German speciality chemicals company Evonik has taken a minority stake in UK farm technology start-up OPTIfarm, which is developing remote poultry house monitoring systems to maintain animal welfare and help farmers achieve their targets. “We can customize our work easily as we use humans and software combined to collate the information required by our clients. The deal will see the two companies work together on new products for use by farmers, including an app that allows them to monitor their flocks from anywhere using mobile phones or tablets. The UK firm has advanced the digitalisation of chicken farming, the German firm said, adding the deal will bolster Evonik’s animal nutrition operations. Evonik, which recently invested in Dutch chicken farming biotechnology start-up Ovo, says it plans to spend €100m ($114m) backing innovative technologies and specialised funds through its venture capital unit.
German speciality chemicals company Evonik has taken a minority stake in UK farm technology start-up OPTIfarm, which is developing remote poultry house monitoring systems to maintain animal welfare and help farmers achieve their targets. The deal will see the two companies work together on new products for use by farmers, including an app that allows them to monitor their flocks from anywhere using mobile phones or tablets. The UK firm has advanced the digitalisation of chicken farming, the German firm said, adding the deal will bolster Evonik’s animal nutrition operations. Evonik, which recently invested in Dutch chicken farming biotechnology start-up Ovo, says it plans to spend €100m ($114m) backing innovative technologies and specialised funds through its venture capital unit.