Solum Inc., a leader in advanced field measurement technology for commercial agriculture, today announced the completion of $17 million in financing to support the company's continued expansion in the global food production industry. Andreessen Horowitz led the round and General Partner John O'Farrell is joining the board. Existing investors including Khosla Ventures also participated in this round.

Funds will be used to meet growing demand through the expansion of facilities and the addition of hardware and software engineering talent, supporting Solum's mission to optimize sustainable food production through data-driven agriculture.

"Our team is passionate about bringing advanced measurement technologies to production agriculture, empowering farmers and those who support them to maximize productivity and better manage limited and valuable resources," said Solum CEO Nick Koshnick.

"Solum's advanced technology and software offer the world's agricultural producers a substantially smarter way to measure and manage large-scale crop production," said John O'Farrell, general partner, Andreessen Horowitz. "This combination of brilliant technologists tackling a really important problem with huge global market potential represents an excellent fit with our investment philosophy."

Read more about Solum on John's blog: http://john.a16z.com/2012/06/27/software-is-eating-the-world-and-will-help-to-feed-it.

"The recent, widespread adoption of GPS-based tools has enabled an unprecedented ability to systematically understand and control every portion of crop land," added Koshnick. "Our company has re-invented the way soil information is generated. Our platform leverages a diverse array of measurements and data to provide new insights that can dramatically increase crop yields."

Crop production levels have more than tripled in the last century and need to double again in the next 50 years. Agronomists and crop producers now have access to a new, data-rich alternative as they strive to increase the supply of food, fuel and fiber that the world demands.

About Solum

Solum is an agricultural technology company. Solum develops advanced measurement systems and software solutions that increase profitability by providing the information required to farm every acre optimally. The company's technology platform and information systems support better agricultural decision making worldwide. More information can found at www.solumtech.com.

About Andreessen Horowitz

Andreessen Horowitz is a venture capital firm that provides seed, venture and growth-stage funding to the best new technology companies. Founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz helps entrepreneurs become successful CEOs and build important and enduring companies. Its general partners are Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, John O'Farrell, Scott Weiss, Jeff Jordan and Peter Levine, all widely recognized experts in the creation, scaling and operation of high growth technology companies. The firm has $2.7 billion under management across three funds. Among its 150 investments are Airbnb, Apptio, Box, Fab, Facebook, Foursquare, Groupon, Jawbone, Lytro, Pinterest, Silver Tail Systems, Twitter and Zynga. The firm was established in June 2009 and is located in Menlo Park, California. www.a16z.com

About Khosla Ventures

Khosla Ventures offers venture assistance, strategic advice and capital to entrepreneurs. The firm helps entrepreneurs extend the potential of their ideas in breakthrough scientific work in clean technology areas such as bio-refineries for energy and bioplastics, solar, battery and other environmentally friendly technologies as well as traditional venture areas like the Internet, computing, mobile and silicon technology arenas. Vinod Khosla founded the firm in 2004 and was formerly a General Partner at Kleiner Perkins and founder of Sun Microsystems. www.khoslaventures.com