Best Crop Tech Companies in Illinois, United States
The 96 best Crop Tech companies in Illinois, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Chromatin.
Our analysis of 50 Crop Tech companies
$5.7b in tracked funding; 93% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Crop Tech companies in Illinois
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Employees | Founder | Tech stack | Stage | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chromatin Developer of plant breeding technologies for resilient and productive agri-food systems | $122M | 108 mo ago | 92 | Mich Hein CEO | — | Series F | 90 patents Engineering crop herbicide tolerance and synthetic minichromosomes via ACC mutations and centromere manipulation | — |
| 2 | Hazel Technologies AgTech solutions extending produce shelf life, reducing waste, and increasing profitability 50Funding top 20%Growth top 26%Moat top 26%Product top 46% All 10 signals ▾Fundingtop 20% Growthtop 26% Moattop 26% Producttop 46% Techtop 50% Patentsbottom 44% Globalbottom 42% Innovationbottom 41% Marketbottom 38% Newsbottom 32% Funding: Raised $98.6M across 13 rounds · 13 rounds over 10 yrs (1.3/yr) Growth: Headcount 26 → 56 (+115%) across vintages · Web rank 10,000,000 → 50,000,000 YoY rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 50/100 | $99M | 20 mo ago | 56 56 → 36 (-36%) | — | WebflowApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+24 | Acquired | 8 patents Controlled-release agrochemical and antimicrobial delivery formulations | — |
| 3 | Orchard Provider of AI-powered systems for data collection and farm management 48Talent top 28%Funding top 29%AI top 45%Global bottom 48% All 6 signals ▾Talenttop 28% Fundingtop 29% AItop 45% Globalbottom 48% Techbottom 36% Marketbottom 35% Talent: 3 named leaders on record · 3 C-suite/founder profiles curated Funding: Raised $25.9M across 3 rounds · 3 rounds over 8 yrs (0.4/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 48/100 | $26M | 9 mo ago | — | Donald Hruska Co-Founder | WebflowjQueryHSTS+7 | Series A | — | — |
| 4 | Leaf Trade A wholesale cannabis marketplace platform | $23M | 50 mo ago | 52 | Steve Weisman Co-Founder & Chairman | WordPressMySQLPHP+23 | Acquired | — | — |
| 5 | Sabanto Provider of farming and agricultural services | $21M | 43 mo ago | 44 | Craig Rupp Founder/CEO/Farmer | WordPress Block EditorElementorWordPress+37 | Series A | 12 patents Precision agriculture vehicle control, path planning, and operational efficiency systems. | 1 partnership |
| 6 | Rise Gardens Developer of indoor plant & flower growing systems | $19M | 35 mo ago | 21 | Hank Adams CEO | Cart FunctionalityShopifyApple iCloud Mail+27 | Series A | 15 patents Modular hydroponic systems for nutrient delivery, plant support, and removable grow structures. | — |
| 7 | Tillable Online platform for agriculture lands | $15M | 47 mo ago | 29 | — | — | Series A | — | — |
| 8 | Agrible Provider of predictive agronomic analytics and sustainability solutions for growers | $14M | 105 mo ago | 52 | Bill Northcott Co-Founder & CIO | — | Acquired | — | — |
| 9 | The Bettering Company Online platform offering cannabis-infused gummies | $11M | 24 mo ago | 10 | Mark Cozzi Founder and CEO | ProcessWirePleskPHP+13 | Series A | — | 1 job opening |
| 10 | HabiTerre Provider of field-scale data insights for sustainable agriculture and related sectors | $10M | 22 mo ago | 14 | — | — | Series A | — | — |
| 11 | ever.ag Platform offering multi-category tech-enabled services for agriculture industry | $7M | 17 mo ago | 475 | Brian Rice Founder | WordPress Block EditorWordPressApple iCloud Mail+41 | Acquired | — | — |
| 12 | 640 Labs Digital farming solutions to maximize results with data-driven insights and innovative tech | $6M | 140 mo ago | 153 | — | — | Acquired | — | — |
| 13 | MyAgData Cloud-based application for automating the data collection and reporting process | $6M | 94 mo ago | 11 | Deb Casurella CEO | WordPressMySQLPHP+23 | Seed | — | 1 internship · 2 partnerships |
| 14 | Modern Sprout Indoor gardening products for growing | $5M | 27 mo ago | 20 | Sarah Burrows Co-Founder | Cart FunctionalityShopifySentry+42 | Funding Raised | — | — |
| 15 | CommonGround Offers a marketplace for buying, selling, and leasing farmlands | $4M | 41 mo ago | 33 | Chris Baumann Co-Founder & CEO | SentryNode.jsFirebase+30 | Seed | — | — |
| 16 | FarmedHere Vertical indoor Farm | $3M | 131 mo ago | 14 | — | — | Deadpooled | — | — |
| 17 | Cocoa Corp Manufacturer of compost-based fertilizer from organic residuals | $3M | 105 mo ago | 1 | — | — | Seed | — | — |
| 18 | Amber Agriculture Provider of mechanical, electrical, and digital construction services | $2M | 70 mo ago | 1 | — | Webflow EcommerceWebflowStripe+24 | Series A | — | — |
| 19 | Global Neighbor Developer of electric weed-treatment tools using directed energy (DE) | $2M | 21 mo ago | 8 | — | — | Seed | 28 patents Light-based seed programming and mechanized planting systems for agricultural productivity | — |
| 20 | EarthSense Online platform for processing images to assess crop health | $1M | 72 mo ago | 44 | — | Squarespace CommerceSquarespaceTypeScript+17 | Seed | 21 patents Autonomous field robots for precision agriculture: crop monitoring, navigation, and treatment automation. | — |
| 21 | PlantLink Lawn care experts providing fertilizers, seeds, and sustainable lawn solutions | $848K | 131 mo ago | 4 | Mercedes Mane CEO & President | — | Acquired | — | — |
| 22 | Earnest Converting agricultural waste into sustainable soil products | $350K | 30 mo ago | 6 | Eddy Mejia Founder | — | Seed | — | — |
| 23 | Seasonal Roots Online marketplace to purchase fruits and vegetables | $350K | 117 mo ago | 31 | Duane Slyder Founder & CEO | WordPressMySQLPHP+19 | Seed | — | — |
| 24 | Ag-Sensus Developer of near-real-time remote sensing system for agriculture data management | $300K | 125 mo ago | — | Lei Tian Founder | — | Funding Raised | 2 patents Magnetic flow measurement devices for liquid monitoring and control | — |
| 25 | Digital Dipstick Manufacturer and supplier of Fitbit for tractors | $225K | 96 mo ago | — | Allan Dikeman Co-Founder | — | Deadpooled | — | — |
| 26 | Soil Diagnostics Provider of soil analysis and precision agriculture tools for optimizing crop yields | $150K | 125 mo ago | — | Kaustubh Bhalerao President and CEO | — | Funding Raised | — | — |
| 27 | Lotic Labs Financial risk assessment solutions provider | $100K | 82 mo ago | 4 | Matthew Marshall Co-Founder | — | Seed | 4 patents Wearable health data capture devices and ML-driven personal wellness analytics platform. | — |
Top 12 Crop Tech companies in Illinois
#1
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2017$25.9Mraised▾
Provider of AI-powered systems for data collection and farm management. The company offers a camera system that mounts to farm vehicles. It provides data for crops on trees, vines, or plants. The company also provides a system to house farm data. A software suite allows users to view data and direct management.
- Sep 2025Series A$22M
- Mar 2024Seed$3.8M
- 2018Seed$120K
#2
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2015 · 56 employees$98.6Mraised▾
AgTech solutions extending produce shelf life, reducing waste, and increasing profitability. The company develops innovative solutions for the produce supply chain, increasing efficiency and extending the quality of fruits and vegetables. Their technologies actively target the natural forces that accelerate produce spoilage, regulating environmental conditions to slow respiration and enhance defense against gases and fungi. This ensures fruits and vegetables stay fresher through storage, transit, and on the shelf. They offer solutions for growers, packers, shippers, retailers, and food service companies, helping them to reduce risk, maximize quality, and maintain a competitive edge. Their products are easy to use and integrate into existing supply chains, without requiring additional machinery or training. They are committed to unbiased academic review and maintain partnerships with leading research institutions. They offer solutions for a variety of crops and operate on a global scale, with teams stationed across the U.S., South America, and Europe. They are focused on reducing food waste and giving growers and buyers a new sense of confidence in complex global supply chains.
- Oct 2024Series C$8.2M
- Nov 2023Series C$11.5M
- Jan 2022Series C—
- Sep 2021Grant (prize money)$600K
#3
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2002 · 475 employees$7Mraised▾
Platform offering multi-category tech-enabled services for agriculture industry. It offers a commodity trade and risk Management software solution for dairy farmers, grain producers, commercial and professional traders. It also offers brokerage services, offering comprehensive solutions for the dairy, livestock, and grain value chains.
- Jan 2025Grant (prize money)$7M
#4
Series A · Champaign, Illinois · founded 2020 · 14 employees$10.1Mraised▾
Provider of field-scale data insights for sustainable agriculture and related sectors. The company offers tools for measuring and analyzing environmental impacts, crop performance, and resource use efficiency. It utilizes remote sensing, process models, and artificial intelligence to evaluate cropland performance. The company’s insights support decision-making related to land, nutrient, and water use.
- Jul 2024Series A$10.1M
- Nov 2022Grant (prize money)$75K
- Jul 2021Grant (prize money)$106.5K
- Dec 2020Grant (prize money)$256K
#5
Seed · Ohio, Illinois · founded 2003 · 8 employees$1.5Mraised▾
Developer of electric weed-treatment tools using directed energy (DE). They use patented DE weed-control technology by applying a high density of light for a short duration to kill weed seeds, seedlings, and plants. The light wavelengths penetrate deeply into the plant and its root crown to disrupt plant growth mechanisms. Other wavelengths explode chloroplasts to disrupt a plant’s ability to perform photosynthesis.
- Sep 2024Grant (prize money)$650K
- Jul 2023Grant (prize money)$175K
- Aug 2022Seed$1.5M
- Jan 2022Seed—
#6
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2017 · 10 employees$11Mraised▾
Online platform offering cannabis-infused gummies. Its product offering includes blackberry lemonade, blood orange, fennel fig, hibiscus chamomile thyme, raspberry mandarin, watermelon chili, and more.
- Jun 2024Conventional Debt$250K
- Sep 2023Series A$6.7M
- 2022Seed—
#7
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2019 · 21 employees$18.9Mraised▾
Developer of indoor plant & flower growing systems
- Jul 2023Series A$6.9M
- Jul 2021Series A$9.3M
- Oct 2020Seed—
- May 2020Seed$2.6M
#8
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2013 · 20 employees$5Mraised▾
Indoor gardening products for growing. It is an Illinois-based design shop that offers indoor gardening products for growing, including hydroponic kits and grow lights.
- Feb 2024Conventional Debt$5M
#9
Series F · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2001 · 92 employees$121.7Mraised▾
Developer of plant breeding technologies for resilient and productive agri-food systems. The company focuses on developing enhanced varieties and agricultural technologies. These technologies help farmers cultivate more robust and nutritious crops. It also promotes new crop and soil management technologies. The aim is to increase yields, improve production efficiency, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. The company collaborates with researchers and universities.
- May 2017Series F$13.7M
- Jan 2015Series F$12M
- Jul 2014Conventional Debt$12.5M
- Jan 2014Series E$36M
#10
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2018 · 44 employees$21Mraised▾
Provider of farming and agricultural services
- Nov 2022Series A—
- Aug 2022Series A$17M
- Jun 2022Series A$4M
#11
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2015 · 52 employees$22.6Mraised▾
A wholesale cannabis marketplace platform. It streamlines ordering, fulfillment, payments, and inventory management for cultivators, distributors, and retailers in regulated markets.
- Apr 2022Series B$12.5M
- Mar 2021Series A$5.5M
- Nov 2019Series A$4.6M
#12
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2017 · 29 employees$15.3Mraised▾
Online platform for agriculture lands. It provides a marketplace connecting landowners and farmers which allows landowners to provide agricultural land on lease, rent, or sell to farmers for cultivation purposes.
- Jul 2022Series A$7M
- Jun 2019Series A—
- Feb 2019Series A$8.2M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Crop Tech coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Precision Agriculture in Illinois is moving
A read on the academic research around Precision Agriculture in Illinois — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 75 papers.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Southern Illinois University lead Illinois's optimistic precision-agriculture research, dominated by AI-driven smart agriculture and remote sensing for crop and soil optimization.
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign61
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale7
- Illinois Department of Natural Resources3
- Illinois State University2
- Illinois Institute of Technology2
- Crop6
- Crop yield6
- Ground truth5
- Production (economics)4
- Crop diversity4
- Field (mathematics)5
- Hyperspectral imaging5
- Remote sensing4
- Agricultural engineering4
- Convolutional neural network4
- Agricultural engineering3
- Sustainability2
- Food security2
- Agroecology1
- Sustainable agriculture1
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.