Easier
communication across the Internet has certainly been a boon for
hobbyists of all kinds, whether for sharing tips, gathering
information or just generally feeling connected to others of
kindred interest. And it has become such a well-worn path that a small
venture funding for new social technology seldom stands out.
A $3.5 million Series A
round for
Plant Sense Inc., on
the other hand, comes with a bit of a twist. The
startup helps gardening enthusiasts to communicate across the
Web not with other hobbyists, but with their very soil. Gabriel
Ventures and a group of independent investors have teamed to back the
San Jose company in promoting a USB device and Internet-based service
that helps gardeners decide where to bed plants by
providing specific diagnoses of what's wrong with particular specimens
and offering advice on new plantings.
The proprietary device is
designed to be stuck in the ground indoors or outdoors to collect data
on soil conditions, moisture, sunlight and other factors over a 24 hour
period, then plugged into a USB port for automatic connection to a Web
portal. Depending on whether a user wants to monitor a
particular plant or get more general advice, the portal then
analyzes data using proprietary algorithms to diagnose a plant's
condition or offers tips on what to plant.
PlantSense
founder Matthew Glenn says he came up with the idea for the company in
the fall of 2005, forming the startup in February 2006. He spent
two years trying to find a reason not to do it, but finally convinced
himself that nobody has offered a similar product before. In designing
the Web service, he says he put together an extensive library of
horticultural information and built multiple algorithms to offer
models based on geographic location and time of year.
"It looks
at a lot of different stuff, adjusting where you live and ambient
weather conditions that day, to model a projection for other time of
year," Glenn says. "About a third of all plants die within a year, and
this is to eliminate some of that frustration."
All of the
company's previous investment has been rolled into the Series A
round, and Gordon says the PlantSense will use the new money
to conduct a paid beta test (it's looking for
volunteers)
and to undertake a commercial launch later this year. It has hired
Pete Janssen, who helped launch the I-Robot Roomba largely through
direct marketing, as vice president of sales and marketing, and Gordon
says PlantSense will experiment with marketing as it tries to land
traditional retail accounts.
-- Clifford Carlsen
See June 16 press release from PlantSense
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Very exciting and interesting piece of technology. I can't wait for it to be introduced. I really want to give this a whirl.