XAG receives investment from Baidu, Softbank
XAG, a Guangzhou-based drone maker focusing on agriculture applications, announced that it received an investment of 1.2 billion yuan (US$181 million) from Baidu and SoftBank, the largest commercial financing to date in China's agri-tech sector.
The investment was led by Baidu Capital and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with other investors such as Sinovation Ventures, Guangzhou Yuexiu Industrial Investment Fund and Guangzhou Emerging Industry Development Fund. The company’s original investor Chengwei Capital has also participated in this round of funding.
Through the investment, XAG will enhance research and development, manufacturing and service capabilities, enrich sales channels and accelerate the construction of digital agricultural infrastructure, Peng Bin, CEO and founder of XAG, said in a statement.
XAG has a global service network covering 42 countries and regions. It has sold agricultural drones to 8 million farmers, serving more than 40 million hectares of farmland.
In 2019, global agriculture technology investment reached US$4.7 billion, up 6.8 percent year on year. The figure will continue growing this year despite the COVID-19 outbreak, analysts said.
