As the dawn of 2024 unfolds, the agricultural sector sees a surge of innovation driven by smart farming startups. These forward-thinking enterprises are employing cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and big data analytics.
These nascent ventures are not just growing crops; they are cultivating solutions for global food security, sustainability, and climate change challenges. In this landscape of rapid innovation, which startups are truly breaking new ground and setting the standard for the future of farming? Let’s dig deep into the smart farming startups of 2024 that you should have on your radar.
20 Smart Farming Startups to Watch in 2024
- Cropler – Field Management
- PlugZenGrow – Outdoor Vertical Micro-Field System
- RhizeBio – Soil Health Management
- Airbots Aerospace – Autonomous Agri Drones
- Ribes Technologies – Visual Plant Recognition
- E-TERRY – Autonomous Weeding Robot
- Farmblox – Remote Farm Monitoring
- Cyber Farm – Intelligent Decision Support System for Dairy Farms
- MeteoTrack – AI-powered Decision Support for Farmers
- CropsTalk – Smart Irrigation and Fertilization
- Map My Crop – Crop Monitoring Software
- Agriverts – Soilless Farming IoT Systems
- Terra Robotics – Autonomous Weeding Robot
- Fuselage Innovations – Crop Spraying and Granular Spreading Drone
- Orchardly – Weather Alerts & Forecasting
- TAGim – Remote Livestock Monitoring
- DeepBerry – Greenhouse Automation & Control
- Cody Genetics – Livestock Gene Editing
- UpTerra – In-line Irrigation Device
- CAPSERO – Automated Cultivation Solutions
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 20 Top Smart Farming Startups to Watch in 2024
Through the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering over 3 790 000+ startups & scaleups globally, we identified 928 smart farming startups. The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the 20 smart farming startups you should watch in 2024 as well as the geo-distribution of all smart farming startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research.
Based on the heat map, we see high startup activity in Western Europe and India, followed by the US. These smart farming startups work on solutions ranging from vertical farming and precision agriculture to autonomous weeding robots and automated crop recognition.
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Explore 20 Smart Farming Startups to Watch in 2024
Cropler boosts Field Management
Cropler is a Polish startup that offers AI-powered remote photo monitoring for field management. The startup’s solution continuously tracks crop data through sensors, cameras, and satellites. This way, it allows farmers to monitor crop health, access accurate temperature data, get timely reports, and compare data from different fields.
Further, the company utilizes satellite images, terrain, and weather data to identify composite zones and select the best zones for installing its sensor. Cropler thus allows farmers to reduce field scouting time, increase fertilizer efficiency, and enhance product quality through these features. As a result, it reduces fuel and vehicle maintenance costs while minimizing environmental impacts.
PlugZenGrow develops an Outdoor Vertical Micro-Field System
PlugZenGrow is a US-based startup that builds an outdoor vertical micro-field system. It is a sustainable and space-saving cultivation method that uses micro soil in modular vertical boxes. Farmers customize and install these boxes in locations like rooftops and parking lots. This way, the startup decentralizes food production and enables communities to grow crops efficiently.
The startup supplies the boxes, irrigation systems, and infrastructure required for its vertical farms. It also provides seeds, soil, and instructions for supporting customers to grow crops successfully. The vertical system increases yields per square foot by 300% while using water and space efficiently. PlugZenGrow’s solutions benefit various industries and initiatives.
RhizeBio simplifies Soil Health Management
RhizeBio is a US-based company that aids in soil health management. The startup utilizes bioinformatics to analyze soil microbiomes and translate soil DNA sequencing data into soil health reports. These reports offer data on biodiversity, functionality, and disturbance ratings, which drive soil management practices and aid the transition to regenerative agriculture.
Further, the startup leverages metagenomic sequencing and analysis to provide information on soil biodiversity. This allows farmers to track and monitor soil microbiome changes. It also offers insights into macro and micro-nutrient levels, soil respiration, and organic matter content. Using RhizeBio’s approach, farmers increase yields, build resilient crops, and support nutritious foods.
Airbots Aerospace makes Autonomous Agri Drones
Airbots Aerospace is an Indian startup that builds autonomous agri drones. The startup’s Surya Shakti 16L drone features a replaceable tank, 5G connectivity, advanced sensors, and intelligent flight modes. Using these features, the drone supports remote control, obstacle avoidance, flexible movement, and more. It also features night vision and long battery life to ensure extended, round-the-clock operations.
Surya Shakti 16L assists farmers with crop spraying, ensuring more efficient pesticide and fertilizer application to maintain health and maximize yields. Farmers and growers also use the drone to monitor crop performance through visual imaging, driving real-time management decisions. In effect, Airbots Aerospace’s drone allows farmers to do agriculture more sustainably and profitably.
Ribes Technologies advances Visual Plant Recognition
Ribes Technologies is a Polish startup that enables visual plant recognition. It leverages visual recognition and AI to identify plant diseases. The startup also develops an electric, autonomous vehicle to monitor crops constantly. This solution allows berry farmers to increase yields. Timely data on crop health also enables them to apply treatments to reduce costs and environmental impacts.
E-TERRY provides an Autonomous Weeding Robot
E-TERRY is a German startup that builds an autonomous weeding robot. It functions like a tractor, and carries different tools and sensors to automate weed removal. The robot also features adaptive width and height, image-based per-plant recognition, lightweight, fully electric operations, a multifunctional unit, and a battery-swapping system.
The startup’s robot finds use in mechanical weed removal for vegetable crops. Moreover, its modular and autonomous design allows farmers to adjust the robot to any field type and transition to precision agriculture. This way, the company advances productive, resilient, and regenerative agriculture.
Farmblox enables Remote Farm Monitoring
Farmblox is a US-based startup that advances remote farm monitoring. The startup’s platform aggregates real-time in-field data from soil moisture sensors and weather monitors. Farmers are able to access this data through a phone or a computer over the internet. The startup also offers a set of plug-and-play sensors and controllers to create customized automation systems for farms.
The startup’s platform allows farmers managing maple sugarbushes to detect sap line leaks, track tank and silo levels, meter maple sap flow, and monitor sugarbush temperature. At the same time, it supports vineyards and orchards in irrigation leak detection, water usage metering, and soil health monitoring.
Cyber Farm offers an Intelligent Decision Support System for Dairy Farms
Cyber Farm is a UK-based company that develops an intelligence decision support system for dairy farms. Its product, CYBER FARM BI, records financial and production indicators, monitors personnel, and makes forecasts to drive decision-making. The startup’s other product, FARM SCREENING, analyzes current indicators and models changes in production to forecast indicators.
Further, the startup develops a milk farm alert system, COW CALLING, that notifies staff upon detecting deviations from nominal production indicators. It integrates with the herd management program and analyzes data from all sources to achieve this. The startup’s range of products thus allows dairy farm owners to centralize and streamline farm management.
MeteoTrack offers AI-powered Decision Support for Farmers
MeteoTrack is a Polish startup that provides AI-powered decision support for farmers. Its platform leverages precise weather forecasts and smart soil sampling to optimize soil fertility and maximize crop productivity. It also delivers soil sampling maps to understand soil conditions and needs better. Further, MeteoTrack makes soil productivity maps based on NDVI images, aiding in analyzing and improving soil quality.
Additionally, the platform offers historical weather reports, including temperature, precipitation, and humidity data. These weather reports also supplement the documentation required for compliance with sustainable production. This way, MeteoTrack enables precision fertilization, better planning and resource utilization, higher yield, and increased farm productivity.
CropsTalk advances Smart Irrigation and Fertilization
CropsTalk is a Tunisian startup that develops a smartphone app for smart irrigation and fertilization. Farmers add crops to the app to generate tailored management plans, informing irrigation, fertigation, and pest/disease management.
The app provides suggestions on stage-wise doses to increase yield and optimize water consumption as well as offers crop-specific fertigation and foliar treatment plans. These suggestions ensure optimal crop growth. Further, the startup provides the app in a pay-per-plan to make it affordable for farmers.
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Map My Crop offers Crop Monitoring Software
Established in 2021, US-based startup Map My Crop develops satellite-based crop monitoring software. It uses satellite imaging and artificial intelligence to deliver crop maps. These maps provide real-time insights into crop yield prediction and farming operation optimization.
Additionally, its farming advisories enable custom solutions that cater to the individual needs of farmers. The satellite data enables farmers to identify crop conditions and save costs on fertilizers, pesticides, and other inputs. It also allows them to increase farm efficiency by accurately assessing crop growth and health over vast land areas.
Agriverts develops Soilless Farming IoT Systems
Turkish startup Agriverts leverages IoT to develop soilless agriculture solutions. The startup’s IoT system enables growing plants at any location and uses nutrient solutions along with various organic and inorganic solid materials.
It utilizes data collected from mobile vision sensors that move through indoor farming shelves. Then, the AI algorithm analyzes and generates information that farmers use to address any feedback or issue. Since its founding in 2021, the startup’s system helps farmers control the environment for growing plants to achieve high crop yields.
Terra Robotics builds an Autonomous Weeding Robot
Founded in 2020, Greek startup Terra Robotics develops an autonomous field navigation robot. It uses sensors and smart algorithms to perform a wide range of agricultural tasks. This includes weed management, soil and crop measurement, and disease detection.
The robot is also fully electric with four-wheel drive and steering, resulting in zero emissions and ease of use. The startup’s weeding robot assists farmers in addressing labor shortages while also producing high-quality bioproducts.
Fuselage Innovations provides Crop Spraying & Granular Spreading Drone
Indian startup Fuselage Innovations, founded in 2020, makes agricultural drones for crop spraying and granular spreading of inputs. The autonomous drones are equipped with a precision spraying system and eliminate the need for laborious manual spraying of pesticides.
They also prevent operators from direct exposure to pesticides. Additionally, the startup’s drones utilize power sources efficiently to support a higher payload. Farmers use the Fuselage smart farming solutions to accurately and safely deliver agricultural inputs faster and in a cost-effective manner.
Orchardly delivers Weather Alerts & Forecasting
Founded in 2020, Indian startup Orchardly provides weather alerts and forecasting tools for farmers through its ML platform. Weather data is collected from the startup’s weather stations and then processed in its decision support system (DSS) for generating farming advisories and alerts.
Further, the system provides irrigation alerts to ensure that the soil always maintains optimal levels of moisture. Orchardly facilitates this based on weather history and forecasts, enabling farmers to respond to environmental changes in real-time and improve yield quality.
TAGim facilitates Remote Livestock Monitoring
US-based startup TAGim develops a farming system for remote livestock monitoring. It consists of smart ear tags, a wireless communication network, an analytics dashboard, and a pen-rider app. The smart ear tags monitor individual animals and keep track of their temperature and movement.
Additionally, it reduces infections in herds along with reducing farmers’ workload. The pen-rider app enables the detection of infected animals in the pen. Since its founding in 2020, TAGim is enabling farmers to track their livestock’s health and intervene early to maintain the quality of their herd.
DeepBerry offers Greenhouse Automation Control
Founded in 2021, Chinese startup DeepBerry provides greenhouse automation control solutions. It combines sensors, AI, big data, and cloud computing to streamline agricultural production processes. This assists farmers in creating a digital farm where integrated water and fertilizer systems monitor, analyze, and control irrigation, fertilizer application, and crop protection.
The startup’s horticulture fertigation device, for example, allows for modifying injected nutrients’ quantity and for delivering doses precisely and uniformly. DeepBerry also assists farmers in selecting and breeding cash crops to increase their revenue.
Cody Genetics performs Livestock Gene Editing
Cody Genetics is a 2021-founded, UK-based startup that delivers gene-editing services to agricultural breeders. Its sex-biasing product edits the embryo to select sex-biased non-genetically modified organisms (GMO) animals. This enables breeders to only produce progeny of the required sex.
The pre-selection of sex in livestock eliminates the unnecessary production of male animals, which are usually killed on-farm within a few days of birth. Cody Genetics offers an alternative to inhumane agricultural practices while also increasing livestock profitability.
UpTerra develops an In-line Irrigation Device
Established in 2020, UpTerra is a US-based startup that develops a smart irrigation system. It uses biomimicry technologies to provide irrigation hardware to farmers. Its product, TerraFlow, is an inline water structuring hardware that arranges water delivery for maximum hydration and energy potential. This technology is based on bio-geometric and magnetohydrodynamic principles.
Further, its frequency imprinting device, TerraScribe, potentiates mineral activity. Lastly, the startup’s quantum environmental conditioner, TerraCell, broadcasts signatures of crop amendments and inputs as frequencies and vibrations to the farm. UpTerra’s solutions enable farmers to increase yields while reducing water and input consumption.
CAPSERO offers Automated Cultivation Solutions
Swiss startup CAPSERO, founded in 2020, provides small to large-scale farming starting materials, such as seedlings and connected infrastructure. The solution is installed outdoors and controlled by an indoor cultivation system. The outdoor capsule protects seedlings against harsh environmental conditions while the startup’s algorithms ensure optimal plant growth conditions till the time of harvesting.
Further, it provides an automated, portable, and aseptic harvest container that uses built-in sensors for harvesting large amounts of crops. CAPSERO allows farmers to fully automate their indoor plant cultivation system.
Discover All Emerging AgriTech Startups
The AgriTech startups showcased in this report are only a small sample of all startups we identified through our data-driven startup scouting approach. Download our free AgriTech Innovation Report for a broad overview of the industry or get in touch for quick & exhaustive research on the latest technologies & emerging solutions that will impact your company in 2024!
