THE INNOVATORS
How Acquisitions and Partnerships Are Growing CropX’s Business
One of CropX’s soil probes.
I
srael-based ag tech firm CropX has made waves with its do-it-yourself soil sensors and cloud-based software system. Because its sensors can be easily installed by end users without technician help, CropX’s business boomed in 2020 despite the travel restrictions and social distancing requirements of the COVID‑19 pandemic. That year, CropX also acquired U.S. firm CropMetrics and New Zealand–based ReGen and announced a major partnership with irrigation equipment manufacturer Reinke. In this interview, CropX CEO Tomer Tzach tells Irrigation Leader about his company’s recent advances and prospects for the future. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position at CropX.
38 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021
irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CROPX.
Tomer Tzach: I was born in Israel but raised in both Israel and the United States. I attended high school in Irvine, California. I then went back to Israel for the military service that is required of all Israeli citizens upon reaching the age of 18. I was fortunate to be accepted at and to graduate from the Israeli Air Force Flight Academy and thereafter served as a transport pilot for the air force until the age of 25. After leaving the air force, I began studying computer science. After almost 4 years of studies, I joined Intel as a software developer and worked there for the next 4 years. During that time, I completed my MBA and shortly thereafter went to work for a venture capital firm for several years, which was quite exciting.
After that, I went back to the operational side. I accepted my first CEO position at a small startup in the internet space. The startup was essentially in distress. We somehow managed to turn it around and, after about a year, sold it to a competing company. It wasn’t a big exit, but it was still a relatively good outcome given the status of the company when I inherited it. Then, I founded my own e-commerce company, which focused mostly on selling diamond jewelry online. I ran that for about 6–7 years, and it grew nicely to the point that I was eventually able to sell the main brand name to a large diamond manufacturer in 2016. At this point, I was approached by a headhunter who led me to the CropX opportunity I am currently involved with. Agriculture is underserved by technology today; there is so much more that could be done to enhance this space. I saw the huge opportunity there and was excited about the fact that CropX specialized in both hardware and software. It was clear that this combination provided an extremely strong competitive advantage. I was also impressed by the company’s investor base. Being a former venture capitalist myself, I know the huge importance a strong board and investor base has for a company’s ultimate success. In hindsight, I made a very good call the day I decided to join the company 4 years ago, at the beginning of 2017. It’s been an amazing ride, and particularly in the last 2 years, things have been going well for us.
