Research Foundation News

April 2, 2018

Global insight and analysis company DTN acquires Purdue ag precision startup

MINNEAPOLIS and WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Officials from DTN, a global insight and analysis company, announced Friday (March 30) that the company has closed its acquisition of ag precision technology company Spensa Technologies Inc., in a strategic move to expand its global agricultural business and mobile presence.

Spensa has built a reputation for its eco-friendly, innovative technologies to manage agronomic pests such as insects, weeds and disease. The company was named one of the top 25 innovative ag-tech startups by Forbes in 2017.

“Combining Spensa’s current product offerings with DTN’s Agribusiness and Producer platforms and infrastructure will provide a more comprehensive solution to DTN customers,” said DTN co-CEO Sheryl von Blucher. “Spensa’s agronomic capabilities will further complement DTN’s agriculture industry offerings with differentiated actionable agronomic information and insights. Additionally, the acquisition creates opportunities for DTN to expand the company’s offerings to non-core markets like fruit and tree markets in California.”

Spensa technologies gathers high-resolution data, models that information to reveal insights and clearly presents findings to help agriculturalists make the most informed decisions possible. The company is based in the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette, Indiana, and has strong research relationships with Purdue University, Indiana’s land-grant university renowned as a hub for agriculture.

“We have admired DTN as a leader in data innovation and actionable insights for many years and are thrilled to make Spensa an important part of their future,” said Johnny Park, founder and CEO of Spensa. “We couldn’t have found another company that more closely shares our vision and values and, together, we will be able to feed, protect, and fuel the world in ways we would not have been able to by ourselves.”

DTN, a Minneapolis-based company with global offices, is a leader in empowering customers with decision-support solutions in agriculture, energy, commodity and financial analytics, and weather-sensitive industries. The company is heavily engaged in “internet of things” technology and data-science.

“We are delighted with the success this Purdue-borne company is seeing,” said Dan Hasler, chief entrepreneurial officer of the Purdue Research Foundation. “Johnny’s management and team are world class. Combined with Purdue’s ag-based intellectual property, they and so many others like them are unstoppable. We are especially excited to welcome a world-class company like DTN to the Purdue family.”

Park was a professor in the Purdue School of Electrical and Computer Engineering before starting Spensa. The company started as a research project at the university and spun out on its own in 2009. The Purdue Research Foundation and Purdue Ventures were early investors in Spensa.

“We have had the backing of so many friends and family over the years to get us to this point, and we are very thankful to everyone who has been a part of the Spensa community,” he said. “We also have a long history of support from Purdue University, the Purdue Research Foundation, and the West Lafayette community. They worked with us to build our new office in the park and offer support and guidance along the way. We are pleased to continue to help grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Indiana and hope to be able to give back to all those who have helped us and the future startups out there.”

About DTN

DTN is the independent, trusted source of actionable insights for more than 600,000 customers focused on feeding, protecting and fueling the world. Customer-focused and employee-driven, DTN focuses on empowering customers worldwide with decision-support solutions in agriculture, energy, commodity and financial analytics, and weather-sensitive industries through continuous, leading-edge innovation. DTN is based in Minneapolis with offices globally.

About Spensa Technologies Inc.

Spensa Technologies was founded in 2009 in the Purdue Research Park. Spensa’s mission is to help growers develop a network of industry-leading devices and innovative technologies to manage agronomic pests such as insects, weeds and disease. We strive to reduce reliance on manual labor, foster eco-friendly farming and enhance crop production to help feed the world. Spensa gathers high-resolution data, models that data to reveal insights, and clearly presents our findings to help agriculturalists make the most informed decisions possible. For more information, visit: www.spensatech.com.

About Purdue Research Park

The Purdue Research Park is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation and is the largest university-affiliated business incubation complex in the country. The Purdue Research Park manages the Purdue Technology Centers in five sites across the state of Indiana with locations in West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Merrillville and New Albany. The more than 260 companies located in the park network employ about 5,000 people. In 2016, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities co-named the Purdue Research Park a top recipient for an Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Designation for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about leasing space in the Purdue Research Park, contact 765-588-3470 or click Purdue Research Park. 

Media contacts:

Cynthia Sequin, Purdue Research Park, 765-588-3340, casequin@prf.org

Jason Tennenhouse, Spensa Technologies, jason.tennenhouse@spensatech.com

Ed Mattix, DTN, 720-587-9973, ed.mattix@dtn.com


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