Vence raises $12m to enable rotational grazing with virtual electric fences

“We are focusing on cattle right now, but we think this has some broader application in other spaces.” The San Diego-based company today announced it has raised $12 million in a Series A round led by California’s Tyche Partners. Another existing investor joining this round was Rabobank‘s Rabo Food & Ag Innovation Fund, which had first been introduced to the Vence team when it graduated from startup acceleration platform FoodBytes! “There’s so much focus on meat alternatives that when we met with folks who had a real holistic view of regenerative agriculture and cattle being part of the solution, what we do clicked right away,” Wooten says of Vence’s investor stable. “In really large pastures, like what we find in Montana and northern Australia, it is a two-year battery life.” Over time, Vence sees opportunity in expanding the utility of the collars, “eventually looking at fertility, health, and welfare on each animal,” he adds. Other startups trying to provide farmers with virtual fencing solutions include Australia’s Agersens, which secured $15 million funding from New Zealand farm equipment maker Gallagher in 2019.