by PressGrain inspection from ZoomAgri attracts investors
AI grain inspection is increasingly in demand
ZoomAgri’s scanner-based automated grain inspection has raised $6 million in funding. Australian agribusiness group GrainCorp was the lead investor, joined by GrainInnovate and investment firm Artesian. In addition to the new partners, existing investor SP Ventures was also part of the funding round. The developer plans to use the funding to expand its offering and enter new markets. It also intends to intensify its research into developing an improved wheat testing system.
Relevance of the solution
ZoomAgri is an AgTech startup that specialises in the traceability and testing of agricultural and food products. The company provides solutions to verify and validate quality standards.
These innovations are relevant in increasing government requirements for the agricultural industry. In 2022, the FDA will introduce regulations on food traceability, requiring agribusiness companies to regulate the process strictly. In addition, even without innovation, crop testing is complex and time-consuming. For example, grain is inspected around 14 times before being exported. Artificial intelligence solutions greatly simplify this process. With innovation, traders can significantly increase productivity and speed up the delivery of products to buyers. No wonder the demand for AgTech is growing rapidly, along with the digitalisation of the agricultural sector.
Product overview
ZoomAgri offers a state-of-the-art product for scanning grain and other commodities. In addition, the company’s developments make it much easier to comply with the TIC process. This involves the testing, inspection and certification of grains and oilseeds. Francisco Jardim of SP Ventures cites flexibility as one of the key benefits of ZoomAgri’s solution. The digital platform offers fast and comprehensive seed scanning. This allows suppliers and buyers to reduce potential risks. The system consists of the following components:
— hardware scanner;
— an artificial intelligence-based program;
— computer vision technology.
In a single scan, the software recognises the type of crop and seed variety and assesses their quality. According to ZoomAgri, the system uses an extensive database regularly updated with new images. To date, there are more than 250 million photos.
The company’s customers include significant agribusinesses such as Cargill, ABInBev, LDC and others. Investor GrainCorp has also been actively testing ZoomAgri’s system for several years. The company uses the scanners to inspect barley. The developer serves customers in 25 countries, including Argentina, Spain and Australia. ZoomAgri intends to enter the North American market in the near future. In addition, the company is increasing its development staff to expand the platform’s functionality.