Via Businessweek- "As if we needed any more proof that the Big Data phenomenon is well and truly upon us, Monsanto (MON) has agreed to acquire the Climate Corp. for $930 million. The real stunner of a deal marks one of the largest buys of a new-era data analytics company." "Monsanto played down the insurance business it’s buying by not even mentioning it until the sixth paragraph of a statement announcing the deal. Instead, it portrayed Climate Corp. as a Big Data agriculture whiz. “The Climate Corporation is focused on unlocking new value for the farm through data science,” said Hugh Grant, Monsanto’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Everyone benefits when farmers are able to produce more with fewer resources.” The statement goes on to celebrate the startup for building “the agriculture industry’s most advanced technology platform combining hyper-local weather monitoring, agronomic data modeling, and high-resolution weather simulations to deliver a complete suite of full-season monitoring, analytics and risk-management products.” "The takeaway here seems to be that Monsanto sees Climate Corp. as a data and analytics service arm that will aid farmers in what’s being hailed as the era of Precision Agriculture. Startups have arrived delivering cheap sensors that constantly monitor the moisture and nutrients in soil, while others have started using satellite images to measure the yields of crops. All this information needs to be pulled and analyzed by someone who knows what she’s doing."
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 04:41:49 +0000
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