AgroScout closes $3m funding round for its AI-based solution for sustainable crop protection

AgroScout, a subsidiary of the Trendlines Group Ltd, has announced that it has completed an investment round of $3m for its AI-based solution for sustainable crop protection.

According the company, the investment round was led by Kibbutz Yiron, and included other investors namely Exit Valley crowd-funding platform, Agriline, The Trendlines Group and grants from the Israel Innovation Authority and the BIRD Foundation.

AgroScout’s solution integrates external data collected by drones together with artificial intelligence (AI) software, deep learning and computer vision to accurately and autonomously detect, identify, and monitor diseases, pests, and other agronomic problems in field crops.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that farmers lose  between 20% to 40% of their yield to disease and pests.

With the AI solution, AgroScout and Birdstop will deploy this autonomous solution for a large North American potato processor.

AgroScout is a member of Oracle for Startups, Oracle’s initiative to support entrepreneurs and innovators worldwide, and is a proud early adopter of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Data Science.

Simcha Shore, CEO, AgroScout, commented: “The investment from a strategic investor such as Kibbutz Yiron, an agribusiness with a deep understanding of the sector’s needs, is a vote of confidence in our technology and approach. The funding will allow us to expand our market reach significantly and broaden our services to our customers, offering them a viable and valuable solution to one of the most urgent issues facing farmers today.”

Shore said AgroScout expects this new round to enable it to deepen its strong relationship with Oracle, to offer a flexible, cutting-edge AI solution for farmers, enabling them to increase their yields and contribute to global food security for all.