An Edina-based irrigation startup that makes robotic sprinklers has raised $15 million in seed funding.
Irrigreen’s equity financing round, its first funding to date, was led by Silicon Valley-based venture fund Ulu Ventures, according to the announcement made this week. Other participating investors included Anorak Ventures, Burnt Island Ventures, Echo River Capital, MFV Partners, Tamiami, and Sagehill Partners and others left unnamed.
The funds will be used to further develop its product and software as well as boost its marketing, CEO Shane Dyer said in an interview.
Founded in 2009, Irrigreen has developed a patented robotic sprinkler system that “prints” water in the exact shape and contour of a homeowner’s lawn, the company says. On its platform, the company allows homeowners to map their own sprinkler system for their landscaping and see their estimated water savings.
Homeowners use about 50% less water with Irrigreen’s system compared to traditional methods, the company says. This means homeowners also save about 50% on outdoor water bills annually.
Each digital sprinkler head replaces about six-to-10 conventional mechanical heads. The sprinkler heads are configured with the Irrigreen app. It also matches location-based precipitation needs based on live integrations with weather data, the company says.
So far, the company’s sprinklers have sold into over 46 states, including Minnesota, Dyer said.
The company’s manufacturing facility is located in Edina along with an office, he said. A majority of the company’s employees, which total about 25, are based in Minnesota, but most of its executive team is based in a Silicon Valley office, including Dyer himself, the CEO said.
Irrigreen’s concept came from founder and former-CEO Gary Klinefelter’s experience in commercial printing, according to a 2015 Business Journal report on the company when it won a Eureka! Award. Klinefelter is still with the company as chief technology officer, according to his LinkedIn page.
“Printers don’t shoot ink haphazardly all over a page. They spray just the right amount of ink in controlled patterns,” Klinefelter said at the time. “I wondered why irrigation systems couldn’t spray water with that kind of precision.”
The company has grown its revenue between two-to-four times every year for the last three years, Dyer said.
