Osborne Clarke advises Stenon on EUR 18 million Series B financing round for real-time soil analyses

Osborne Clarke has advised Stenon GmbH, an AgTech start-up based in Potsdam, on its Series B financing round in the amount of EUR 18 million. The round is intended to finance the further internationalisation of the real-time soil analysis platform FarmLab as well as the next generation of technology with sensor systems fully integrated into agricultural machinery.

The Series B financing round is led by the Dutch impact investor Pymwymic. The DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF) is also participating as a new investor. Existing investors include Atlantic, Oyster Bay, Founders Fund, TIME Ventures (the investment company of Salesforce founder Marc Benioff) as well as Bernd Hoffmann, former Vice President at AGCO and Claas. The transaction underlines the growing importance of data-driven precision agriculture and the role of European deep-tech companies in building sustainable agricultural infrastructures.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Potsdam, Germany, Stenon GmbH is the world’s leading provider of digital real-time soil data. The FarmLab platform combines proprietary sensor technology, artificial intelligence and software to measure key soil parameters directly in the field and translate them into recommended actions. In this way, Stenon aims to enable agricultural traders, machinery manufacturers, agricultural advisers and food producers to increase efficiency, sustainability and success along the entire agricultural value chain.

“AgTech financings such as Stenon’s Series B show how data-driven technologies are becoming a central infrastructure component for modern agriculture,” says Robert Marx, Counsel at Osborne Clarke. “The combination of AI, sensor technology and real-time data creates a new quality in fertiliser management – and at the same time shows how venture capital and climate-oriented funds can jointly promote scalable solutions for resource-efficient agricultural production.”

Comprehensive advice on structuring the Series B financing round

Osborne Clarke provided Stenon with comprehensive advice on the corporate and contractual aspects of the Series B financing round. This included in particular structuring the investment, designing the venture-capital-typical participation and governance arrangements, and negotiating the financing documentation with an internationally composed group of investors.

The Osborne Clarke team was led by Robert Marx, with Partner responsibility held by Till-Manuel Saur, and also included Fenja Striesow, Benedikt Hülsmann (all Transactions) and Ann-Kristin Lochmann (Tax).