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AI applied to Agritech is the new big thing for sustainability
DukeRem25 February 2023
  AI provider for greenhouse growers, Source.ag, has recently announced the closing of its Series A funding round, which raised $23 million. This takes the total funding of the Dutch company to $35 million in under two years. The new funds will enable Source.ag to introduce two new AI products that will help support greenhouse growers on how to grow their crops optimally. Source.ag launched its first commercial products in the summer of 2022, and its user base has grown tenfold in just 12 months, partnering with the world's leading growers to help increase vegetable yields in the face of the growing energy and climate crises. With the global demand for greenhouse agriculture rising, Source.ag will empower growers worldwide to accelerate their growth and operate facilities more efficiently. The funding round was led by Astanor Ventures and included investments from Acre Venture Partners and some of the Netherlands’ leading greenhouse operators. The new investment will see Source.ag enable growers to operate at optimized efficiency using its pioneering AI technology to track and improve cultivations. Source.ag focuses on the largest global fresh vegetable segments such as tomatoes and peppers, with the ambition to ultimately help all fruit and vegetable growers. After the successful commercial launch and implementation of its first product, Source Track, the company will be launching two new products in 2023. Source Cultivate and Source Control will enable growers to simulate full seasons of crop growth, tailored to specific gene and crop varieties, to grow their crops in the best way possible. The new funding will also help Source.ag expand its AI to support even more crop types and farming methods. According to Arnout Dijkhuizen, Investment Principal at Astanor Ventures, "Source.ag has succeeded where many have said it was impossible: cracking standardization, data gathering and plant phenotyping with AI models that can simulate plant biology and help to optimize photosynthesis." The global population is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, and resource-efficient farming methods need to be scaled up globally to meet the demand for healthy food in a sustainable manner. Greenhouse agriculture is a proven solution to sustainable, local, and climate-resilient food production. It produces up to 15 times higher yields without the need for arable land and uses up to 20 times less water versus traditional farming methods. Today, 70% of global freshwater withdrawals are used for food production, and 46% of the planet's habitable land is used for agriculture. With Source.ag's cutting-edge AI platform, more growers can operate more acres in more locations more efficiently, thereby accelerating the global adoption of greenhouse agriculture. Rien Kamman, CEO and co-founder of Source.ag, said, "Our technology provides growers with real-time, highly tailored advice on how to optimally grow their crops, and we support them in running a successful growing operation." Kamman also expressed his pride in the company's mission to empower the world’s growers to scale healthy food production and feed more people in a sustainable way. Lucas Mann, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Acre Venture Partners, stated that "Greenhouse agriculture is one of the key answers to climate-resilient production of fresh fruits and vegetables." Founded in 2020 by Rien Kamman (CEO) and Ernst van Bruggen (CPO), Source.ag has brought together a team of experienced engineers and plant scientists and has partnered with the world’s leading growers to build the sector’s most advanced artificial intelligence. Their proprietary algorithms simulate plant behavior to define and execute optimal cultivation strategies, taking into account millions of data points on climate, biology, and resources. By enabling more growers to operate more facilities more efficiently through pioneering tech, Source.ag is making greenhouse agriculture accessible, profitable and globally scalable. The company is on a mission to provide nutritious food to more people, using fewer resources. The firm has a track record of investing in innovative agrifood startups, including Infarm, Ynsect, and Agricool. Acre Venture Partners, on the other hand, is a venture capital firm focused on backing early-stage companies that are transforming the food and agriculture industry. The firm was launched in 2016 by Campbell Soup Company and has since invested in startups such as Back to the Roots, BrightFarms, and Ripple Foods. With the new funding, Source.ag plans to expand its team and ramp up its product development efforts. The company aims to hire more engineers, data scientists, and plant experts to further enhance its AI platform and bring new products to market. The firm is also planning to expand its presence in key markets, including North America and Europe, and forge new partnerships with greenhouse operators. Source.ag's latest funding round is a testament to the growing demand for sustainable and resource-efficient food production solutions. As the world's population continues to grow and climate change threatens traditional farming methods, greenhouse agriculture and AI-powered tools like Source.ag's platform are becoming increasingly important in meeting global food demand while minimizing environmental impact.