The agricultural industry is in the midst of a transformation, and agricultural startups are leading the charge. With the global population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, the demand for food is surging, pushing traditional farming methods to their limits.
And we didn’t even talk about climate change.
Startups leveraging AI, robotics, data analytics, IoT, and blockchain are tackling challenges like food security, climate change, and supply chain inefficiencies head-on.
These innovative companies are not only enhancing crop yields and sustainability but also streamlining the agricultural supply chain to reduce waste and improve efficiency.
In this article, we’ll break down the essentials of agricultural startups, explore the key differences between agritech and agrifoodtech, and highlight 10 startups shaking up the industry. There are a few ideas thrown in there as well in case you're wanting to join the ranks.
What is an agriculture startup?
An agriculture startup is a company that applies technology and innovative business models to improve farming, food production, or supply chains. Unlike traditional farming businesses, these startups focus on data-driven solutions, automation, and sustainability to address modern agricultural challenges.
Is there a difference between Agtech, Agritech and agriculture startups?
Yes, and while these terms are often used interchangeably, they have distinct meanings:
Agtech (Agricultural Technology): Broadly refers to any technology applied to agriculture, including farm management software, IoT devices, and precision farming tools.
Agritech (Agricultural Innovation): A subset of agtech that focuses on new farming techniques, automation, and AI-driven processes to boost productivity.
Agricultural Startups: A more general term encompassing companies innovating across all areas of agriculture, including hardware, software, biotech, and alternative food production.
What about agrifoodtech?
Agrifoodtech is a growing segment that overlaps with both agriculture and food production. It includes:
FoodTech startups creating plant-based alternatives, lab-grown meats, or innovative supply chain solutions.
Agri-biotech companies working on genetically modified crops, vertical farming, or bioengineered solutions to improve sustainability.
How are agricultural startups spearheading the technological revolution of the agricultural industry?
From AI-powered yield predictions to robotic harvesting and blockchain-based supply chains, agricultural startups are introducing groundbreaking solutions that are reshaping the industry.
1. AI & Data Analytics
AI-driven farm management software can analyze weather patterns, soil health, and crop growth to optimize farming decisions. Companies like Prospera and Taranis use AI-powered image recognition to detect plant diseases before they spread.
2. Robotics & Automation
Labor shortages in farming have driven the development of robotic harvesters that can pick fruits, weed fields, and monitor crops with minimal human intervention. Iron Ox and Agrobot are leading the way in this space.
3. IoT & Smart Farming
Sensors connected to Internet of Things (IoT) networks provide real-time data on soil conditions, moisture levels, and air quality. Farmobile and CropX are helping farmers make data-driven decisions to reduce water usage and increase efficiency.
4. Blockchain & Supply Chain Transparency
Blockchain is revolutionizing food traceability and supply chain management, ensuring food safety and fair trade practices. Companies like Ripe.io and AgriDigital are making it easier to track produce from farm to table with secure, transparent digital records.
10 awesome Agtech startups shaking things up
Here are 10 agriculture startups really making a change in how the agricultural business operates.
1. Symbrosia
Year established: 2018
Location: Kailua Kona, Hawaii, USA
Funds raised: $7 million
Symbrosia is developing SeaGraze, a red seaweed-based feed supplement designed to significantly reduce methane emissions from beef cattle. By incorporating Asparagopsis taxiformis into cattle feed, the company aims to provide an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional feed additives. The company is in the process of obtaining FDA approval and has secured offtake agreements for 88% of its planned production at a new 15-acre facility in Kona, Hawaii.
How they are changing the industry:
Methane reduction: SeaGraze has the potential to cut methane emissions in cattle by up to 90%, directly addressing the livestock industry’s impact on climate change.
Regulatory innovation: Symbrosia is pioneering regulatory approval pathways for seaweed-based feed additives in the U.S., positioning itself as a leader in sustainable livestock solutions.
Scalability & commercialization: With its 15-acre production site, the company will be capable of feeding up to 1 million cattle, significantly expanding access to its sustainable feed additive.
Economic benefits: SeaGraze offers beef producers a positive ROI of 125-240%, making it a financially viable solution while also contributing to carbon credit generation and premium pricing opportunities for low-methane beef.
2. Bonsai Robotics
Year established: 2022
Location: California, USA
Funds raised: $28.5 million
Bonsai Robotics is an agricultural technology company focused on autonomous navigation for farm equipment. Their technology enables autonomous and semi-autonomous tractors and harvesting machines to operate efficiently in low-visibility conditions, dust, and dense crop environments.
How they are changing the industry:
Autonomous navigation in agriculture: Their AI-powered vision system allows farm equipment to operate safely and efficiently even in challenging environments like orchards and vineyards.
Labor shortage solutions: By automating farm machinery, they help reduce dependency on seasonal labor, a persistent challenge in agriculture.
Precision farming & efficiency: Their system optimizes harvesting and crop management, leading to higher yields and lower operational costs.
3. FieldData Inc.
Year established: 2023
Location: Argentina
Funds raised: Undisclosed
Managing livestock operations no longer requires complex software or manual spreadsheets. FieldData, Inc. provides a simple solution by allowing ranchers to track critical information using WhatsApp. Through voice or text messages, users can log details about treatments, sales, births, deaths, and herd movements. An AI-powered system processes this data, structures it into useful insights, and delivers reports through a web dashboard, Excel downloads, or weekly WhatsApp summaries.
How they are changing the industry:
AI-driven automation: Eliminates the need for manual data entry, making record-keeping more efficient for ranchers of all sizes.
Rotational grazing and holistic herd management: Integrates satellite imagery and automated tracking of field movements to improve land and livestock management.
Subscription-based model: Offers tiered pricing based on herd size, making the platform accessible to operations of all scales. More than 400 ranches across Latin America, the US, and Australia have adopted the platform, with strong customer retention.
Expansion into new markets: Positions the company to support a broader range of livestock operations, including those in North America and Australia.
4. Shinkei Systems
Year established: 2021
Location: California, USA
Funds raised: $6.27 million
Reducing waste and improving seafood quality is at the core of Shinkei Systems. This startup is pioneering AI-powered robotic fish processing, using advanced automation to perform traditional Japanese ikejime fish slaughtering techniques. By minimizing stress and improving processing efficiency, the company helps extend the shelf life of seafood while maintaining superior quality.
How they are changing the industry:
AI-driven precision processing: Automates the ikejime method, a technique known for preserving freshness by reducing lactic acid buildup in fish.
Minimizing food waste: Extends seafood shelf life and prevents premature spoilage, reducing waste in the fishing industry.
Enhancing sustainability: Allows smaller fisheries and independent operators to compete with industrial fish processing by reducing costs and improving quality.
Bringing robotics to seafood supply chains: Introduces advanced automation to an industry that still relies heavily on manual labor, improving efficiency and traceability.
5. Windfall Bio
Year established: 2022
Location: California, USA
Funds raised: $37 million
Converting methane into a valuable agricultural resource is the mission behind Windfall Bio. The company is developing microbial technology that captures methane emissions from farms, landfills, and industrial sites and transforms them into nutrient-rich soil amendments. By harnessing methane-consuming microbes, the company provides a sustainable agriculture solution for reducing emissions while improving soil fertility.
How they are changing the industry:
Methane capture and conversion: Uses naturally occurring microbes to consume methane emissions and convert them into bioavailable nutrients for crops.
Sustainable farming practices: Helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions while providing farmers with a cost-effective, regenerative alternative to synthetic fertilizers.
Carbon-negative agriculture: Supports carbon credit initiatives by enabling farms to remove methane from the atmosphere and reinvest it into soil health.
Scalability across industries: Applies its methane-capturing technology to livestock operations, food waste facilities, and energy production, creating a multi-industry impact.
6. Fermata
Year established: 2020
Location: Israel
Funds raised: $10 million
Detecting plant diseases before they spread can mean the difference between a healthy harvest and a major crop loss. Fermata applies data science and computer vision to help commercial growers identify pests and diseases at their earliest stages. The company’s AI-powered platform, Croptimus™, automates disease detection, allowing farmers to intervene before problems escalate. By reducing reliance on manual scouting, Fermata helps cut labor costs, decrease pesticide use, and improve overall crop health.
How they are changing the industry:
AI-powered early detection: Uses adaptive computer vision technology to identify crop diseases and pests before they cause irreversible damage.
Reducing crop loss: Provides automated alerts and insights that help farmers take preventative action, protecting yields.
Minimizing chemical use: Enables targeted interventions, reducing pesticide dependency while keeping crops healthy.
Lowering labor costs: Automates traditional scouting processes, freeing up labor for other farm operations.
7. TRACT
Year established: 2022
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Funds raised: $11.2 million
Achieving sustainability in agriculture requires more than just good intentions—it demands accurate, transparent data tracking. TRACT simplifies sustainability reporting and supply chain transparency by providing a SaaS platform that aligns methodologies and metrics for agricultural companies. By reducing the burden of complex reporting requirements, the platform enables agribusinesses to measure and improve their environmental and social impact while staying compliant with global sustainability regulations.
How they are changing the industry:
Sustainability reporting automation: Helps companies comply with EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and other global mandates without excessive administrative burden.
Supply chain transparency: Provides end-to-end traceability, ensuring that corporations can verify ethical and sustainable sourcing in their agricultural supply chains.
Collaboration with agribusiness leaders: Backed by major investors like ADM, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company, and Olam, enabling widespread industry adoption.
Financial incentives for sustainability: Partners with Rabobank to integrate sustainable financing solutions for farmers and agribusinesses that comply with ESG goals.
Emissions and farmer income tracking: Expands beyond compliance by offering real-time insights on emissions, deforestation risk, and farmer incomes, helping businesses meet their sustainability commitments.
8. Klim
Year established: 2020
Location: Berlin, Germany
Funds raised: $22 million
Transitioning agriculture to a more sustainable and regenerative model is critical for the future of food production. Klim provides a digital platform that helps farmers adopt regenerative agriculture practices, restore soil health, and reduce emissions. By partnering with major food companies like Nestlé and Kaufland, the company enables large-scale supply chain decarbonization while supporting farmers with tools, financing, and agronomic expertise.
How they are changing the industry:
Accelerating regenerative farming adoption: Provides farmers with planning, execution, and financial tools to make the shift to soil-friendly, low-emission practices.
Supply chain decarbonization: Helps food companies track and reduce emissions by transitioning their sourcing to regenerative agriculture.
Farmer financial support: Tackles key barriers like limited access to capital and agronomist guidance, making it easier for farms to adopt sustainable methods.
Scalability and real-world impact: Already serves 3,500+ farmers managing over 700,000 hectares of farmland, providing resources to restore biodiversity, improve resilience, and sequester carbon.
9. Muddy Machines
Year established: 2020
Location: United Kingdom
Funds raised: $2.43 million
Automating labor-intensive farm tasks is at the core of Muddy Machines’ mission. The company develops electric robotic solutions that tackle harvesting, transportation, and field management for specialty crops. Its two flagship robots, Sprout and Squirrel, focus on reducing labor shortages in agriculture by automating asparagus harvesting and crop transportation. By combining AI, GPS navigation, and precision robotics, these machines increase worker productivity while lowering costs for growers.
How they are changing the industry:
Automated harvesting: Sprout, the company’s all-electric asparagus harvesting robot, enables precision picking while reducing labor costs.
Autonomous transportation: Squirrel transports harvested crops and empty trays, easing the physical burden on farm workers and improving efficiency.
Precision agriculture tools: Future developments include robotic solutions for weeding, planting, and spraying, helping high-value vegetable and specialty crop farmers manage fields more efficiently.
Addressing farm labor shortages: With rising labor costs and regulatory pressures, Muddy Machines offers affordable robotic solutions that reduce dependence on seasonal workers.
Scalability and market expansion: The company is preparing for full deployment of its technology in 2025, with pre-orders already open for Sprout.
10. Alvie
Year established: 2020
Location: Paris, France
Funds raised: $3.36 million
Reducing pesticide use while maintaining effective crop protection is a major challenge in modern agriculture. Alvie is tackling this issue with HYGO, a digital advisory tool that optimizes pesticide application timing, technique, and dosage. By combining real-time weather data, soil properties, and an extensive database of agricultural inputs, HYGO provides farmers with precise recommendations that improve efficiency and sustainability.
How they are changing the industry:
Optimizing pesticide use: HYGO helps reduce chemical applications by up to 70%, preventing unnecessary environmental contamination while ensuring crop protection.
Real-time decision support: The onboard micro-weather station collects live environmental data to guide spraying decisions and minimize chemical drift and evaporation risks.
Data-driven recommendations: Uses a database of 22,000+ agricultural inputs and a patented algorithm to customize pesticide and nutrient application based on weather and crop conditions.
Enhancing soil health and carbon sequestration: Reduces chemical residues in soil and water, which improves microbial activity, biodiversity, and soil carbon storage.
Farmer-first approach: Designed for practical use in real-world farm conditions, ensuring economic viability and ease of adoption for agricultural operations worldwide.
3 agriculture startup business ideas
The agricultural industry faces multiple challenges beyond what current startups are solving. While automation, sustainability, and supply chain transparency are making strides, new gaps still exist Here are three startup ideas that could create a major impact in agriculture.
1. AI-powered predictive irrigation management
Water scarcity is and will continue to be a problem for farmers.This often leads to overwatering, which wastes resources, or underwatering, which reduces yields. Climate change makes rainfall unpredictable, further increasing irrigation inefficiencies.
Solution: An AI-driven irrigation platform that uses satellite data, soil sensors, and weather forecasts to optimize water usage. The system would provide real-time recommendations via a mobile app or automate irrigation to reduce waste, lower costs, and improve crop resilience.
2. Autonomous multi-crop harvesting robot
Many specialty crops still require manual harvesting, making farms vulnerable to labor shortages and rising wages. Current harvesting robots focus on single crops, limiting their usefulness and increasing costs.
Solution: A multi-crop harvesting robot with AI-powered vision and soft robotics to identify, pick, and sort different fruits and vegetables. Its autonomous navigation system would allow it to switch between crops efficiently, reducing labor costs and boosting productivity.
3. Blockchain-powered marketplace for small farmers
Small farms struggle to access fair pricing, direct buyers, and market transparency, often relying on middlemen who reduce their profits. Consumers, meanwhile, demand more traceability and ethical sourcing.
Solution: A blockchain-based marketplace connecting smallholder farmers with buyers, ensuring fair pricing, secure payments, and verified sustainability claims. Smart contracts would allow transparent transactions, while DeFi solutions could offer microloans to farmers for growth.
Thinking about building an agriculture SaaS startup?
Building a successful agriculture SaaS startup isn’t just about having a great idea—it’s about execution. From user research and product development to marketing and scaling, there’s a lot to manage. Many founders get stuck trying to build the tech themselves, taking valuable time away from securing partnerships, raising funds, and growing the business.
This is where DevSquad comes in. While you focus on customer acquisition, business strategy, and industry connections, our expert product team designs, develops, and delivers the software that powers your vision. With agile development, pre-built SaaS components, and a team of experienced developers, we help you launch faster and with fewer risks.
The best founders don’t do everything themselves—they bring in the right team to execute at the highest level. Let’s build your agriculture SaaS startup together.
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