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Rize Ag provides a technology platform designed to advance sustainable agricultural practices, with an initial focus on rice cultivation. Its core product equips farmers with tools to comprehensively assess their environmental footprint, specifically their carbon emissions, and to identify actionable strategies for improvement. The platform integrates environmental data analysis with mechanisms to facilitate access to financing for climate-smart farming initiatives.
The company emerged as a strategic joint venture between prominent entities including Temasek, Wavemaker Impact, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and GenZero. This collaboration was driven by the insight that agriculture needs to transition from a net carbon emitter to a carbon sink, recognizing the significant potential for impact within the world's most essential crops. This collective initiative leverages institutional backing to tackle complex environmental challenges in the food system.
Rize Ag primarily serves farmers, empowering them to adopt more sustainable methods and participate in the evolving carbon economy. The company's vision centers on modernizing traditional farming through data-driven solutions, ultimately accelerating the global adoption of climate-resilient agriculture. It aims to transform how food is produced, fostering a more environmentally responsible and sustainable future for the agricultural sector.
Rize ag has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round.
Rize ag has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Rize ag has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $3.0M Seed in December 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2022 | $3M Seed | — | Anthemis Group, Rokk3r Labs | Announced |
Rize ag has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Rize ag's investors include Anthemis Group, Rokk3r Labs.
Rize is an Agri-Tech startup focused on decarbonizing rice cultivation in Southeast Asia by reducing methane emissions and water usage through data-driven sustainable practices.[1][2][3][4] It builds a proprietary Measuring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) technology platform that promotes techniques like Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), Direct Seeding Rice (DSR), and Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM), serving rice farmers, agronomists, financial institutions, and partners in Indonesia and Vietnam.[2][4] The platform solves the dual problems of high greenhouse gas emissions—rice accounts for up to 33% of Southeast Asia's methane—and water-intensive farming by optimizing inputs, boosting yields, enabling carbon credits, and improving farmer profitability through better data for financing.[1][2][4] Rize has raised a $14 million Series A led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, GenZero, Temasek, and Wavemaker Impact, onboarding over 13,700 farmers across 34,000+ hectares and reducing 30,000 tons of emissions.[2][4]
Rize emerged as a joint venture in Singapore between major impact investors Temasek, Wavemaker Impact, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and GenZero, specifically to tackle rice's outsized climate impact in Asia.[1][3][4] While individual founders are not named in available sources, the company's formation leveraged these backers' expertise in climate tech and agriculture, building on regional efforts by organizations, corporates, startups, and academics.[1][3] Early traction came from targeting Indonesia and Vietnam, where rice farming drives significant emissions, with rapid scaling via its MRV platform that verifies sustainable practices for carbon markets.[2][4] A pivotal moment was the $14 million Series A closure, fueling tech advancements and farmer onboarding.[2]
Rize rides the climate tech and regenerative agriculture wave, addressing rice's role as the second-largest agri-food emitter (12% of global methane, rivaling aviation) and 30% of world freshwater use, amid rising carbon markets and net-zero pledges.[2][4] Timing aligns with Southeast Asia's expansion of voluntary carbon credits and investor focus on verifiable decarbonization, where rice hotspots like Indonesia, Vietnam, and future India face water scarcity and climate volatility.[1][2][3] Market forces favoring Rize include falling sensor costs, AI-driven agronomy, and demand from corporates for scoped emissions reductions; it influences the ecosystem by standardizing MRV data, enabling farmer finance, and partnering to turn agriculture into a carbon sink.[1][2][4][5]
Rize's momentum—post-Series A expansion to 20,000+ farmers and 100+ agronomists by late 2024—positions it to dominate rice decarbonization as carbon prices rise and regulations tighten.[2][4] Trends like AI-optimized farming, blended finance, and regional net-zero goals will accelerate adoption, potentially extending to India and beyond while enhancing yields amid climate stress. Its investor pedigree and data moat could evolve Rize into a full ag-stack leader, transforming billions-fed staple crops from emitters to sinks and redefining sustainable food systems.[1][2][3][4] This joint-venture powerhouse exemplifies how targeted tech can align profit, planet, and farmers in Agri-Tech's urgent pivot.
