Bayer's COSMOS spins off as independent company, secures millions in funding to embark on a new journey in smart facility agriculture

COSMOS, a smart facility agriculture project incubated within Bayer, provides intelligent and automated management solutions for modern agricultural production systems. Currently, COSMOS has successfully completed its spin-off from Bayer Crop Science and secured millions of dollars in funding from both Bayer and external investment institutions.

Founded in 2020, COSMOS was independently developed by Bayer’s digital agriculture team in the Asia-Pacific region of Crop Science. It has already launched a series of products serving key clients in the region. These products include a workforce management system based on smart wearable devices, autonomous mobile robots and algorithms for predicting crop yields, a full traceability system from harvest to sale, and a system that helps fruit and vegetable growers optimize decision-making in pest control, crop nutrition, irrigation, and other cultivation management practices.

Bayer remains open to various external collaboration or investment models, including new revenue-generating approaches. In fact, this spin-off marks the first time a venture capital (VC) firm has invested in a business spun off from a multinational corporation in the agri-food tech sector. Bayer will continue to evaluate its product portfolio and focus on innovation in the Crop Science field to uncover similar opportunities, delivering more value to customers, shareholders, and new investors.

Jeremy Williams, Head of Bayer’s Climate LLC and Digital Agriculture, stated: "The spin-off of COSMOS enables the project to accelerate its services to more farmers, showcasing our openness to innovative collaborations and our deep commitment to digital agriculture innovation. The fact that a company we built from scratch has secured millions of dollars in external funding at the Pre-A stage is undoubtedly a plus! We are proud of COSMOS’ achievements and look forward to continuing to support its development as a strategic investor and business partner."

Addressing Modern Agriculture’s Most Pressing Challenges Through Digital Solutions

Leveraging its expertise in intelligence, automation, and visualization, COSMOS provides growers with effective and targeted solutions to tackle the most common challenges in farming and operations, such as productivity, scalability, and sustainability.

He Xiaogang, CEO of COSMOS, said: "Today marks a new beginning for COSMOS as an independent company. We are grateful for the support of our investors, especially Bayer. COSMOS is committed to advancing our mission at full speed: driving sustainable agricultural development through technological innovation."

Michael Oates, Asia-Pacific Managing Director of Haygrove, a UK-based facility greenhouse construction and berry farming company, mentioned: "COSMOS has helped Haygrove optimize smart harvest management, traceability, and packaging management at our blueberry farms. We are very satisfied with the products and services provided by the COSMOS team and look forward to more collaborations in the future."

With this funding, COSMOS plans to enhance its innovation capabilities, strengthen global partnerships, and expand its current applications in tomatoes, flowers, and berries to more fruit and vegetable cultivation.

About COSMOS

COSMOS is a company deeply rooted in digital agriculture, focusing on artificial intelligence and robotic automation solutions for modern agricultural production systems. Founded in 2020 as an internal corporate incubation project within Bayer, COSMOS has now spun off as an independent entity, dedicated to revolutionizing food production by optimizing the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural operations. COSMOS is committed to building a more sustainable and secure food supply for the future, with offices or representatives in Singapore, China, and the Netherlands (Wageningen).