Agtech trends: bundling, unbundling, LLMs and more with Shane Thomas and Matthew Pryor

‘Bundling’ is a well-known business strategy, especially in tech, where it’s not only used to increase sales and move slow-selling products, but also to tie customers into an ecosystem (such as Apple or Microsoft).

So what about all the unbundling that’s been happening in agtech recently? While historically we’ve seen seed companies offer bundled options, such as seeds, crop management, and data products, there is now a trend towards ‘unbundling’ in agriculture. This is exemplified by Corteva’s recent decision to unbundle its seed and crop protection divisions into two publicly traded companies. Similarly, Farmers Business Network(FBN) has also spun off its global crop solutions business from its digital marketplace.

In this episode, Sarah Nolet unpacks the bundling/unbundling dilemma in agtech with Shane Thomas, founder of Upstream Ag Insights and Matthew Pryor, Founding Partner at Tenacious Ventures. They discuss:

• The strategic impacts of unbundling for companies such as FBN and Corteva, as well as the broader impacts on farmers and markets.
• The market dynamics that encourage companies to bundle or unbundle.
• How Large Language Models (LLMs) are being used in agtech, including Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and other AI frameworks.
• Shane Thomas’ new AskUpstream AI tool.
• Recent acquisitions in agtech, such as the Growers Edge acquisition of FarmTest

Useful Links:

• What Corteva’s Seed and Chemical Split Could Mean For Your Farm, Successful Farming
• Growers Edge Acquires FarmTest, Growers Edge
• Farmers Business Network the latest to spin off company, following Corteva, Kraft Heinz, AgFunderNews
• DTN acquires Grain Discovery, DTN
• AlphaEarth, Google DeepMind
• Kraft Heinz to split a decade after merger in a bid to revive growth, The Guardian

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The information in this post is not investment advice or a recommendation to invest. It is general information only and does not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making an investment decision you should seek financial advice from a professional financial adviser. Whilst we believe the information is correct, we provide no warranty of accuracy, reliability or completeness.