Google-backed Cropin rolls out Gen AI-based agri-intelligence platform to forecast future yields

Two years ago, Google-backed agritech startup Cropin launched Cropin Cloud, and claimed it to be the ‘world’s first cloud for agriculture’. On Wednesday, the company announced the incorporation of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) capabilities into the system. 

Dubbed Cropin Sage, the Bengaluru-based agritech firm now claims it is the ‘world’s first real-time agri-intelligence platform’ to forecast future yields for vital crops as AI can help overcome bottlenecks in the farming industry.

That said, Cropin Sage, which is powered by Google Gemini, can address the agri-food industry's challenge of limited visibility into global agriculture with an interactive map providing valuable insights for food production planning.

According to Krishna Kumar, Founder and CEO of Cropin, with GenAI technology, Sage condenses months of data processing into seconds, offering comprehensive information on crop performance, climate, soil conditions, and more. This platform empowers decision-makers with region-specific insights and recommendations for optimal yields, transforming complex data into actionable insights through an intuitive user interface.

For example, Sage converts the agricultural landscape into a grid-based map with options of 3x3 meters, 10x10 meters, or 5x5 kilometres, providing data and intelligence with unprecedented scale, accuracy, and speed. This enables various organisations to make informed decisions based on historical, present, and future data on cultivation practices, crop, irrigation, climate, and soil.

“By 'gridifying' land parcels with proprietary algorithms and integrating layered insights, Sage forecasts crop futures using historical data and the impacts of changing climate and weather on an unprecedented scale. This empowers informed decision-making, securing both business interests and the global food supply chain,” said Kumar.

Explaining the technology behind the solution, Kumar said that Sage utilises Google Kubernetes Engine services to scale its operations in real-time and employs the Gemini Flash 1.5 model to convert user queries into SQL queries, presenting user-friendly, grid-based data in a visually appealing platform. The data processed by Sage is transformed into various grid sizes and aggregated at different temporal frequencies based on customer needs.

At launch, Cropin’s enterprise customers can deploy Sage across geographic locations, providing intelligence on 13 key crops, including wheat, rice, potato, and maize, which collectively cover almost 80% of the world's food demand, the company said in a statement.

Kumar said that the company plans to build and deploy Sage globally in a phased approach, aligned with enterprise customer requirements and demand.

Incorporated in 2010 by Krishna Kumar and Kunal Prasad, Cropin helps agribusinesses digitise their operations and make informed decisions that enhance farming efficiency, productivity and sustainability. Over the years, it came up with new cloud innovations and expanded to global markets to democratise access to digital technologies and modernise agricultural processes.

Backed by companies such as ABC Impact, Chiratae Ventures, Google, and JSR Corporation, till date, Cropin raised $47 million in total funding.

To be sure, in April, Cropin launched ‘Akṣara,’ an open-source Micro Language Model (MLM) for the climate-smart agriculture process. The company said that the MLM is designed to address the challenges faced by underserved farming communities in the Global South. The model is designed to assist anyone in the agricultural ecosystem build “frugal and scalable AI solutions” for the sector, the company said.