DuPont has made a move to strengthen the agriculture business that will be created after DowDuPont splits into three segments.
The company recently announced it has purchased Granular Inc., a San Francisco-based company that provides software and analytics tools for the farming industry. DuPont said in a statement that the purchase of Granular reflects its efforts to provide a platform for information sharing and commerce among farmers to create a “digitally connected…sustainable agriculture industry.”
One analyst told DelawareOnline that the purchase will improve the competitive advantage for DowDuPont’s newly formed agriculture company.
“When it comes to agriculture technology, it is increasingly becoming a strategic imperative to have a broad offering to help farmers manage every element of their business,” he said.
Granular was launched in 2014 and provides software to manage all of the everyday tasks of farming. It also connects the farmer’s hardware like tractors and drones to collect data.
For now, DuPont will offer Granular services separate from its other agriculture technology platform — Encirca — which uses statistics and analytics to help with decision making on the farm.
The DowDuPont agriculture spinoff, which will likely take shape a few years after the merger closes, is estimated to be worth $16 billion. DuPont purchased Granular for $300 million.