Capital injection for Blue Radix powered by 400 growers

Blue Radix launched Crop Controller on the market in 2021, aimed at optimizing and realizing the grower’s unique crop strategy without human interference. Its value has been proven at many different greenhouses in 13 different countries and multiple climate conditions. “Since the market introduction of Crop Controller, we’ve been working intensively with many leading greenhouse companies around the world to prove its value. Growers see significant improvements in yield and quality, while they can manage many more hectares and reduce costs. We are grateful for their continuous support and trust. Thanks to their insights and feedback, we can now claim these significant improvements through our technology. It’s such a compliment to hear growers say that they fully rely on our system, 24/7, freeing their hands to manage more hectares and improve other aspects of their daily operations,” says Ronald Hoek, CEO and co-founder of Blue Radix.

Ready to scale

The system is ready to scale. Crop Controller is available for every greenhouse with a climate computer and an internet connection. Blue Radix’ mission is to enable growers to get the most out of their greenhouse data and optimize their results with the practical application of Artificial Intelligence. “We believe that growers should be able to use their knowledge and experience in the most efficient way, without having to share data with others. Crop Controller helps them to achieve exactly that. This is crucial because growers are becoming scarcer every month,” adds Laurens van der Spek, COO and co-founder.

“And we’re just beginning,” says Rudolf de Vetten, CPO and co-founder, addressing the big impulse that these new investments bring to product development. “We won’t be on this path alone. We believe in an open eco-system where growers can choose what fits them best, and we should make that possible, together with our partners in greenhouse horticulture.”

400 greenhouse horticulture companies invest

Horticoop actively invests on behalf of 400 greenhouse companies in companies that make a positive contribution to the horticultural sector. Blue Radix is fully in line with this. Steven van Nieuwenhuijzen, CEO of Horticoop: "Blue Radix is a leader in the field of applied artificial intelligence in the horticultural sector. At Horticoop, we believe that accelerated technological development is necessary to enable an even more sustainable and productive future of greenhouse horticulture. We are therefore delighted with this expansion of our portfolio. In this way, together with our members, we are closely involved in AI developments that benefit the entire sector. The investment characterizes the essence of our cooperative: jointly investing in the future of the horticultural sector."

Far beyond data platforms

“Blue Radix fits our portfolio of sustainable food and energy investments perfectly,” says Eduard Meijer, director of Navus Ventures. “We see greenhouse technology as a key driver of efficient and sustainable food production. Blue Radix brings operational intelligence and energy efficiency to the greenhouse, going far beyond other data platforms to turn data into practical application. With the Blue Radix team’s 10-year history in AI-driven energy management and their proven track record in crop management, we’re happy to support the company both financially and with our knowledge and network, to make a global impact on sustainable food production and energy management.”

About Blue Radix
Blue Radix is the independent specialist and market leader in Autonomous Growing. Blue Radix creates automated intelligence for almost all daily decisions and actions in greenhouses. With the continuous growth of the world population, the need for healthy and safe food is increasing. Therefore, the greenhouse horticulture business is scaling up on a global level. But this scaling cannot be achieved due to an increasing scarcity of experienced growers. Blue Radix offers solutions for these worldwide challenges: the AI-driven services empower growers with a digital brain for their greenhouse. Growers can manage 4 times more hectares, whilst improving yield and reducing the usage of resources. www.blue-radix.com

About Horticoop
Horticoop is the incubator for investments in the horticultural sector, driven by a single clear objective: working our way towards a healthy future for the horticultural industry. Obviously, nobody can achieve that alone. Together is the key word, and it encompasses the cooperative's 400 grower-members and the Horticoop businesses active in the fields of lighting, climate, technology and substrates for the industry. The Horticoop businesses, which include Lensli, Horticoop Technical Services, Lumiforte, Horticoop Scandinavia and HortAmericas, are domiciled both in the Netherlands and abroad. www.horticoop.nl/english

About Navus Ventures
Navus Ventures is a venture capital firm, part of a family office linked to Lely (Farming Innovators), aimed at high-tech start-ups and scale-ups driving the ongoing sustainable transitions in food and energy. Navus is not subject to entry or exit pressure, invests both in typical VC setup as well as for longer holding periods, and draws from the knowledge and network of the Lely family business, with a longstanding history in high-tech product development and successful market entry of innovations. Our approach is hands-on and pragmatic, acting quickly and supporting management on strategic and operational matters. https://navusventures.com/en/

Photo: From left to right: Laurens van der Spek (COO), Ronald Hoek (CEO) and Rudolf de Vetten (CPO).

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