“Plants have health and their health is important, and how they monitor the health of plants, it was clear that technically the challenge is very similar.”
Imagine stepping into a world where your expertise in bioinformatics merges with artificial intelligence to revolutionize agriculture. This is precisely what happened to Valeria Kogan, a trailblazer in the realm of agri-tech. Embarking on her PhD journey in 2017 with a focus on bioinformatics, little did she anticipate that her career path would veer towards agriculture.
The emergence of AI technologies in the late 2010s opened up unexpected avenues for professionals like Kogan. An encounter with a tomato grower seeking an AI-savvy individual to enhance agricultural practices presented her with an enticing opportunity. The prospect of harnessing AI to monitor plant health resonated deeply with Kogan’s background in bioinformatics. She realized that the technological challenges mirrored those she had previously encountered, albeit in a different domain.
Thus, Fermata came into being in 2020, spearheaded by Kogan’s vision to utilize computer vision and AI for monitoring and diagnosing diseases and pests affecting greenhouse crops. By employing off-the-shelf cameras to capture images of crops twice daily, Fermata’s cutting-edge software employs an AI model to analyze these images meticulously. Subsequently, farmers receive timely alerts regarding potential infestations or diseases via a user-friendly app interface.
“The original idea that I had was let’s build the robots that will be moving through the greenhouse… When we started talking to people, it was very clear that no one needs that.”
In contrast to previous attempts by competitors to integrate AI solutions within farming practices without aligning them with farmers’ actual needs, Fermata took a divergent approach. Rather than imposing technology upon end-users, they sought genuine engagement with greenhouse farms to identify specific requirements—a strategy proving pivotal for their success.
Kogan highlighted Fermata’s commitment to maintaining an in-house data labeling team as instrumental in ensuring the accuracy of their AI model. Unlike outsourcing this critical aspect, internalizing data labeling has been crucial for honing their algorithms effectively. Initially utilizing publicly available data for training purposes, Fermata now leverages customer-specific data sets and operates a dedicated research center where plants are deliberately infected with various diseases—underscoring their dedication towards enhancing diagnostic precision.
“We love customers who have a lot of problems because it brings us a lot of data… We’re like okay let’s look serious on the call…and we’re worried because that is bad news for them but for us it’s amazing news.”
Fermata’s strategic evolution involved collaborating directly with farms while fostering partnerships with prominent agricultural entities such as Bayer and Syngenta—an approach yielding substantial dividends after facing initial challenges following its inception in 2020. With over 100 cameras deployed and recent successful fundraising efforts culminating in a $10 million Series A round led by Raw Ventures—a notable European VC—Fermata is poised for accelerated growth.
Looking ahead, Kogan envisions expanding beyond tomatoes cultivated within greenhouses by diversifying into new crop varieties while fortifying existing partnerships. As Fermata navigates towards profitability by 2026 aided by robust scaling strategies facilitated by recent funding injections, its trajectory serves as a testament to blending novel technologies seamlessly within traditional industries—all underpinned by genuine collaboration and relentless innovation.
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