Vivent announced that Pymwymic and Horticoop have acquired new stake in the company to aid in new market expansion, according to a release. Vivent is a Swiss-based developer of what the company calls ‘wearables for plants’, which are biosensors that are AI-enabled. Pymwymic is a leading impact investor and Horticoop is a cooperative with around 400 members that are active in horticulture.
“We are delighted to have Pymwymic and Horticoop join our ownership group, as we increase sales and refine product offerings for new agricultural sectors,” said Vivent co-founder and CEO, Carrol Plummer in the release. “They are both driven by deep connections with sustainable agriculture and their involvement reinforces the industry’s growing interest in plant centered cultivation.”
Vivent’s AI-enabled technology allows farmers and other agtech business to receive early warnings of disease, pests, nutrient deficiencies and water stress. The The ‘wearable’ biosensors capture and decipher biological signals from plants, providing alerts to a grower before visual symptoms appear. The crop health diagnostic system is the first commercial system based on plant electrophysiology, which is a plant’s internal electrical signal system that coordinates growth, reproduction and defence.
“Using recent advances in machine learning, we can now decipher the internal network in plants and learn exactly what they need,” said Nigel Wallbridge, Vivent co-founder in the release. “With our new investors we can deliver plant-driven, responsive, sustainable agricultural systems of all kinds.”
The technology can be used to optimise growing recipes, increase yields and improve crop protection effectiveness. More food can be grown with fewer inputs which helps growers with sustainability goals.
“We are convinced of the disruptive potential of the technology and hence excited about supporting the team at Vivent,” said Wilco Schoonderbeek, director investments at Horticoop BV.
Vivent’s technology has been used in both greenhouses and indoor farms as well as field-grown crops, like potatoes, apples, grapes, canola and sugar beet. This means it has use across Europe and North America for a wide range of growers and crops.
“We are delighted to support Vivent on their journey to unlock the ‘language of plants’ and deepen our knowledge of how to manage plant stress,” said Monique Meulemans, Pymwymic investment manager in the release. “It is remarkable to see precisely how plants respond to stressors in the environment and to learn how we can use these signals to support better crop management in the face of climate change.”
