The pandemic accelerated digitalization — and agribusiness was no different. And seemingly distant worlds, such as agriculture and technology, must walk together. This is the bet of Auravant, a digital tool that allows you to easily analyze all agronomic information, to obtain a more efficient and sustainable yield, which has grown 150% since 2020. Created 6 years ago in Argentina and already present in more than 80 countries, Auravant agtech has had a physical presence in Brazil for just over 6 months.
After two initial contributions, the startup began its global expansion in Spain, to work with intensive crops. Two new investments and the company now expands its presence in Latin America, with an eye on the Brazilian market, the fourth largest grain producer in the world. The focus is on user experience and integrated digital solutions for small producers and large agricultural companies.
“We believe that it is possible to be efficient and sustainable, with easy-to-use digital technology,” explains CEO and founder, Leandro Sabignoso, who leads the team directly from Madrid, the Spanish capital.
Using multiple data sources (satellite images, drones, weather and yield maps), the tool generates different layers of information that allow determining the appropriate dosage of inputs at each point in the field. The objective is to save time, money and reduce environmental impact, with greater productivity and traceability. “We want to be the agricultural operating system” declares the CEO, who projects revenue of 2022 million euros for 2,5.
Currently, Auravant has around 45 thousand users in more than 80 countries — including Brazil — and more than 9 million hectares of monitored intensive and extensive plantations. With initial offer freemium, the platform wants to democratize and bring technology closer to agronomic consultants and rural producers. More than that: now, with the local office, the company wants to be closer to Brazilian customers — as it is an open platform, it already had users in the country.
The general director for Brazil, Sabrina Muñoz, explains that the team in the country — which currently has five professionals — should increase to 20, with decentralized services in producing regions such as the South, Southeast and Center-West. Auravant has also participated in meetings with Embrapa and sector entities, in addition to being part of the AgTech Garage, an agribusiness hub.
Made up mostly of technology specialists, Auravant's mission is to carry out highly complex processes in a simple way. And digitalization in agriculture involves several sectors of the production chain, from services, such as enhancing agronomic knowledge; inputs, as a loyalty tool, revenue generation and product development; dealerships, to expand technical support; and food companies, for traceability.
In addition to developing personalized functionalities for each need and business model, Auravant allows companies to have their own corporate environment, in order to easily access BI (business intelligence), better understand customers and make the best decisions. These are solutions white label that allow companies to digitize their businesses.
To become the operating system for agribusiness, the company believes in integrating the platform with other systems, from on-board computers for agricultural machines from different brands to grain storage control software. To achieve this, the solution goes through a constant process of updating and development by the platform's team of engineers and specialists.
“We believe in integration as a tool for growth and support for our users who can find all the information in one place, simplifying complex routines and processes. And our ‘extensions marketplace’ reinforces this concept,” explains Sabrina Muñoz.
The name came from the founders' idea of selling drones for aerial images: aura, soul, in Spanish, and efore, acronym for unmanned aerial vehicle. The focus on solutions for agribusiness came later. “It’s a sector that we want to help because it needs it. Furthermore, we have a fit culture, shared values and sacrificial work, a lot of work,” says Sabignoso.
“We understood that we needed to be at the producer’s side and not just provide them with equipment or services”, adds the CEO. Thus, with total focus on the user experience and the understanding that information was the gold for making quick decisions, the company began to translate the data, interpret it and offer it to the consultant, who has agronomic knowledge.
The relevance of data privacy is translated by the presence of a chief data officer (CDO), which takes care of the management and flow of information. Data traceability is in the company’s DNA: “The producer owns the information. He is the one who determines the best way to use them, with great transparency and traceability.” Furthermore, the company defines itself agnostic, that is, it does not recommend a product or quantity, “the user is the one who defines it,” he concludes.
With these values, the platform wants to attract new talent and become an employer company. She looks to the future and plans to climb to become a unicorn in the coming years. “This paradigm shift of integrating with all systems, in addition to personalization, empowerment and traceability of information are what sets us apart,” concludes the CEO of Auravant.
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AgTechs Auravant and Biome4all begin an unprecedented partnership in Brazil through a tool, now available to Brazilian users, which will combine satellite images and biotechnology
