Agrifood firm Stable closes $60m Series B funding round

FinTech startup Stable has secured a $60 million Series B investment.

The round was led by Acrew with Greycroft, Notion Capital, Syngenta and Continental Grain Company also participating. Acrew’s Vishal Lugani will join Stable’s Board of Directors.

Covid and the war in Ukraine are causing supply chain disruptions around the world, casting the agrifood industry into uncharted waters.

44% of the world's supply of Wheat, Sunflower and Rye comes from Ukraine, which is causing a huge secondary wave of volatility across the industry and is threatening the survival of many critical parts of the supply chain.

Stable uses data science to manage risk against price rises.

Clients customise a contract to insure themselves against volatile prices and payouts are automated. Most businesses are shut out of ‘hedging’ because it is too expensive or inaccessible, but this democratises it, Stable claims.

“Over the last two years, no business has been spared from the uncertainty that stems from volatile commodity prices,” says Vishal Lugani, General Partner and Co-Founder at Acrew Capital.

“Any savvy business leader that is affected by commodity price fluctuation should be using Stable’s cutting-edge offering to manage this volatility. Acrew is glad to be partnering with the team; in leading this investment round, we hope we can support Stable as they build a new category of risk management.”

Stable was founded in 2017 by Rich Counsell in an old cow shed on his family farm in Somerset, UK.

It now lists over 500 untraded commodities that can be hedged on its platform. Clients range from multinational food and drink companies to family farms across the Americas.

Stable will use the new funding to help clients understand and manage their price risk.

New initiatives will see the aggregation of financial news via Stable Media, investment in the Stable Data product suite to visualise and assess the markets, and the development of Stable Risk from its current focus on options to offering clients swaps and collars.

“Hedging is seen as complex and risky to most business owners, yet the benefits of bringing stability and predictability to an income statement shouldn't be reserved for giant multinationals and sophisticated traders. Businesses of every size, sector and location should have the ability to understand and manage their price risk so they can invest in the future with confidence,” says Counsell.

“We’re really proud to partner with Acrew, Notion, Greycroft and all of our shareholders as we accelerate our plans to make a real impact in this vital sector and warmly welcome Vishal Lugani to the Board.”

“The disruption in the commodity markets has created an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference to this vital sector, and we’re delighted to support the team and their vision,” adds Stephen Chandler, Managing Partner at Notion Capital.