South Korean AI-driven agricultural IP company ROVERS announced on the 14th that it has raised approximately USD 1.4 million (KRW 2 billion) in a Pre-Series A funding round. Korea Investment Accelerator led the round with a follow-on investment of USD 360,000 (KRW 500 million), strengthening its strategic partnership with the company. Other participants included KB Securities, the Agricultural Policy Insurance & Finance Service, KDB Nextone Fund, Antler Korea, Andis Partners, and CNTTech.

ROVERS is building a data-driven platform that integrates the entire process of discovering, trading, and commercializing seed IP. Through its proprietary solution, Genix, the company accelerates global commercialization by over 50% compared to conventional methods. By leveraging more than 410,000 global variety data points, ROVERS precisely matches crops with buyers based on growing conditions and market demand, supporting commercialization from contracting and quarantine to distribution.

The company is also developing an AI-based breeding prediction solution in-house. It plans to expand its AI breeding infrastructure by enabling customized variety development and building a royalty-based business model. This effort aims to eliminate bottlenecks in traditional breeding cycles, which often take several years, and serves as a key technology behind ROVERS’s vision of becoming the “Palantir of agriculture.”

ROVERS is currently commercializing in three countries: the United States, Mexico, and Japan. In North America, the company is actively launching an integrated value chain project involving contract cultivation and distribution of around 200 varieties, including Korean rice. This effort has generated approximately USD 1.8 million (KRW 2.6 billion) in revenue during the first half of this year. With the new investment, ROVERS plans to focus on securing core variety IP, advancing its AI breeding solution, expanding global PoC projects, and strengthening its talent acquisition.

Joo Yeon-woo, Investment Manager at Korea Investment Accelerator, who led the round, commented, “ROVERS is transforming the seed sector within the agricultural value chain by dramatically accelerating the commercialization of variety IP. Its AI-based breeding prediction solution and global seed IP data infrastructure are especially promising, offering a strong foundation for reducing uncertainty and redefining productivity in new variety development.”

Changjun Park, CEO of ROVERS, added, “This investment will allow us to focus on the global commercialization of strategic seed IP, further develop our proprietary breeding technologies, and internalize key varieties. As an agricultural IP company tackling inefficiencies in the seed industry, our goal is to more quickly and accurately shape the future of agriculture and drive innovation across the sector.”