The funds raised will go towards hiring tech talent and expanded across Europe.
Northern Ireland-based agritech Farmdrive has announced the closing of a £1m pre-seed funding round. The investment was led by TechStart Ventures and Ascension Ventures, with participation from Angel Invest.
Using the funds, Farmdrive plans to further expand across Europe and accelerate product development for their app and supply chain.
The company also plans to expand their team over the next 12 months, hiring across software engineering, data analysis, marketing, customer success and enterprise account management.
Headquartered in Antrim town, the company was founded in 2023 by entrepreneurs Gareth McDonald, who is the CEO, and Gareth Gordon, the CTO. Farmdrive was established for farmers as a means of replacing time-consuming paperwork with simple digital tools, driving supply-chain intelligence for traceability, forecasting and sustainability.
Commenting on the announcement, McDonald said, “Farmdrive was started on my own family farm to make everyday life easier for cattle farmers. We’re incredibly proud to see it being loved and trusted by thousands of farmers across the UK and Ireland.
“This £1m investment lets us take our practical vision worldwide, giving farmers better data in their pocket and giving meat processors and retailers the transparency they need from – farm to shelf.”
Gordon added, “As software engineers who grew up on farms, we’ve always had a very practical approach and believe technology only matters if it truly helps farmers. This investment means we can keep improving Farmdrive – making it faster, smarter and more useful, simplifying compliance for farmers and giving supply chains a live view right back to the farm gate.”
The investment follows a successful 2025 for Farmdrive, as the company won the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society Innovation Award and was named Tech Start-up of the Year at the NI Tech Awards. It also won the Innovation in Agriculture Award at the NI Farming Awards.
SiliconRepublic.com recently spoke with Dr Norah O’Shea, a senior research officer in the Food Chemistry and Technology Department at the Teagasc Food Research Centre, about how digital transformation is a recipe for success in the agrifood sector.
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Updated, 10.52am, 14 November 2025: This article was amended to say that Antrim town has replaced Ballymena as the location for Farmdrive’s headquarters.
