PlantSense, a pioneer in Internet-enabled gardening tools, has received $3.5 million in Series A funding

What Company Is Offering:
PlantSense is smart, Internet-connected device that reveals exactly what plants will thrive in a specific location. By applying proven, scientific techniques used by professional winemakers and greenhouse growers, PlantSense allows anyone to enjoy a beautiful indoor or outdoor garden -- from a single bedroom begonia to a backyard bed of roses.
Gardeners place the PlantSense tool anywhere they'd like a thriving plant, for example on a windowsill or in a shady spot in the backyard. After 24 hours the user plugs the device into a USB port on a PC or Mac, and the PlantSense Web site analyzes the collected data (soil conditions, sunlight, moisture and temperature) against a large database to recommend plants that will thrive in that particular spot.

How Much They Got From VCs:
PlantSense, a pioneer in Internet-enabled gardening tools, has received $3.5 million in Series A funding from Gabriel Ventures and independent investors. Working in combination with its free Internet service, the PlantSense tool recommends which plants will thrive in a specific location and diagnoses what is wrong with ailing plants. The device, due to be launched later this year, can be used year round in homes and gardens.

"Americans spend $21 billion annually on plants, but a third of those plants die within a year," said Matthew Glenn, chief executive officer of PlantSense. "For many people, gardening, and especially figuring out what to plant where, is a frustrating and expensive process of trial and error. PlantSense's device will be like having a botanist in your pocket, making it easier and less work to enjoy thriving plants."

More at:http://www.plantsense.com