San Francisco-based technology growth investment firm Bond Capital has led a $NZ165 million Series D funding round in Auckland-based agritech company Halter.
The round has been supported by another Californian technology growth investment firm NewView Capital and existing local venture investors Blackbird and Icehouse Ventures plus US firms Bessemer Venture Partners, DCVC and Promus Ventures. Individual investors include Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck.
The new funding values Halter at $NZ1.65 billion.
Halter provides electronic collars which enable farmers to remotely set up electronic “fences” to control where cattle graze. The collars also monitor the animals’ condition and activity giving farmers advance warning if an individual animal may be unwell or ready to give birth.
According to chief executive and founder Craig Piggott, the new funding will be allocated to growing Halter’s engineering, product development and customer service teams and expanding into new markets. At present, Halter operates in New Zealand, Australia and the US. Over the next 12 months, the company expects to double its current employee headcount of around 200.
Bond general partner Daegwon Chae said cattle-focused products generated more than $US1 trillion annually. Halter’s product met an important demand in that market as it helped farmers automate to reduce labour costs.
Piggott, who grew up on a dairy farm, launched Halter in 2016 after working as a mechanical engineer at Rocket Lab where Beck encouraged him to pursue the idea which became Halter.
Halter is now US domiciled but Piggott said he and his management team still hold a “healthy portion” of the company.
Image: Cattle grazing within a Halter electronic “fence”.