Agrilyst raises $8 million in Series A funding, changes name to Artemis

Artemis (formerly Agrilyst), a leading enterprise Cultivation Management Platform (CMP), announced it has closed a $8 million Series A funding round co-led by Astanor Ventures and Talis Capital with participation from existing investors New York State’s Empire State Development Fund and iSelect Fund. The company has raised $11.75 million to date and will use the new funding to rapidly scale sales and expand its team across product, engineering, sales and marketing.

In addition to the new funding, the company announced it has changed its name to Artemis as part of its current rebranding initiative, which will include a new website and corporate branding in June.  The company also appointed Dr. Kathleen Merrigan and Charlie O’Donnell to its board of directors.

Merrigan is the former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture under President Obama and is the first Executive Director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University. O’Donnell is the sole Partner and Founder at Brooklyn Bridge Ventures and led the company’s seed round of financing.

“We started Artemis with a mission to help indoor farmers and greenhouse operators better manage their operations,” said Allison Kopf, founder and CEO. “This investment coupled with the guidance and deep expertise of Kathleen and Charlie will take our vision, product, and service to the next level — accelerating our ability to enable enterprise-level horticulture businesses to profit and grow.”

Artemis’ proprietary CMP enables owners and managers of large-scale horticulture facilities to reduce risk, scale operations, ensure compliance, manage workers, and achieve greater efficiency and profitability across the entire supply chain — from cultivation to sales. Artemis’ integrated solution provides a single pane view of operations, allowing users to track workflows, detect and trace food safety issues, and manage facility production and labor costs.

“Technology innovation is rapidly transforming the agriculture sector. Artemis’ approach to using data as a catalyst for growth and risk management provides the company a significant advantage with enterprise-level horticulture operations,” said Kathleen Merrigan, venture partner at Astanor Ventures and new Artemis board member.

“The Artemis team has built an incredible solution that’s already captured the attention of some of the largest farming companies in the world. There is a clear opportunity in the agtech space with these types of innovators. We look forward to being part of Artemis’ next phase of growth as they extend their leadership position in the space,” said Matus Maar, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Talis Capital.

Artemis is a trusted partner to some of the world’s largest farming companies. Since launching in 2015, it has seen strong customer growth with companies worth a collective $5 billion using the platform daily. Artemis has attracted a wide range of users that are foremost interested in the security, compliance, profitability, and potential to expand their operations. The company has also partnered with others in the agtech ecosystem, enabling users to further reduce risk across all areas of their business.

“As someone who first met Allison and learned about Artemis when it was just a concept, it’s been exciting to watch it grow from founding to an award-winning company and product that’s well positioned to play a significant role in the future of food production and safety at a massive scale,” said O'Donnell.