Unite Impact is an investment vehicle developed in partnership between nonprofit Water Unite and Wellers Impact, an FCA-regulated impact investment manager, headquartered in London with an office in Nairobi, Kenya. It invests into private sector water SMEs in the global south to transform lives and communities while generating risk-adjusted, market-rate returns for investors.
