Gro Intelligence offers data analytics services focused on agriculture, climate, and the economy, helping clients in the food and beverage industry understand ecological and economic interactions. Their tools, powered by artificial intelligence, provide insights like U.S. production data and the effects of fertilizer shortages on crop yields. They also analyze carbon emissions policies to assist businesses with compliance costs. Gro Intelligence aims to empower clients to optimize supply chains and make informed decisions through actionable data.

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Gro Intelligence

Ag insights platform Gro Intelligence is calling it quits after failing to secure enough capital to stay afloat following a turbulent few months, AgFunderNews understands.The firm, which secured some eleventh hour funding in March as it laid off 60% of its staff, informed remaining staff this week that it would be closing down, with a skeleton crew kept on to wind things down, say sources close to the company.Gro, which is being sued by former employees over alleged violations of labor laws requiring employers to provide advance written notice of mass layoffs, is also being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to see if “any investor fraud or misrepresentation occurred,” alleged one investment industry source. “The SEC is asking for communications and presentations to investors,” added a second source, who previously worked at Gro Intelligence.An SEC spokesperson told us: “The SEC does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation.”CEO James Cariello, who replaced founder Sara Menker at the helm of the New York- and Nairobi-based company in February, did not respond to a request for comment.One former employee told us: “I suspect someone will get the IP for pennies on the dollar.”$85 million series BFounded by ag commodities trader Sara Menker in 2012, Gro Intelligence claimed to be building the world’s largest agricultural data platform. It netted an $85 million series B round in January 2021 from backers including Intel Capital and Africa Internet Ventures, and was named as one of TIME’s 100 most influential companies that year.By February of this year, employees were being told that Gro was unable to make payroll and that founder Sara Menker “was no longer CEO but as founder would have ongoing responsibilities,” one former employee told AgFunderNews. “I gathered from subsequent conversations that these related to business development and fundraising. We were told that [COO] Sewit [Ahdorem] was no longer with the firm in any capacity.”In early March, Gro secured some funding, which at the time one former employee told us was expected to last until “June or July,” and laid off 60% of its staff.‘A fundamental mismatch between the product and the market’Gro Intelligence generated the bulk of its revenues from Unilever, but had picked up some business with other packaged food companies and a number of quantitative and fundamental commodities investors, one former employee told AgFunderNews earlier this year.“It had positioned itself as a food security platform to a small Asian country and a country in the Middle East exporting oil, without success. It had also attempted to engage the US government under a variety of guises but was only picking up bits and pieces of business here and there.”Asked what had gone wrong, the source blamed a combination of the challenging funding environment and a “fundamental mismatch between the product and the market.“They were chasing deals for projects that resembled bespoke consultancy work as opposed to something that would generate replicable revenue streams

Breaking: Ag Insights Platform Gro Intelligence Is Closing Down

Gro Intelligence, a once high-flying food security startup founded in Kenya is shutting down after failing to secure financing to continue operations.

A Kenyan agri-data startup tipped to underpin global food security shuts down

Former employees of ag insights platform Gro Intelligence have filed a putative class action lawsuit* against the New York-based firm for alleged violations of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires employers with 100+ full-time employees to provide written notice of mass layoffs at least 60 days in advance. According to the lawsuit, “Starting on February 1, 2024 and continuing through March 1 2024, Defendant abruptly terminated over 90 of its employees, about two thirds of its staff, over that 30-day period.”. At the time, staff at the firm—who were informed in February that Gro couldn’t meet payroll—told AgFunderNews that the company had said it would cover back pay and PTO, plus health insurance through March for those laid off. They were not offered a severance package or given any advance warning that they would be terminated.Gro had been trying to raise additional capital through a convertible bond [a bond that can be converted into shares at a later date] as a bridge until it generated more consistent and stable revenues, claimed one source, who said the firm had secured an undisclosed amount of 11th-hour funding that came “with a lot of conditions.”Former CTO James Cariello, who was installed as CEO at Gro Intelligence in February to replace founder Sara Menker, did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit

Gro Intelligence Sued By Ex-Employees For Failing To Provide Advance Notice Of Mass Layoffs

Ag insights platform Gro Intelligence laid off 60% of its staff on Friday but is understood to have secured some 11th hour funding.Employees at the New York and Nairobi-based startup—who were told last week that Gro couldn’t meet payroll—were told that the company would cover back pay and PTO, plus health insurance through March for those who were to be laid off. They were not offered a severance package.According to one industry source, Gro received “some money with a lot of conditions.”Former CTO James Cariello, who was installed as CEO last month to replace founder Sara Menker, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.‘A fundamental mismatch between the product and the market’Founded by former ag commodities trader Sara Menker in 2012, Gro Intelligence claims it is building the world’s largest agricultural data platform.The firm, which generates the bulk of its revenues from Unilever, had picked up some business with other packaged food companies and a number of quantitative and fundamental commodities investors, another industry source told AgFunderNews.“It had positioned itself as a food security platform to a small Asian country and a country in the Middle East exporting oil, without success. It had also attempted to engage the US government under a variety of guises but was only picking up bits and pieces of business here and there.”While Gro had lost a crop input company as a client, its current woes were not the result of a sudden loss of clients, said the source. “The renewal rates for the commodities investors were excellent.”Asked what had gone wrong, the source blamed a combination of the challenging funding environment and a “fundamental mismatch between the product and the market.“They were chasing deals for projects that resembled bespoke consultancy work as opposed to something that would generate replicable revenue streams. They also had a number of mis-hires and until very recently, they didn’t have a CFO, so I don’t know that they were able to produce reasonable financials on a quarterly basis for investors.“Sara should have brought in an operating CEO probably two years ago.”‘Like most startups, it tries to be everything to everyone and needs to find its niche’Gro Intelligence is an AI-powered insights company providing decision-making tools and analytics to a range of clients from food & ag companies to governments, insurers, investment banks, consulting firms and universities. It netted an $85 million series B round in January 2021 from backers including Intel Capital and Africa Internet Ventures, and was named as one of TIME’s 100 most influential companies that year.According to one industry source who spoke to us earlier this month, Gro “has a great product and a good group of intelligent people behind it, but I’m not sure they know how to sell it… I think it’s a solid business and something that the market needs, but it also needs the right people to operate it

Breaking: Gro Intelligence Lays Off 60% Of Staff, Secures Some 11Th Hour Funding

Gro Intelligence—a New York- and Nairobi-based startup building what it claims is the world’s largest agricultural data platform—has installed a new CEO to replace founder Sara Menker, and has told its employees that it is unable to pay them, AgFunderNews has learned.Menker, who controls two board seats, is no longer CEO, but will have “ongoing responsibilities” at the firm she founded in 2012.CTO James Cariello has been named as the new CEO at Gro, which laid off 10% of its staff at the end of January and has been attempting to raise additional capital through a convertible bond [a bond that can be converted into shares at a later date] as a bridge until it gets more consistent and stable revenues.The company, individual board members and investors contacted by AgFunderNews have not responded to a request for comment.Menker had her company slack account deactivated a few days ago, one longtime Gro employee told us. “At an all teams meeting James stated unequivocally that they were unable to pay us.“We were told that Sara was no longer CEO but as founder would have ongoing responsibilities. These were not enumerated but I gathered from subsequent conversations that these related to business development and fundraising. We were told that Sewit was no longer with the firm in any capacity.”The call lasted about 10 minutes, “with a promise for more complete transparency,” added the employee.‘A fundamental mismatch between the product and the market’Gro, which generates the bulk of its revenues from key customer Unilever, had picked up some business with other packaged food companies and a number of quantitative and fundamental commodities investors, said the source.“It had positioned itself as a food security platform to a small Asian country and a country in the middle east exporting oil, without success. It had also attempted to engage the US government under a variety of guises but was only picking up bits and pieces of business here and there.”While Gro had lost a crop input company as a client, its current woes were not the result of a sudden loss of clients, said the source. “The renewal rates for the commodities investors were excellent.”Asked what had gone wrong, the source blamed a combination of the challenging funding environment and a “fundamental mismatch between the product and the market.“They were chasing deals for projects that resembled bespoke consultancy work as opposed to something that would generate replicable revenue streams

Exclusive: Ag Insights Platform Gro Intelligence Unable To Make Payroll, Replaces Founder With New Ceo

Gro Intelligence—a New York- and Nairobi-based startup behind what it claims is the world’s largest agricultural data platform—laid off 10% of its staff, about 20 people, at the end of January, AgFunderNews has learned.Founded in 2012 by former agricultural commodities trader Sara Menker, Gro Intelligence is an AI-powered insights company providing decision-making tools and analytics to a range of clients from food & ag companies to governments, insurers, investment banks, consulting firms and universities. It netted an $85 million series B round in January 2021 from backers including Intel Capital and Africa Internet Ventures, and was named as one of TIME’s 100 most influential companies that year.The company has not responded to requests for comment, but one staff member impacted by the cuts told us: “We had 10% reductions [characterized as] ‘workforce adjustments’ required by the board of directors. The CEO got all [of the] company [together] in a less than five-minute call and the affected ones were disconnected less than an hour and a half afterwards.”Another added: “We were told that the board wanted to cut costs by 10%. The cuts were across the board with more of an emphasis on engineering.”‘They have a great product; I’m not sure they know how to sell it’Layoffs and cutbacks are not unusual in the current venture capital downturn. A range of companies, from those with great prospects and even with great revenue numbers to those very early stage, are struggling to raise funding to take them to the next stage and ultimately to profitability.According to one industry source, who noted that the company does not list a CFO or a head of sales on its leadership team on its website, Gro “has a great product and a good group of intelligent people behind it, but I’m not sure they know how to sell it… I think it’s a solid business and something that the market needs, but it also needs the right people to operate it. Like most startups, it tries to be everything to everyone and needs to find its niche.”He added: “They started off as a data aggregator of agricultural data and have now incorporated a ton of climate data

Job Cuts At Ai-Powered Ag Insights Platform Gro Intelligence: ‘They Have A Great Product, But I’M Not Sure They Know How To Sell It’

Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to revolutionize the entertainment industry, particularly in the creation of animated films, according to industry veteran Jeffrey Katzenberg.Speaking Thursday (Nov. 9) at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, Katzenberg predicted that AI would drastically reduce the cost and time required to produce blockbuster animated movies, Bloomberg reported Thursday. In the past, it would take 500 artists and several years to create a world-class animated film, but Katzenberg said within three years, AI could achieve the same results with 10% of the resources.The adoption of AI in the entertainment industry is expected to accelerate the digital transformation of the sector. Katzenberg, who co-founded DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, emphasized that no industry will be more impacted by AI than media, entertainment and creation.The potential of AI in the entertainment industry goes beyond animated films. Other global business leaders at the forum discussed how emerging technologies, including AI, will reshape various sectors.For example, machine learning is being used to predict the demand, supply and price of agricultural commodities worldwide, while large data sets are being analyzed to extract insights and improve risk assessment, Sara Menker, founder and CEO of Gro Intelligence said, per the report.However, there are also concerns about the potential pitfalls of AI, such as data privacy issues and the need for responsible regulation to avoid stifling innovation, Kai-Fu Lee, chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures, said during the forum, according to the report.While AI holds great promise, it is important to address the challenges that come with its rapid implementation. Bob Moritz, global chair of PwC, highlighted the need for re-engineering labor to keep up with the pace of technological advancements, the report said.Without proper training and understanding, the rapid adoption of AI could exacerbate social problems, especially in a slowing economy, Moritz said, per the report.In comments made last week about the potential of AI, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said AI is the most disruptive force in history and predicted it would eventually render all jobs obsolete

Ai Set To Slash Cost And Time Of Animated Film Production

Topline. India—the world’s largest exporter of rice—banned all exports of “non-basmati white rice” late Thursday in an effort to keep domestic prices in check, raising fears it could further threaten global food security, which has already been impacted by Russia’s scrapping a key UN-brokered deal that allowed Ukrainian grains through the Black Sea. People plant rice saplings at a water-logged rice field on the outskirts of Amritsar in northern . [+] India.AFP via Getty Images Key Facts

India’S Rice Export Ban May Drive Global Food Prices Even Higher—Here’S What You Need To Know

Gro has launched a new Climate Indicator for Water Stress (GCI - Water Stress) to help companies, financial institutions, and governments better manage and respond to risk in water-stress-prone areas around the world.

Gro Expands Climate Risk Assessment Suite With New Water Stress Scoring

Data analytics for agriculture and climate

Gro Intelligence

Data analytics for agriculture and climate

Gro Intelligence

Data analytics for agriculture and climate

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