To help feed the world better, farmers turn to AI

The AI-powered machine clips onto any tractor, says Verdant founder and CEO Gabe Sibley, noting that it comes in 20- and 40-foot versions to match the standard vehicle sizes in his company’s native California. “It’s like the intelligent agronomist sharpshooter that rides along on the back.”

The aimable sprayer, which is equipped with a camera and combines crop application with data analytics, targets weeds 20 times more accurately than its nearest competitor. “It goes from something that could be a few inches down to a millimeter, in terms of precision and accuracy,” says Sibley, who launched Silicon Valley startup Verdant in 2018 after working on autonomous vehicles. “If you’ve got dense crops like garlic, carrots, onions, you can get in between and deliver organic herbicides without touching any of the crops.”

Because the Smart Sprayer uses up to 96% less herbicide than its traditional counterpart, switching to organic becomes economical. “That obviously opens up a much higher-margin product for the grower, at a cost that’s approaching conventional costs,” says Sibley, whose company aims to help build a sustainable and profitable agriculture system. “That’s good for their pocketbook, and also good for us consumers and good for the land.”

Verdant belongs to a crop of agricultural technology companies that use AI in their products and services. Elsewhere, AI might provoke fear and worry, but it’s a force for good in agtech, where applications include robotics, plant breeding, and weather forecasting. By helping farmers grow better food more efficiently, the technology plays an increasingly vital role in feeding the world’s growing population and shrinking agriculture’s vast environmental footprint.

Investors in Verdant include AgFunder, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm specializing in agtech and foodtech. Rob…