Agtech from Rio Grande do Sul Zeit, specialized in technologies for laboratory analysis of agribusiness, began repurchasing the participation of investors who entered in the first years of the operation.
The strategy accompanies a new phase for the company, which intends to finance its next phase of growth through public notices and research promotion programs.
Founded in 2019 by researchers from UFSM (Federal University of Santa Maria), Zeit plans to earn R$5 million in 2026, expand its team and expand its operations to countries in South America.
According to the company’s co-founder, Renan Buque Pardinho, the decision seeks to concentrate the definitions of the direction of the business in the hands of the founding partners.
“While many startups are looking for investors to grow, we are taking the opposite path. We understand that, for the company at the moment, it makes more sense to seek funding resources and maintain the autonomy to develop technologies at the pace that the market demands”, he states.
According to the founders, the development of technologies requires longer research and validation cycles, which does not always fit into the return periods expected by startup investors. Therefore, the maturation cycle of so-called deeptechs, scientific and technological-based companies, usually requires more time to transform research into products and revenue.
To sustain this growth, Zeit turned to . Along the way, the company raised around R$6 million in non-refundable resources through public notices from institutions such as Finep, Sebrae and Fapergs (Rio Grande do Sul State Research Support Foundation).
From the laboratory to the field
In the UFSM laboratories, the company’s idea arose from the perception that essential laboratory analyzes for different agribusiness chains could take days to be ready, delaying operations and increasing costs.
During the doctorate period, the founders identified cases in which cargo was waiting for reports to be issued before continuing its journey, generating significant losses for companies in the sector. From this demand, the proposal to bring laboratories closer to production operations was born.
Today, Zeit develops equipment and systems capable of carrying out analyzes in a few minutes in industrial units or even directly in the field, reducing the need to send samples to conventional laboratories.
Among the solutions is Nira, a platform used for food and agricultural inputs. According to the company, the tool’s customer base grew by around 300% this year.
Expansion
Currently, the company operates in five Brazilian states and serves customers from different agribusiness segments. The expectation is to expand its presence in the national market and begin expanding into neighboring countries, such as Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.
In addition to commercial growth, the company also intends to expand the team of researchers and professionals linked to technological development.
For Pardinho, the expansion strategy is directly linked to maintaining the company’s scientific profile.
“Our objective is to continue investing in research and development without giving up the ability to decide the company’s next steps. The technology we developed was born from science and we want it to continue to be Zeit’s main growth engine”, he adds.
