Meet the AI Startups That Broke Into U.S. Agriculture and Are Driving Real Results!

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into agriculture is transforming the way we grow and manage crops, offering innovative solutions to age-old challenges in the farming industry. With the global population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, the pressure on agriculture to maximize yields has intensified. Rather than simply expanding land use, many are turning to AI-driven tools that enhance productivity on existing farmland. From drone-based computer vision systems that assess crop health to autonomous machinery for planting, weeding, and watering, AI helps optimize resource use, improve efficiency, and reduce labor demands. Additionally, AI-enabled soil analysis and chemical development promise better crop treatments and soil management. However, while these technologies offer significant benefits, their accessibility often favors larger farming operations, leaving smaller farms limited in resources. Despite these challenges, the rise of AI in agriculture continues to drive the industry forward, providing innovative ways to meet the food demands of tomorrow.

Carbon Robotics

Founder: Paul Mikesell

Carbon Robotics is transforming agriculture with its AI-powered LaserWeeder™, a machine designed to revolutionize weed control. Using deep learning and computer vision, it identifies weeds in real-time and targets them with precision lasers, eliminating the need for herbicides. With 42 cameras and NVIDIA GPUs, the system processes 4.7 million high-resolution images per hour, capable of working across 100 crop types in various weather conditions. In 2024, the company secured $70 million in Series D funding, bringing total funding to $157 million. Since its launch, the LaserWeeder has eradicated over 10 billion weeds, leading to a 50% increase in crop yields for users. Carbon Robotics is expanding globally and has earned recognition on the CNBC Disruptor 50 list and Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators.

Upside Robotics

Founder: Jana Tian, Sam Dugan

Upside Robotics is revolutionizing precision farming with AI-powered autonomous robots. Their flagship product, The Maize Runner, is designed for corn fields, equipped with a 24” wide frame to navigate between rows and a 44L tank for fertilizer application. The robot covers about one acre per hour, operates autonomously, and uses AI to optimize fertilizer application, reducing waste and minimizing environmental impact.

By utilizing a swarm of smaller robots instead of one large machine, Upside Robotics enhances efficiency while ensuring precision in crop fertilization. Their AI systems help decrease the two-thirds of fertilizer that typically goes unused, addressing a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions.

Although there were no specific updates for 2024, Upside Robotics has been expanding its team, hiring key personnel like Ravi Baboolal as Founding Robotics Engineer and Tanya Franklin as Agronomy and Partnerships Lead. The company continues its field testing and has gained recognition in the agtech sector for its focus on sustainability and precision farming.

AgEYE Technologies

Founder: Nick Genty

AgEYE Technologies is a leader in AI-powered solutions for vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Their HYVE system, acquired in March 2024, integrates AI with robotics, fertigation, and advanced racking to automate indoor farming from seeding to harvest. AgEYE’s Digital Cultivation Farm Management Software centralizes data for real-time analysis, improving irrigation, plant health, and overall crop management through AI-driven insights and computer vision technology.

In 2024, AgEYE achieved significant milestones, including the HYVE acquisition, which enhances their ability to provide turnkey vertical farming solutions. They were also included in the Hatcher+ Top 100 Global Startups list in July and presented at Venture Atlanta 2024. The company’s innovations aim to solve challenges like labor costs and resource optimization while ensuring consistent crop quality and profitability in vertical farming.

SatYield

Founder – Gabby Nizri

SatYield is revolutionizing agriculture through its AI-powered yield prediction technology, integrating satellite imagery, computer vision, and deep learning to deliver real-time data on crop production and risks. Their data-fusion platform, which doesn’t rely on ground data or region-specific calibrations, achieves an impressive 94% accuracy in predicting major crop yields up to four months before harvest. This technology offers wide coverage across geographies, climates, and crop types, making it both climate and environment agnostic.

A key feature of SatYield’s platform is its ability to identify yield gaps and suggest optimization strategies, which have the potential to improve crop yields by over 10%. By providing accurate, early predictions, SatYield supports supply chain efficiency and enables better planning for sectors such as finance, insurance, and commodity trading.

Taranis

Founder: Ofir Schlam

Taranis leverages AI-powered crop intelligence and high-resolution imaging to transform farm management. Their platform provides detailed leaf-level insights through submillimeter imagery captured by drones, using machine learning trained on over 200 million data points for highly tailored crop recommendations.

In 2024, Taranis launched Ag Assistant, a generative AI tool delivering real-time field-specific insights and detailed scouting reports. They also partnered with Syngenta Crop Protection to support U.S. ag retailers with AI-enhanced agronomy, integrating Taranis’ Intelligence Service with Syngenta’s Cropwise platform. This collaboration includes ultra-high-resolution pest and disease detection at 0.3mm/pixel and conservation services with automated funding access for sustainable practices.

Throughout the year, Taranis has focused on improving its AI models and expanding services, offering farmers actionable insights and tools for sustainable, productive farming.

FarmWise

Founder: Thomas Palomares, Sébastien Boyer and Tjarko Leife (CEO)

FarmWise is reshaping sustainable agriculture through its AI-powered precision technology. At the core is the Intelligent Plant System (IPS), FarmWise’s proprietary AI software that enables farming equipment to identify and manage plants at an individual level in real-time. Vulcan, FarmWise’s flagship implement, uses advanced computer vision to differentiate crops from weeds as it moves through fields, allowing for highly accurate weed removal without harming surrounding crops. This precision weeding system offers a mechanical, chemical-free alternative to herbicides, addressing concerns over herbicide resistance and regulatory restrictions. Designed to adapt to diverse field conditions, crop stages, and varying weed pressures, Vulcan performs effectively across a range of environments.

In 2024, FarmWise achieved notable milestones with the commercial launch of Vulcan, which began deliveries in late 2023 and scaled throughout the year. Vulcan quickly set productivity records, covering over 8 hectares in a single shift and delivering cost savings of up to $5,000 per day for farmers. An exclusive partnership with RDO Equipment Co., established in September 2024, further extends Vulcan’s reach to vegetable growers across the Southwestern U.S. FarmWise is also focused on continuous improvement, regularly releasing software updates that allow growers to fine-tune weeding precision directly from the cab, ensuring ongoing efficiency and adaptability in

Helios

Founder: Francisco Martin-Rayo

Helios AI is transforming agricultural commodity forecasting and supply chain management with its advanced AI platform, designed to provide real-time insights into climate and economic risks. Through precise price forecasting across more than 50 commodities and predictive analytics on supply disruptions, Helios helps users stay ahead of market fluctuations. Its CommodiTrack™ Dashboard offers valuable trading insights, price signals, and climate risk trends, while the platform’s extensive global reach covers 90% of agricultural districts worldwide. Leveraging over 500 billion unique risk signals, Helios’s climate risk analysis equips users with a deep understanding of environmental impacts on commodities.

In 2024, Helios introduced impactful tools, such as Cersi, an AI assistant for quick, actionable insights into supply chains, and CommodiTrack, which provides agrifood buyers with WA%R, a unique metric to assess climate risk. Additionally, Helios launched the SC²A climate audit tool, enabling organizations to evaluate long-term climate risks for sustainable sourcing. Helios AI’s innovations empower key players—CPG companies, restaurant chains, traders, and manufacturers—to navigate climate and economic challenges in agriculture with confidence.

Avalo

Founders: Brendan Collins, Mariano Alvarez

Avalo is revolutionizing crop development with its AI-driven approach, significantly accelerating the breeding process. By leveraging AI for Gene Discovery by Informationless Perturbation (GDIP), the company reduces the time required to develop new crop varieties from 10-15 years to just 2-3 years. Avalo is focused on creating climate-resilient crops, including frost-resistant rice, drought-tolerant potatoes, and water-efficient cotton, to help address the challenges of a changing climate. Their AI technology also identifies genes that enhance traits like heat tolerance, pest resistance, and higher yields, bypassing traditional field trials. With a cost-effective solution that is 100 times cheaper than conventional methods, Avalo is making advanced crop breeding accessible to smaller organizations and working towards more sustainable solutions, including alternative rubber sources from dandelions and improved traits in major crops like soy and corn.