Neatleaf – a first-of-its-kind cultivation management platform that uses data, AI, and robotics to help the cultivation industry manage their crops and improve their yields – recently announced that it has secured $4 million led by AgFunder, one of the world’s most active food-tech and agriculture-tech investors.
The company’s flagship product, the Neatleaf Spyder, is a fully autonomous robotic platform that scans indoor cultivation crops, generating millions of data points on plant health and growth metrics. And this data is analyzed and turned into actionable insights for the cultivation team to assess, monitor, and remedy.
Neatleaf’s technology has been developed over the last several years to detect plant issues even before the human eye can detect them. And the Spyder looks at every plant multiple times and can go back in time to show when a problem began. Data analytics could compare growth conditions across multiple growth cycles and facilities, which is crucial for crop steering and planning. With remote monitoring, growers can save travel costs and optimize an often overworked staff.
KEY QUOTE:
“We believe that data is one of the most crucial tools a farmer can have today. Our AI-driven technology will save growers time and money but more importantly, allows them to grow healthier, more profitable crops through daily management and forecasting tools. This funding will allow us to increase production and deliver the benefits of automation and AI to more growers.”
– Neatleaf Founder and CEO Elmar Mair
“Future yield increases in agriculture will start with better data capture at a plant-by-plant level. Neatleaf has an innovative solution for data capture, and more importantly, has proven they can help growers use that data to meaningfully increase yields.”
– Tom Shields, a Partner at AgFunder who is joining the Neatleaf Board of Directors
