Electric Plant has raised $11.2 million in seed funding to bring its plant-monitoring sensors and Bombadil AI model to market. The round was led by Onto Ventures and Climactic, with participation from Ponderosa, Endeavor Catalyst, Ludlow, Michigan Rise, The Fund, Schox VC and Dug Song.
Founded by Justin Mast and neuroscientist Lee von Kraus, the startup has spent three years collecting data on the electrical signals moving through plants. Bombadil is designed to interpret those signals and provide growers with information about plant needs, including water, nutrients and light.
The model currently covers around 125 species, ranging from ferns and redwoods to tomatoes and dahlias. Electric Plant’s sensors connect to living tissue beneath a plant’s bark and send data to a base station over a low-power wireless network. Bombadil processes the information in the cloud, allowing customers to adjust watering or fertilizer schedules.
According to Mast, the sensors cost tens of dollars, compared with thousands of dollars for some existing monitoring tools. The company said it needs only a couple of sensors per acre for accurate results and claims the system could increase yields while reducing water use by 20% or more.
Electric Plant has not disclosed its initial customers, but the technology could be used in agriculture and forestry.
Source: TechCrunch
