When I meet Chase Crandall, he’s putting up a barbed wire fence.
Even on Zoom, the Wyoming sky is clearly in the background, with an expanse of ranch land stretching out into the distance. Crandall is a sixth-generation rancher, who’s tending to land that was originally settled by his ancestors in the 1850s—but is thinking proactively about technology in 2025.
“Typically, ranchers are fairly cheap and careful about spending money,” said Crandall. “And we try to be the same. We try to be as low-cost and run as efficiently as possible.”
Farming has historically been technologically-forward, from the invention of the plow in ancient Mesopotamia to the implementation of the mechanical reaper in the Industrial Revolution. So, Ambrook—the accounting software startup that Crandall uses and the reason we’re talking—is part of a long tradition of farming-focused tech. Ambrook was built expressly with American agriculture and industry in mind, filling a gap that existing software like QuickBooks leaves on the table, said Mackenzie Burnett, CEO and cofounder at Ambrook.
“Farms are in this delta where they are unusually complex for their size and revenue profile,” said Burnett, whose parents are both plant health specialists at the USDA. “The mom and pop shops are generally doing pretty thin margins, and they are running on software that’s built for less complex businesses. They tend to be what we kind of call multi-P&L, dealing with multiple revenue lines. Oftentimes a lot of farms have to vertically integrate in order to just make the margin profiles work.”
Founded in 2021, Ambrook has raised a $26.1 million Series A, Fortune has exclusively learned. Thrive Capital and Figma’s Dylan Field (via Field Ventures) led the round, with participation from existing investor Homebrew. BoxGroup, Designer Fund, Mischief, and Not Boring are among Ambrook’s new investors in this round, bringing the company’s total funding to $29 million. Farming is complex, Burnett says, because inventory (like livestock) has a literal lifecycle—it is born, grows, and dies.
“Most folks in tech have an idea of how complex a factory floor is in manufacturing,” said Burnett. “But farming involves biological factors, in the sense you have inventory that is born, grows and dies. That is a huge complication, and understanding how to manage that isn’t something that QuickBooks—or even a lot of SaaS software—is built for. It’s built with a different kind of professional in mind.”
Ambrook’s rise comes at a “challenging” time for farming in America, one that’s trending towards seeing “fewer farmers who are larger, more sophisticated, more specialized, and more consolidated,” said Jonathan Coppess, former administrator of the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.
“Farming, like the rest of the economy, is facing real uncertainty around technological advancements,” Coppess wrote to Fortune via email. “What will be the impact of artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, etc.? Add to that the political and geopolitical uncertainties (from tariff conflicts to wars) and those of climate change. The risks and uncertainties are magnifying in real time, making it very difficult to make any predictions, or to have confidence that trends of the past are indicative of the future.”
So, what does it take to keep a family farm a thriving business? Generational planning, for one—Calvin Crandall, the ranching family’s patriarch, placed the land in a perpetual trust a few years ago, ensuring the land would stay together (and, by extension, a viable business) across future generations. Efficiency and margins matter, especially when it comes to tracking inventory that grazes, gives birth, and dies.
“What Ambrook solves for me is time management,” said Chase. “Everything’s live, and I don’t have to manually update anything. Our margins matter, because there’s so much you can’t control. Can’t control the cattle market, which can get crazy and sometimes you just have to take the price you can.”
How many cows do the Crandalls have anyway? Calvin drives by while Chase and I are on a Zoom, and stops to chat. I ask. The two tell me with mirth and kindness that the question is quite a faux pas.
“That’s like me asking you ‘how much money do you have in your bank account right now?’” Chase laughs.
His dad jumps in: “You’ve got some money in your bank account, and we’ve got some cows on our land!”
See you tomorrow,
Allie Garfinkle
X: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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Venture Deals
- Cato Networks, a Tel Aviv-based Secure Access Service Edge company, raised $359 million in Series G funding at a $4.8 billion valuation. Vitruvian Partners and ION Crossover Partners led the round and were joined by existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Acrew Capital, and Adams Street Partners.
- Levelpath, a San Francisco-based AI-native procurement platform, raised $55 million in Series B funding. Battery Ventures led the round and was joined by Redpoint Ventures, Benchmark, 01A, and others.
- Campfire, a San Francisco-based AI-native enterprise resource planning software provider, raised $35 million in Series C funding. Accel led the round and was joined by Foundation Capital, Y Combinator, Capital 49, and angel investors.
- CRED, a San Francisco-based AI-powered predictive intelligence software company, raised $15 million in seed funding. defy.vc led the round and was joined by HOF Capital, Alumni Ventures, LDV Partners, and others.
- Circulate Health, a Seattle-based longevity technologies developer, raised $12 million in seed funding. Khosla Ventures led the round and was joined by Seaside Ventures and CSC Ventures.
- Aircon, a Dallas-based air cargo technology company, raised $5 million in seed funding from Blumberg Capital and Las Olas VC.
- Datagram, a Tortola, British Virgin Islands-based DePIN baselayer, raised $4 million in pre-seed funding. Blizzard the Avalanche Fund led the round and was joined by Animoca Brands, Cointelegraph, Amber Group, angel investors, and others.
- Woodchuck, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based AI-powered waste-to-energy technology company, raised $3.8 million in seed funding. Mason Fink led the round and was joined by NorthStar Clean Energy, Alloy Partners, and Beckett Industries.
- Monit, a Jakarta, Indonesia-based business spend management platform, raised $2.5 million in funding. Cento Ventures led the round and was joined by Sansan and existing investors 1982 Ventures and Init 6.
Private Equity
- Stonepeak acquired Forgital Group, a Velo d’Astico, Italy-based rolled rings developer for the aerospace and industrial markets, from Carlyle for an enterprise value of €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion).
- Brightstar Capital Partners acquired PlayAGS, a Las Vegas-based gaming supplier for casinos and digital gaming, for approximately $1.1 billion.
- Advent International agreed to acquire a majority stake in LayerZero Power Systems, an Aurora, Ohio-based power management products provider for data centers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Altimetrik, backed by TPG, agreed to acquire SLK Software, a Bangalore, India-based AI, intelligence automation, and analytics solutions provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- CenterOak Partners completed a majority recapitalization of NOW CFO, a Salt Lake City-based outsourced finance and accounting services provider for small and medium-sized businesses. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Mill Point Capital acquired SS8 Networks, a Milpitas, Calif.-based intelligence solutions provider for law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and emergency services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- NPM Capital agreed to acquire a majority stake in Elbfrost, a Marl, Germany-based food distribution company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Stellex Capital Management agreed to acquire the air and noise filtration technology business of Dürr Group, a Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany-based mechanical and plant engineering firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- WebPros, a portfolio company of CVC, acquired Comet Backup, a Christchurch, New Zealand-based backup and storage solutions provider for managed service providers and IT teams. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Exits
- AbbVie agreed to acquire Capstan Therapeutics, a San Diego-based in vivo RNA technology biotech, for $2.1 billion in cash. Capstan Therapeutics previously raised approximately $340 million in venture funding from investors including RA Capital Management, Forbion, JJDC, and others.
- Parker Hannifin agreed to acquire Curtis Instruments, a Mount Kisco, N.Y.-based motor control, battery management, and vehicle instrumentation technology company, from Rehlko, a portfolio company of Platinum Equity, for approximately $1 billion in cash.
- LevelBlue, backed by WillJam Ventures and AT&T, agreed to acquire Trustwave, a Chicago-based cybersecurity and managed detection and response services provider, from the MC2 Security Fund. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Other
- Concentric AI acquired Swift Security, a Fremont, Calif.-based security solutions provider for GenAI, and Acante, a Palo Alto-based data security company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Doddle, a subsidiary of Blue Yonder, acquired the remaining 51% stake in Inmar Post-Purchase Solutions, a FedEx Easy Returns support provider. Doddle previously owned a 49% stake in the company, which is now renamed Blue Yonder Reverse Retail Operations. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Edward Jones agreed to acquire the overlay management services capabilities of Natixis Investment Managers, a Boston-based asset management firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
IPOs
- Accelerant Holdings, a Cayman Islands-based insurance marketplace, filed to go public on the NYSE. The company posted $653 million in revenue for the year ending March 31, 2025. Altamont Capital Partners and Todd Boehly back the company.
Funds + Funds of Funds
- Recognize Partners, a New York City-based private equity firm, raised $1.7 billion for its second fund focused on digital services.
People
- IVP, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture capital firm, added Helen Clement as a partner and head of capital formation, added Jimena Nowack as a partner, and promoted Shreyas Garg to partner. Previously, Clement was at Wellington Management and Nowack was at Dawn Capital.
