The Seam
The Seam operates a cloud-based, blockchain-enabled commodity trading and management platform serving the cotton and peanut industries, founded in 2000 by major agribusiness firms and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersMemphis, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What The Seam does
The Seam is a Memphis, Tennessee-based commodity trading technology company founded in 2000 by major agribusiness firms including Cargill, Louis Dreyfus, PCCA, Staplcotn, and EWR Inc. It operates what it describes as the world's first online neutral cotton trading exchange and has since extended into the peanut industry. The company's core offering is a cloud-based, multi-tenant, multi-commodity platform that incorporates blockchain technology for provenance and traceability, enabling cleared trades, commodity management, and loan processing across agricultural value chains.
The platform's product portfolio includes a cotton trading exchange and clearing system, a peanut commodity management platform used by 8 peanut shelling organizations, a commodity loan platform handling nearly half of CCC marketing assistance loans for peanuts, a producer portal, and sustainability platforms including the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol and the Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Platform. The Seam integrates with USDA grading services, FSIS, Field to Market sustainability metrics, and the EWR electronic warehouse receipt network. To date, the platform has processed and cleared more than $8 billion in transactions and facilitated trades of tens of millions of cotton bales.
The Seam's business model rests on three primary revenue streams: transaction-based fees on trades cleared through the exchange, subscription-based SaaS access to its commodity management and loan platforms, and custom software development services for industry clients. Its customer base comprises agribusiness merchants, cooperatives, commodity producers, peanut shellers, and government-affiliated loan programs. The company has indicated interest in expanding into additional commodities including grains, cocoa, and dairy.
The Seam firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Seam
- Legal name
- The Seam LLC
- Website
- https://theseam.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Seam operates a cloud-based, blockchain-enabled commodity trading and management platform serving the cotton and peanut industries, founded in 2000 by major agribusiness firms and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Seam industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Commodity Trading Software
- SIC
- Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Supply Chain Traceability & Farm-to-Fork Data Systems (AFAAAFAJ)
Keywords
Where The Seam is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Memphis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Seam business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Cotton Trading and Clearing: Transaction-based revenue from cotton trading exchange where growers, merchants, and mills trade cotton. Fees charged per transaction through the online marketplace.
- Commodity Loan Management: Software-as-a-service fees for managing USDA commodity loans, particularly for peanuts through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) marketing assistance loans
- Custom Agribusiness Technology: Custom software development and consulting services for agribusiness clients, with solutions delivered 40% faster with 100% precision
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Cotton Trading Participation |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom Agribusiness Software Development |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Seam product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Seam provides trading and technology solutions for food and agribusiness companies, operating what is described as the world's first online cotton trading and clearing exchange. It also delivers commodity management software, USDA government-loan management platforms, and sustainability tracking systems for cotton and peanuts, alongside custom agribusiness software development and business intelligence tools.
Product overview
The Seam operates a platform-plus-modules architecture serving food and agribusiness companies with commodity trading and management solutions. Core offerings include the Commodities Trading and Clearing platform for cotton (world's most active online cotton marketplace), the Commodity Management platform for peanut farmer-stock operations, and the Commodity Loan Platform managing CCC marketing assistance loans. Supplementary modules include Commodity Business Intelligence with Producer Portal for real-time farmer insights, Custom Agribusiness Technology for tailored solutions, Market Reports providing USDA data, and sustainability platforms (U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Platform). The company has cleared or processed more than $8 billion through its platforms since founding in 2000, expanding from cotton into peanuts, grains, cocoa, and dairy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Commodities Trading and Clearing (Online Cotton Exchange)
Quantifiable outcome
- 40% faster software solutions with 100% precision
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use The Seam
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Seam technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability7 records
Feature6 records
The Seam partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable AgriculturecoreAffiliate membership with Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, dedicated to defining, measuring and advancing sustainability of food, fiber and fuel production. The Seam became a Qualified Data Management Partner (QDMP), one of only seven in the country, integrating environmental metrics and sustainability algorithms from Field to Market's Fieldprint Platform directly within its software model.
- U.S. Cotton Trust ProtocolcoreThe Seam powers the new U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, which includes advanced integrations with Field to Market as a Qualified Data Management Partner. Provides sustainability tracking and traceability for the cotton industry.
- American Peanut Council - Sustainable U.S. Peanuts PlatformcoreThe Seam powers the American Peanut Council's Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Platform, supporting sustainability initiatives in the peanut industry.
- USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)coreEmbedded integrations with USDA systems as part of the farmer-stock platform, including Commodity Loan Management integration with Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) marketing assistance loans.
- Georgia Federal-State Inspection Service (FSIS)coreIntegration with Georgia Federal-State Inspection Service for grading data import (FSIS) used in 1007 creation for peanut commodity management.
- EWR, Inc.coreIntegration with EWR, Inc. for electronic warehouse receipt systems. Participants are required to have an account with EWR, Inc. for processing electronic receipts.
- Open Market Consortium (OMC)corePartnership among The Seam, AgLaunch, Mississippi State University, Tennessee State University, and Wallace Center at Winrock International. Aims to augment producers' value propositions through creation of new data standards for describing specialty-crop attributes, specialty farming practices, and counterparty contract execution. Blockchain-powered platform.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Seam competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Conservis: Conservis offers farm management and traceability software for row crop operations, including contract and inventory tracking. Comparable to The Seam's Commodity Management platform in digitizing farmer-stock workflows and integrating with buyers.
- Granular (Corteva): Granular provides farm management software for crop planning, financials, and operational analytics. Comparable to The Seam's Producer Portal and business intelligence tools in serving growers with actionable, farm-level data and insights.
- Indigo Agriculture: Indigo Agriculture combines digital agronomy, microbial products, and a grain marketplace with sustainability traceability. Overlaps with The Seam in farm-to-fork data systems and ag sustainability but is focused more upstream on grain commerce.
- Farmers Business Network: FBN operates a farmer-to-farmer data network and inputs marketplace, with growing emphasis on sustainable sourcing programs. Comparable to The Seam in ag data aggregation and direct-to-grower digital channels, though focused on inputs rather than commodity exchange.
Broad incumbents
- Trimble Agriculture: Trimble Agriculture provides precision agriculture hardware and software for fleet, field, and water management. Comparable to The Seam as a broad incumbent in agricultural technology and farm data, though focused on precision equipment rather than commodity exchange.
- IBM Food Trust: IBM Food Trust is a blockchain-based supply chain traceability network used across food and agriculture. Comparable to The Seam's sustainability and traceability platform (U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, Sustainable U.S. Peanuts) but operating at broader food-industry scale.
Direct peers
- AgriDigital: AgriDigital operates a blockchain-based commodity trading and management platform primarily for grains. It is directly comparable to The Seam as a cloud-native commodity exchange with provenance and settlement features for agricultural raw materials.
- Eka Software Solutions: Eka offers a Commodity Trading and Risk Management (CTRM) platform covering agriculture, metals, and energy. Directly comparable to The Seam's trading and clearing platform and custom agribusiness technology services for managing commodity positions.
- Bushel: Bushel provides a digital platform connecting grain elevators, growers, and merchandisers, including commodity trading and data exchange workflows. Highly comparable to The Seam's cotton exchange and Peanut Commodity Management platform in terms of multi-stakeholder commodity workflow digitization.
Regional players
- CropIn: CropIn is an India-headquartered agtech platform offering farm management, traceability, and supply chain visibility. Comparable to The Seam's farm-to-fork data systems and sustainability tracking but primarily serving emerging-market geographies.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
The Seam social profiles
Digital presenceThe Seam financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Seam leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
The Seam funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Seam 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 The Seam
What does The Seam do?
The Seam provides trading and technology solutions for food and agribusiness companies, operating what is described as the world's first online cotton trading and clearing exchange. It also delivers commodity management software, USDA government-loan management platforms, and sustainability tracking systems for cotton and peanuts, alongside custom agribusiness software development and business intelligence tools.
Is The Seam a public or private company?
The Seam is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was The Seam founded?
The Seam was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Seam based?
The Seam is headquartered in Memphis, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Seam make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Cotton Trading and Clearing is the primary driver. The others are commodity Loan Management and custom Agribusiness Technology.
Who are The Seam's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Conservis, Granular (Corteva), Indigo Agriculture and Farmers Business Network. Broad incumbents are Trimble Agriculture and IBM Food Trust. Direct peers are AgriDigital, Eka Software Solutions and Bushel. CropIn is listed as a regional player.
Does The Seam have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Seam.
What industry is The Seam in?
The Seam's product category is Agricultural Commodity Trading Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAAAFAJ, Supply Chain Traceability & Farm-to-Fork Data Systems. Its SIC code is 5150.