As the summer comes to a close, we trust that you were able to enjoy the season with those that matter most. In between times of rest and relaxation, Team Serra continued to work diligently in serving portfolio companies, sourcing new deals and doing our best to add value wherever possible. We can’t help but be grateful for all the meaningful work we get to do and those of you who support us in doing so. See below for the latest at Serra!

FloVision Solutions, a Serra Capital Ag Tech Fund company and startup bringing AI-powered yield and quality analytics for protein production to the global food industry, announced this week that it has raised $8.7 million in Series A funding. Serra Ventures participated in the round.

“This funding unlocks a whole new world of food production tech,” said Rian McDonnell, founder and CEO of FloVision. “We’re already helping protein processors run more efficiently and take control of their operations. With these new resources, we’re doubling down on solving real customer problems and speeding up the rollout of features we know the food industry needs.”

Serra originally invested in FloVision exactly two years ago this July. "Rian and his team have done a tremendous job growing FloVision, adding new capabilities to their core technology and bringing new products to the market. Customers are delighted with the results, as FloVision solutions produce real return on investment in a short amount of time. The Serra team is proud to be a supporter of FloVision, having had the opportunity to participate in multiple rounds of funding since 2023," commented Tim Hoerr, Managing Partner.

Bonsai Robotics, a Serra Capital Ag Tech Fund company, announced this month that they had acquired Farm-ng, an AI platform that adapts to any crop, task or terrain. The firms will combine Bonsai’s expertise in software and Farm-ng’s expertise in hardware to create solutions that boost efficiency and cut costs across a wider array of crops, tasks, and agricultural environments.

This acquisition has some similarities to the merger of Pattern Ag with Serra portfolio company Earth Optics. In both instances, companies that operate in the same ag industry segment and which are complementary to one another found a win-win solution in merging.  

Bonsai Robotics specializes in vision-based autonomy software focusing on AI-driven solutions for orchard management. farm-ng is known for its modular electric robots, including the Amiga platform, designed for tasks like planting and harvesting. Together you get a hardware and software combination.

On a commercial basis, Bonsai Robotics has deployed over 50 autonomous machines globally, including in the U.S. and Australia while farm-ng has sold 230 Amiga robots since its inception and in previous commentary stated that they anticipate tripling sales in 2025.

This news also comes on the heels of Bonsai being named a Top 10 AgTech Company by Built In Chicago in the month of June, and Bonsai also launching a telemetry service earlier this month.

Portions of this article were excerpted from UpSteam Ag.

Serra company Paystand had a big month, as it brought home an award and broke into new markets. Paystand, the global leader in blockchain-enabled payments and financial services, was honored by being named to CNBC and Statista’s top 300 fintech companies list. Identified by CNBC in 2018 as one of the top 100 promising startups to watch, the company has now made the leap to the CNBC/Statista list of elite fintechs globally.  

Additionally, Paystand announced earlier in July that it had partnered up with JCB in order to build a B2B payment solution for the Japanese market. The B2B payment market in Japan accounts for USD 10 trillion dollars in annual volume but, like many markets, is still dominated by cash transactions. Only 1% of commercial payments in Japan are currently made via credit card and an even smaller fraction are made through technology such as bank transfers.

Paystand is undoubtedly on an exciting trajectory, and the team at Serra are eager to see where the company goes next.

The Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) tax exemption, codified under Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code, has long been a cornerstone for fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in the United States. By offering substantial tax incentives to investors in early-stage startups, QSBS has played an instrumental role in catalyzing venture investment in these entities. The recent passage of the Big Beautiful Bill 2025 included several enhancements of QSBS, providing even more incentive to venture investors to back promising tech startups.

QSBS refers to stock issued by a qualified small business organized as a C Corporation that meets certain criteria set by the IRS. If the criteria are met (including a requisite holding period by investors), then upon disposition of the stock, the investor-seller is exempt from federal capital gains tax subject to certain limits. Many states follow the federal guidelines as well. Eliminating capital gains tax is quite a fantastic return-booster for venture investors! It’s easy to see why the Serra team is excited about the impact these changes will have on our series of funds, including our newest offering, Serra Capital Ag & Food Tech Fund II.

Key QSBS Updates in the Big Beautiful Bill 2025

Here's a breakdown of the key changes to QSBS rules that apply to stock acquired after July 4, 2025:

• Tiered exclusion structure: The previous all-or-nothing 100% exclusion for a 5-year holding period has been replaced with a better-for-investors phased-in approach.

  • 50% gain exclusion for QSBS held for at least 3 years.

  • 75% gain exclusion for QSBS held for at least 4 years.

  • 100% gain exclusion for QSBS held for 5 years or more.

• Increased gain exclusion cap: The previous $10 million cap on excluded gain has been raised to a better-for-investors $15 million, indexed for inflation after 2026.

  • The cap remains the greater of the $15 million (or inflation-adjusted amount) or 10 times the taxpayer's adjusted basis in the stock.

• Increased gross asset threshold: The maximum aggregate gross asset value a C corporation can have to be considered a Qualified Small Business at the time of investment has been increased from $50 million to $75 million, indexed for inflation going forward. Clearly, another a better-for-investors change!

• Excluded gain is no longer an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) preference item. Whereas excluded gains under the old version of the law were an AMT preference item (which could significantly “soften” the tax benefit for investors), this is no longer the case in the revised IRS code.

In short, these are major revisions in what was already one of the most powerful incentives for venture investment in early-stage enterprises. Add in the impact of other provisions in the Big Beautiful Bill (bonus depreciation and immediate deductibility of research & development expenditures), and the investment environment for startups is looking more robust than ever. For more information on how Serra’s funds take advantage of QSBS, contact tim@serraventures.com.

• AgTools Selected to Present First Phenology Conference in the Global South

• Breedr: Digitizing the Ranch - Proving Worth, Reclaiming Margin, Building a Smarter Supply Chain

• Leo Cancer Care Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for Marie® - A Revolutionary Upright Radiotherapy Platform

• Lisnr partners with Paga on payments authentication across Africa

• Opendorse Releases Mind-boggling Numbers in its Annual NIL Report

• Vytelle CEO Kerryann Kocher Featured on Farm4Profit Podcast

• Whitefox Elevates Steve Haro to President and CEO