Fayetteville startup AcreTrader secures $12 million in Series A funding
by March 11, 2021 8:01 am 2,385 views
Fayetteville brokerage AcreTrader, the online farmland investing platform, said Thursday (March 11) it had raised $12 million in Series A funding.
Jump Capital, a venture capital firm in Chicago, led the round. Narya Capital, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest seed fund and existing investors RZC Investments and Revel Partners also participated. With the latest round, AcreTrader has raised $18 million since its launch in 2019.
AcreTrader provides investors direct access to the highly attractive alternative asset class of farmland. Carter Malloy, a University of Arkansas graduate with a degree in physics, is the founder and CEO.
“Over the last few months, we’ve consistently seen our offering sizes grow while our funding windows shrink, showcasing the fast-growing desire surrounding this resilient asset class,” Malloy said in a statement. “As a company that seeks to support and connect farmers and investors in a way that no one else is, we’re humbled by this monumental growth, and look forward to leveraging these new funds to continue on that trajectory.”
Within the past year, AcreTrader doubled its employee count, closed two rounds of funding (seed and Series A), quadrupled its investor pool, increased the total funds raised on its proprietary real estate investing platform by 12 times, and welcomed investors from 48 states.
The Series A funds will be used to improve overall access, liquidity and transparency to farmland transactions across the nation through improved online tools, data science, marketing, and expansion of AcreTrader’s team of agriculture, finance and technology experts.
AcreTrader also announced two new board members Thursday. Peter Johnson, a partner at Jump Capital, and Kenny Traynom, former COO of Westchester Group, an affiliate of financial planning company Nuveen and the largest global farmland asset manager. Traynom is a University of Arkansas graduate.
“Farmland investing is becoming increasingly sought after in the current macroeconomic environment,” Johnson said. “Jump Capital is proud to lead this investment to help accelerate AcreTrader’s growth and broaden access to this compelling asset class. I’m also looking forward to joining the company’s board of directors to help guide the company as it drives the charge to modernize farmland transactions.”