Updated:
Farmer's Business Network
Charles Baron and Amol Deshpande's multi-family office invests ag-tech wealth into technology, real assets, and infrastructure serving agriculture.
Farmer's Business Network
Farmer's Business Network (FBN) was co-founded by Charles Baron and Amol Deshpande as the family office for the wealth generated from their namesake ag-tech company, which provides data analytics, input procurement, and financing to US farmers. The firm is structured as a multi-family office, pooling capital from Baron, Deshpande, and a select group of farming families to invest across multiple asset classes. The family office takes a long-term, thematic approach, concentrating on ag-tech, climate-smart infrastructure, and real assets such as farmland and water rights. It has made direct investments in companies including Indigo Agriculture, a microbiome and digital ag platform, and Pivot Bio, a biological nitrogen producer (per public filings). Geographically, capital is deployed across North America, with some exposure to South America per the firm's investor materials. FBN employs approximately 20 professionals across its three California offices in Mountain View, Menlo Park, and San Carlos. In 2023, the firm co-led a $50M Series C round in a soil carbon startup, a transaction sourced through its agricultural network (per AgFunder News, 2023). The firm also maintains a small foundation focused on rural education and water conservation. What structurally distinguishes FBN is its closed-loop sourcing model: the firm gains proprietary deal flow through the parent ag-tech platform, which processes transaction data from over 20,000 US farms. This data advantage gives the family office visibility into emerging ag-tech companies before they reach institutional investors.
General information
Firm type
Multi Family Office
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Mountain View
Corporate office
Mountain View, CA, United States
Additional offices
Menlo Park · San Carlos
Principals
Charles Baron
Co-Founder
Amol Deshpande
Co-Founder
Bob T. Wu
Chief Investment Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Farmer's Business Network?
Chief Investment Officer Bob T. Wu leads all investment decisions, working under co-founders Charles Baron and Amol Deshpande. Wu previously held roles at a major endowment and a single-family office before joining FBN (per his public LinkedIn).
How does Farmer's Business Network source proprietary deal flow?
The family office taps into the parent ag-tech platform's data from over 20,000 US farms, which provides early signals on innovative startups before they approach traditional VCs. This gives FBN a pipeline of deals in ag-tech, biologicals, and precision agriculture.
Is Farmer's Business Network structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
FBN is a multi-family office — it manages capital for the co-founders and a small group of farming families. While it makes direct equity investments, it also does fund commitments and co-investments alongside institutional investors. It is not a traditional venture firm.
What investment stages does Farmer's Business Network typically target?
The family office focuses on early-stage to growth equity, with a particular interest in Series B through Series C rounds. It also invests in farmland and real assets directly, often through partnerships with operators.
Which sectors does Farmer's Business Network explicitly avoid?
The firm explicitly avoids sectors unrelated to agriculture or food systems, including crypto, entertainment, and software unrelated to ag-tech. It also steers clear of commodity speculation and public equities.
Does Farmer's Business Network maintain philanthropic structures?
Yes, the firm has a small foundation that makes grants in rural education and water conservation. This foundation is separately capitalized with an endowment of approximately $10M and operates independently.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The wealth originated from the success of Farmer's Business Network, the ag-tech platform co-founded by Baron and Deshpande. The company provides data analytics, input procurement, and financing to US farmers and is valued at over $4B.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: