Dan Park developed a fascination with the upstream side of industries after college, when he began his career working in commodities. Here he realised that every product has a starting point in its value chain, “and those who control the beginning of the chain ultimately influence the entire ecosystem.” So it makes sense that when Dan progressed into agriculture, he’d focus on crop varieties. After all, in farming, the beginning of the supply chain is, quite literally, seeds. 

In 2023 Dan co-founded ROVERS, a Korean AgTech specialising in the discovery of high-value agricultural IP. The company identifies crop varieties that are resilient not just to the environment, but market fluctuations too – delivering sustainability at every stage of the value chain is central to its mission. As well as licensing its portfolio of varieties to growers around the world, ROVERS uses GENIX, its AI-powered variety intelligence solution, to pinpoint optimal future crops from a pool of 420,000 varieties. The company has been a standout success in the Korean startup scene and is already making an impression internationally. In 2025, ROVERS surpassed $6.5m in revenue, approximately 1,500% year-on-year growth. This year it is set to triple that.

Intelligent crop selection

Before deciding to break out and build a company of their own, Dan and his co-founder Harin Sing were well situated in the agricultural sector, leading global business operations for a company specializing in vertical indoor farming systems. It taught them that what mattered most to customers was not necessarily selling innovative farming infrastructure, but selecting and cultivating the right crops in the first place. ROVERS, says Dan, was founded to “build the infrastructure for global crop variety intelligence.” 

Dan hopes that ROVERS will shake up a sector that faces significant challenges. AgTech is an ageing industry, he points out. It is failing to attract the next generation of ambitious entrepreneurs and has a relatively limited global outlook. Dan wanted his company to address these limitations, and avoid the inertia that can come from people who have become too entrenched in a way of working. “We have focused on building a team that can approach problems with fresh ideas and a broader perspective, rather than simply following conventional wisdom,” he says. “As a result, our approach differs from that of traditional seed companies.”

As Dan explains, while many seed companies focus primarily on the seed itself, ROVERS starts by asking whether the final agricultural product derived from that variety has real market demand and commercial potential. “We then use those market insights and downstream data to inform and improve upstream variety development,” he says. “In other words, rather than developing varieties first and hoping the market will follow, we work backward from the market to create better varieties. I believe this approach allows us to bridge the gap between breeding and commercialisation more effectively.”

Fast-growing for the future

Antler has also been formative in shaping ROVERS. Dan and Harin were part of Antler Korea’s second cohort and as a first-time founder Dan was particularly grateful to be able to absorb a diversity of perspectives from Antler partners and VCs as well as other residents. All this was invaluable in helping them hone the concept. “Throughout our time with Antler, we continuously went through ideation, hypothesis validation, early commercialization, and partner reviews,” says Dan. “Being surrounded by such talented and motivated people created an incredibly positive environment, and that energy had a profound impact on me personally.”

Since receiving its first investment from Antler, ROVERS has become one of the fastest growing companies in the industry. As well as its booming revenue, it has won approval from government agencies, which has led to public sector projects in the US and Mexico. Agriculture is highly regulated so for Dan this is a strong sign of the company’s credibility, which makes him optimistic about its long-term future. “I spend a great deal of time thinking about strengthening our financial health, improving our operating systems, and creating an organization that can scale responsibly,” he says. ”Ultimately, my goal is not just to build a fast-growing startup, but to build an enduring company that can continue creating value for decades.”