Electric Plant raises $11.2M seed for plant-signal model Bombadil
Original title: Plants can speak using electricity, so this startup built an AI model to decipher their language
Founders say cloud interpretation of stem signals covers about 125 species and can cut water use by 20% or more.
Electric Plant, founded by Justin Mast and neuroscientist Lee von Kraus, says it spent three years building Bombadil, a model that interprets electrical signals in plant stems for growers. Sensors screwed into the cambium send data over a low-power wireless network to a base station; Bombadil in the cloud returns guidance such as watering or fertilizer changes. The company says a couple of sensors per acre is enough and that units cost tens of dollars versus tools costing thousands. An $11.2 million seed round was led by Onto Ventures and Climactic.
Unconfirmed: Yield gains, water savings and superiority to existing tools are founder claims, not independently verified.
- Onto Ventures and Climactic led the round, with several other venture firms participating.
- Mast says the model covers ferns, redwoods, tomatoes, dahlias and other forms.
- Initial customer names were not disclosed.
- Sensors are about the size of a folded iPhone and use stainless steel screws.
- Organizations
- Electric PlantOnto VenturesClimactic
- AI models
- Bombadil
From the original article
3 min read at techcrunch.com
Electric Plant has built an AI-powered translator to help humans listen to what plants are saying with the subtle electricity coursing through their stems.
By Tim De Chant · techcrunch.com
A short excerpt; the article and its images belong to the publisher. Summary, key facts and assessment above are AI-written from the article and can be wrong.