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Green labsSeoul-based agritech startup raises $38.4 million (50 billion won) in debt financing from existing investors BRV Capital Management And Skylake Inc. The new funding comes a month after the startup laid off 70% of its workforce, or 350 people, as part of a restructuring in February.
Sangon Shin, CEO of GreenLabs, said in an interview with TechCrush that it currently has 150 employees and that the company’s SG&A has decreased by 80% compared to the end of 2022.
The startup has built smart farming software and hardware for farmers to digitize the agricultural value chain from crop to distribution. Shin uses the company’s ‘Farm Morning’ app to aggregate farm data, then use artificial intelligence to provide insights into crop life cycles, and tell me about a network where farmers can connect and share insights.
Currently, 900,000 farmers in South Korea use the app, a figure that has tripled in the past 12 months since its launch in 2021. It also operates a B2B marketplace, Sinsun Market, and is interested in becoming a LinkedIn for farmers, Shin added.
Green Labs, which raised $140 million in Series C in January 2022, ran out of money as it overstretched its expansion, TechCrunch reported last month. At this point, Shin told me what had happened to the company and how he planned to rebuild it. The main reason was the new service. Accounts receivable factoringAlso known as invoice discounting. Green Labs buys agricultural products from farmers and sells advanced invoices to buyers/B2B partners. In other words, the startup pays farmers and buyers early and receives money from them late. According to Shin, it has thousands of B2B partners.
The problem was caused by the collapse of South Korea’s bond market in the middle of last year. Default theme park Legoland. As market volatility increased, financial institutions began to suspend accounts receivable financing.
Green Labs used to borrow cash with credit sales, but lender LotteCard suspended its factory financing late last year. And the startup had to pay off several loans at once. GreenLabs had to go through restructuring and layoffs.
Shin, the company in 2010 It says it expects sales of nearly $77 million by 2021 and more than $230 million by 2023.
The new money will be used to promote the Farm Morning app and expand its business in South Korea and Japan, Shin said. Green Labs has 300,000 users in Japan since launching there late last year. When asked about its invoice discounting service, Shin said Green Labs will continue to act as an intermediary for farmers and buyers, but will manage the business in a more conservative manner.
Its international counterparts include DeHart and the Farmers Business Network.
After the last round of funding, the company’s two investors, BRV Capital Management and Skylake, are the largest shareholders of GreenLabs, while other investors, including SK Square and Shin, own the rest.
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