Marcus Richards
As the global agricultural industry confronts the challenges of sustaining an ever-growing population under increasing environmental pressures, a number of innovative AgTech startups have been emerging across the United States. These startups are harnessing the power of technology to improve efficiency, reduce waste, enhance nutritional value, and create sustainable practices within the sector. Delaware, despite its small size, has not been left behind in this technological revolution and has welcomed the establishment of several groundbreaking AgTech startups, particularly those launched after 2020. This article aims to shed light on these startups that are taking major strides in the AgTech industry and revolutionizing agricultural practices on a large scale.
Delaware’s agricultural sector is notable for its tremendous diversity and dynamism, owing in large part to the state’s favorable climate and fertile soils. This inherent agricultural strength, coupled with the state’s strategic location and its active support towards innovation and entrepreneurship, has made it an ideal hub for AgTech startups. These companies aim to solve the urgent problems faced by the agricultural industry through cutting-edge technologies, data-driven insights, and sustainable practices.
Whether it’s devising biodegradable packaging solutions that extend the shelf life of produce, developing e-commerce platforms for agricultural products, creating AI-driven systems for detecting plant stress, or using blockchain and Big Data for tackling food fraud, Delaware’s AgTech startups have a wide spectrum of solutions to offer. Let’s dive into the details of these innovative companies that are changing the face of agriculture not only in the state of Delaware, but also globally.
PeelON Solutions
Founded in Delaware’s New Castle by Taraka Ramji Moturu, PeelON presents a biodegradable packaging solution that drastically elongates the shelf-life of fresh produce. Their innovative product tackles two pressing issues at once—food wastage and plastic pollution—by creating a unique microclimate around the produce that maintains its freshness for extended periods. Impacting the supply chain, it reduces fruit and vegetable loss and transportation costs, thereby trimming down the carbon footprint.
LANFarms
Founded by Peace Sampson and Uchechukwu Ajuzieogu, LANFarms is an agricultural e-commerce platform servicing customers in Middletown, Delaware. With divers metadata operations and vast product listings, the startup delivers a wide variety of agricultural products from seeds and nuts to fruits and livestock to its customers with absolute ease.
Aquaponics AI
Operating in the hydroponics and PaaS (Plaftorm as a Service) space, Aquaponics AI was launched in Claymont, Delaware by founders Daniel Robards and Jonathan Reyes. The Aurora platform leverage AI to optimize operations providing insights for decision making with data-driven approach to grower. Their technology is transforming the space of agricultural production through their hydroponics solutions.
farmAIr, Inc.
Specializing in AgTech, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, farmAIr, Inc. is a Middletown-based startup. Their AI technology utilizes thermographic data to detect plant stress at an early stage, be it biotic or abiotic, a vital asset for plant health and yield management.
Riwe Technologies
Combatting a global issue of food fraud, Delaware’s Wilmington-based Riwe Technologies, founded by Chigozirim Israel and Julie Oyong, are creating blockchain-driven tracking to support transparency in the food supply chain. Their solution is currently achieving 45% visibility and traceability across a network of over 1000 farmers and supply chain actors in Nigeria and Ghana, and they aim to expand even more.
Hard Blue Si-Carbons
Innovative startup Hard Blue Si-Carbons, based in Dover, Delaware, owns the patent for a unique method of transforming agricultural residues into Silicon carbide abrasives and high-tech semiconductors.
We Save Food
Founded by Daria Malkovets, Delaware-based startup We Save Food has created a platform for food businesses to reduce food waste and re-distribute surplus food. In addition, they provide solutions for composting food waste into fertilizers & animal feed.
Green Growth
Delaware-based Green Growth offers a data collecting platform that can be installed on any harvester. The platform provides precise yield mapping in a hundredweight per acre format, allowing farmers to optimize their operations and significantly reduce costs.
GRN Energy
GRN Energy, headquartered in Dover, Delaware, provides consultancy and matchmaking services to create sustainable and profitable operations powered by renewable energy in sectors like agriculture, artificial intelligence, and blockchain.
VertiTech
Headquartered in Middletown, Delaware, VertiTech is working on building a global network of next-generation, climate-resistant farms. Their technology allows crops to be grown in a sustainable manner, using 90% less water and 95% less land than traditional farming while producing 350x more yield.
The above represent some of the most ambitious and innovative AgTech startups in Delaware. They are emblematic of the state’s rich entrepreneurial ecosystem, and its ongoing commitment to innovative solutions that address urgent global issues. These companies are harnessing powerful technological tools to address complex agricultural challenges, helping to create a more sustainable, efficient and productive future for farming. With such groundbreaking innovation, Delaware’s AgTech scene looks set for a bright future.
