Farming and agriculture jobs are some of the oldest occupations in the world, but that doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from a modernized makeover now and then. Northern California is home to a cornucopia of agricultural bounty. The area accounts for the majority of the country’s almond, wine and walnut production, but in spite of this abundance, farmers across the Silicon Valley area still contend with labor shortages and unpredictable climates. Faced with threats like climate change and water shortages, farmers everywhere are searching for answers to their most pressing questions. Luckily, they don't have to look far.
Agtech companies across Silicon Valley are stepping up to the plate, building software and hardware solutions for the sustainability and management issues facing the agricultural sector. Whether they’re building smart, electric-powered tractors, or developing crop monitoring solutions that can help restore soil health and conserve water, these agtech companies in Silicon Valley are helping prepare agriculture for the future.
Agriculture Tech Companies in Silicon Valley To Know
- OnePointOne
- EOS Crop Monitoring
- Telesense
- Cisbay
- Monarch Tractors
- Kakaxi
Location: 2017
Founded: San Jose
What they do: OnePointOne builds an automated vertical farming platform to help farmers in high density or urban areas implement robotics, machine learning and other automated technologies to grow food. Their aeroponic indoor farming system utilizes AI, LED lighting, nutrient sprays, and atmospheric controls to assist farmers in growing produce efficiently regardless of the location. OnePointOne seeks to meet the urban farming wave with technology that helps tackle the global issues of food access and sustainability.
Founded: 2015
Location: Menlo Park
What they do: EOS Crop Monitoring offers AI powered satellite crop monitoring to help farmers keep tabs on their crop data from their computer. Farmers who manage large crop fields can have a hard time tending to all of their acreage or gaining insights on their production as a whole. EOS Crop Monitoring’s deep learning technology can gather data about plant health, vegetation changes, and weather risks to help farmers make quick informed decisions. Their product can also assist in planning field work tasks based on directly actionable insights gathered from fields, delegating responsibilities based on risk or more immediate needs.
Founded: 2013
Location: Sunnyvale
What they do: Telesense seeks to make grain production more profitable and less risky by helping grain farmers maintain proper storage and preservation of their crops post-harvest. Since grains are especially susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity, Telesense offers data driven sensor technology that can detect small changes or spoilage risks in real time, so that farmers can take immediate action to correct any issues. The company links physical sensors placed in storage facilities with cloud technology to send updates, alerts and other information to an app that users can download to their phone.
Founded: 2008
Location: San Jose
What they do: Cisbay offers a suite of agtech products to help farmers optimize crop output that includes soil rejuvenation, seed protection, and growth maximizing services. Agriculture consumes over 70 percent of the world's water, so Cisbay uses microbial technology to help turn wastewater into usable water, in order to reduce water waste and boost soil health for farms globally. The company also looks to help make it easier for farmers to transition to sustainable technology, offering financing solutions and partner programs that help make sustainable farming profitable.
Founded: 2019
Location: Fremont
What they do: Farmers across the country often struggle to square large crop yields with labor shortages. What Monarch Tractor aims to do is fill the gaps in labor availability with their tractor technology. Their platforms combine mechanization and data analysis capabilities to develop tractors that are both efficient and smart, helping to both accomplish daily tasks and optimize growing operations. The company also eliminates the need for chemicals and diesel fuel by building tractor technology that is reliant fully on green energy.
Founded: 2017
Location: Palo Alto
What they do: Planetarians is the developer of technology that helps add value to food products from upcycled ingredients. Their technology produces high protein flour from defatted seeds, with the goal of feeding more people with less emissions. Planetarians hopes their technology will be adopted by farmers and food companies looking to produce more sustainable alternatives to wheat and other flours.
Founded: 2014
Location: Campbell
What they do: Kakaxi markets itself as a “farm to table social networking platform”, offering options for both farmers and farm customers to learn about crops. Kakaxi’s solar powered product is a video sensor that monitors temperature, humidity, daylight, rainfall and plant growth, so that farmers can manage their crops. The video sensor uploads data to the cloud, which is then accessible on smartphones through the company’s app. Farm customers as well as farmers can use app to watch time lapse videos, learn about farm data, connect with farmers and discover how their food is made.
Founded: 2016
Location: Mountain View
What they do: Water and fertilizer conservation is a huge topic of discussion in farming, and ConserWater Technologies seeks to throw their hat in the ring with their sensor-free, AI powered software to help grow crops with less water and fertilizer consumption. Their product requires no hardware installation, and helps farmers conserve over 30 percent more on water and energy usage than they would use otherwise. Based in the Silicon Valley, ConserWater Technologies serves farmers and agribusinesses in several countries globally.
