Hortau
Hortau provides precision irrigation management to enterprise specialty-crop growers in the United States and Canada, combining patented soil-tension sensors, mobile and web software, and certified agronomic advisory across 1,300+ farms and 7,000+ monitoring stations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersSan Luis Obispo, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Hortau does
Hortau is a privately held precision irrigation management company founded in 2002 and headquartered in San Luis Obispo, California, with a second headquarters in Lévis, Québec. It serves enterprise specialty-crop growers — including fruit, nut, vineyard, and berry operations across the United States and Canada — by combining patented soil-tension tensiometer sensors (the only units on the market rated to 1,000 kPa) with a mobile and web software platform (the Hortau App and the Irrolis web portal) that delivers real-time soil profile data, irrigation scheduling, NDVI satellite mapping, and frost and heat alerts. Deployment is supplemented by in-house certified agronomists (CCAs, PCAs, CAIS) who produce weekly irrigation schedules and end-of-season reports, giving the offering a hardware-plus-software-plus-advisory structure rather than a pure SaaS model.
The company monetizes through a mix of recurring subscriptions on its irrigation management platform, upfront sales of soil tension probes and supporting hardware (flowmeters, well-depth sensors, weather stations, automation controllers), and ongoing professional agronomic advisory services. Pricing is quote-based and contracted annually, with no public rate card. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales, organized into regional territories (seven California reps under VP Sales Jeremy Otto, with regional managers across the US Midwest/Northeast and Canada), supplemented by a network of certified crop advisors who act as indirect channel partners.
Hortau reports 1,300+ active farms, 7,000+ deployed monitoring stations, and 300,000+ acres under management across the US and Canada. The company has raised roughly $69M in disclosed funding from 2013 through 2023 across multiple Canadian and US agrifood and cleantech investors including Advantage Capital, Avrio Capital, BDC, Export Development Canada, Fondaction, Lewis & Clark AgriFood, and Sustainable Development Technology Canada. CEO Jocelyn Boudreau and CFO Bruno Laliberté have led the company since 2002 and 2006 respectively, and the company remains founder-controlled with no disclosed institutional PE/VC majority owner.
Hortau firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hortau
- Legal name
- Hortau Inc. (Canadian entity) / Hortau Corp. (US entity)
- Website
- https://hortau.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Hortau provides precision irrigation management to enterprise specialty-crop growers in the United States and Canada, combining patented soil-tension sensors, mobile and web software, and certified agronomic advisory across 1,300+ farms and 7,000+ monitoring stations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hortau industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Precision Irrigation Management
- NAICS
- Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Farm Management Services (115116)
- SIC
- Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Precision Irrigation & Water Management (Smart Irrigation, Scheduling, VRI, Water Sensors) (AFAGALAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Irrigation Scheduling & Water Optimization Analytics (AFABAMAG), Irrigation Control & Automation (Controllers, Valves, Sensors, IoT) (AFAAACAF), Irrigation Monitoring & Sensors (Flow/Pressure Meters, Soil Moisture, Water Quality Sensors) (AFABAHAJ)
Keywords
Where Hortau is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Luis Obispo
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Hortau business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Irrigation Management SaaS Subscription: Subscription-based irrigation management service providing real-time soil tension monitoring, sensor data, mobile platform access, and advisory support. Includes irrigation scheduling, automation control, and water usage reporting.
- Hardware (Sensors & Stations): Sale of soil tension monitoring stations, sensors, and related hardware equipment for field installation. Real-time monitoring stations capture data and transmit to the mobile platform.
- Advisory & Consulting Services: Certified irrigation specialists (CCAs, PCA, CAIS) provide weekly irrigation schedules, periodic meetings, and end-of-season reports. Multi-lingual support available (English, French, Spanish).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Custom enterprise pricing based on operation size and service requirements |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Hortau product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hortau provides a precision irrigation management system that combines patented soil tension sensor hardware with the Hortau App and Irrolis web platform, along with certified agronomic advisory services. The system delivers real-time soil tension data, weather forecasting, irrigation scheduling, remote automation, and flowmeter/well-depth/weather monitoring to specialty crop growers. Customers subscribe to the integrated solution to optimize irrigation timing, reduce water and energy use, and prevent plant stress across diverse soil types.
Product overview
Hortau offers a modular precision irrigation management system combining patented soil tension sensor hardware with software platforms (Hortau App and Irrolis). The system includes soil tension probes measuring up to 1000 kPa, supported by services for irrigation management, scheduling, automation, flowmeter monitoring, well-depth monitoring, and weather monitoring. NDVI satellite mapping and mobile/web applications provide real-time crop health and water availability data for specialty crop growers across North America.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Hortau App Mobile and web application providing real-time field monitoring, soil tension data visualization, irrigation tracking, weather forecasting, and alerts for crop water needs. For specialty crop growers across North America.
- Irrolis Web-based platform for irrigation management, complementing the Hortau mobile app for comprehensive farm monitoring and irrigation scheduling.
- Soil Tension Probes Patented tensiometer sensors measuring soil tension up to 1,000 kPa, providing direct measurement of water availability to plants across any soil type without calibration.
- Irrigation Management Service Real-time field monitoring service delivering soil tension data with mobile platform access to support informed irrigation decisions for growers.
- Scheduling & Advising Service Certified irrigation specialists provide weekly irrigation schedules based on field conditions and grower goals, including CCA, PCA, and CAIS advisors.
- Irrigation Automation Service Remote start/stop irrigation control, schedule-based automation, and sensor-triggered automation for frost protection and plant water needs.
- Flowmeter Monitoring Service Real-time water usage tracking with flow data captured whenever pumps are running, providing accumulated usage reports for growers.
- Well-Depth Monitoring Service Commercial-grade sonic water level sensor tracking static water level, drawdown, and recovery over time for GSA compliance reporting.
- Weather Monitoring Service In-field weather stations providing 2-week forecasts, frost/heat alerts, ETo, degree days, chill hours, and other agronomic metrics delivered via app, phone, and text notifications.
Quantifiable outcome
- 300K+ acres monitored across 1300+ farms with 7000+ stations
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Hortau
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Hortau technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Hortau partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Hortau competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CropX: Direct competitor offering soil-sensor-based irrigation analytics and farm decision-support software for specialty crops and row crops. Closest analogue to Hortau's tensiometer-plus-SaaS model.
- Tule Technologies: Provides field-based irrigation management (e.g., ET-based canopy sensors) and decision support primarily for California specialty crops, vineyards, and tree nuts — overlapping directly with Hortau's target segments.
- Semios: Precision agriculture platform for tree crops and specialty growers combining in-canopy sensors, weather, pest modeling, and irrigation insights. Competes for the same almond, pistachio, and wine-grape accounts as Hortau.
- AquaSpy: Manufactures soil-moisture profiling probes and irrigation management software, targeting row and specialty crops with a similar hardware-plus-software proposition.
Broad incumbents
- Lindsay Corporation: Public NYSE-listed irrigation infrastructure company (center pivots, FieldNET remote management). A broad incumbent that increasingly competes in smart irrigation software for the same growers Hortau serves.
- Valmont Industries: Large industrial incumbent with Valley Irrigation pivots and ag technology offerings. Competes indirectly via smart irrigation features layered onto its installed base of mechanized irrigation systems.
- Jain Irrigation Systems: Global irrigation equipment and micro-irrigation provider with emerging precision-agriculture capabilities. Comparable as a broad incumbent expanding into sensor-driven water management.
- Netafim: World's largest drip and micro-irrigation manufacturer, now owned by Orbia. Increasingly bundles digital farming and NetBeat irrigation management, competing in the same specialty-crop irrigation market.
- Trimble Agriculture: Broad precision-agriculture platform covering guidance, variable-rate, and water management. Comparable as a diversified incumbent with overlapping irrigation-software functionality for large-acreage growers.
Regional players
- Farmers Edge: Canadian-founded digital agriculture platform offering field sensors, satellite imagery, and decision support. Comparable technology stack and Canadian provenance, though currently focused more on broad-acre row crops than specialty crops.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Hortau social profiles
Digital presenceHortau financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hortau leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Hortau funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds11 records
Investors13 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hortau M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hortau
What does Hortau do?
Hortau provides a precision irrigation management system that combines patented soil tension sensor hardware with the Hortau App and Irrolis web platform, along with certified agronomic advisory services. The system delivers real-time soil tension data, weather forecasting, irrigation scheduling, remote automation, and flowmeter/well-depth/weather monitoring to specialty crop growers. Customers subscribe to the integrated solution to optimize irrigation timing, reduce water and energy use, and prevent plant stress across diverse soil types.
Is Hortau a public or private company?
Hortau is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Hortau founded?
Hortau was founded in 2002. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Hortau based?
Hortau is headquartered in San Luis Obispo, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hortau make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Irrigation Management SaaS Subscription is the primary driver. The others are hardware (Sensors & Stations) and advisory & Consulting Services.
Who are Hortau's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CropX, Tule Technologies, Semios and AquaSpy. Broad incumbents are Lindsay Corporation, Valmont Industries, Jain Irrigation Systems, Netafim and Trimble Agriculture. Farmers Edge is listed as a regional player.
Does Hortau have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hortau.
What industry is Hortau in?
Hortau's product category is Precision Irrigation Management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAGALAF, Precision Irrigation & Water Management (Smart Irrigation, Scheduling, VRI, Water Sensors), with a secondary code of AFABAMAG, Irrigation Scheduling & Water Optimization Analytics. Its NAICS code is 221310 and its SIC code is 3823.