Guarda, a Brazilian agtech specialized in parametric insurance for rural producers, raised US$806 thousand in a pre-seed round to scale its technological solution. The goal is to validate the model on up to 10 thousand hectares in the first months of 2026.
Participating in the round were José Kfuri, former CEO of Marubeni Grãos Brasil; Rodrigo Botti, Lockton executive; Alan Chusid, founder of Spin Pay acquired by Nubank; and Johann von Sothen, co-founder of Solfácil. The round also included a check from Colligo, an agtech investment club.
Guarda was founded last year by Paula Caldeira, an executive in the financial market, and Luiz Fernando Guerreiro, one of the creators of Petlove where he was CEO in 2021 and today is a member of the board of directors.
The Guarda startup and its functions
Guarda works with parametric insurance aimed at rural producers, focused on extreme climatic events such as drought and excess rainfall. The proposal replaces the traditional model based on productivity and field expertise with contracts linked exclusively to climate indices measured by satellite.
The technology combines satellite data, climate models, artificial intelligence and digital simulations to automate risk pricing and allow compensation in up to 30 days, without field inspection.
Without expertise or contractual obligations
Unlike traditional insurance, the parametric model allows for contracting closer to the risk period. It does not have to be before planting: in some cases, Guarda can sell up to 40 days before the risk begins, such as grain filling or harvest rain.
The producer chooses the price he will pay and the coverage he wants, measured in bags. There is no expertise or extensive contractual obligations, eliminating one of the main barriers to traditional agricultural insurance in Brazil, where adherence remains below 10%.
From the idea to the investment round
The startup was born from conversations with nearly 500 rural producers, dozens of cooperatives and almost all rural insurance brokers in the country. The complaints were repeated: high cost, limited coverage, excess of contractual obligations and long and unobjective appraisal processes.
The startup began as Natu Seguros and was presented to the market in September of last year. In April it won one of the categories of Agrimatching, a startup competition promoted by Rural, by presenting this digital alternative for a market with low penetration.
Fraud and trust reduction
The Guarda model does not carry risk on the balance sheet. In the event of an accident, payment is made by associated reinsurers, with which the startup maintains contracts, including with European groups.
Parametric logic reduces classic distortions of rural insurance such as adverse selection, because it specifies producer by producer. Those who have less risk pay less; Those who are at greater risk pay more.
«We work with different data sources, public and private, and we combine that information to arrive at the best index for each risk. For drought, soil moisture works best; for rain in harvest, it is another type of metric,” explains Guerreiro.
The proposal is that the producer himself can follow in real time the climatic indices that activate the insurance, eliminating subjectivity and reducing the risk of fraud. The product is now ready to serve producers throughout the country, from Rio Grande do Sul to Matopiba.
Integration with credit channels
With the new capital, Guarda intends to accelerate the development of the platform and implement its solutions in companies that provide credit to the sector, such as cooperatives, resellers and banks. The idea is to integrate insurance into already existing agricultural flows, such as financing operations and sales of inputs.
«Agriculture begins the harvest with credit. Cooperatives, banks and resellers are naturally exposed to climate risk. If the product is well priced and adjusted, there is a lot of interest from these channels in distributing the insurance,” stated Caldeira.
The CEO plans to carry out a proof of concept with one of these structured channels, with the objective of reaching between 5,000 and 10,000 hectares served in the first six months of 2026.
