Electric Plant Raises $11.2 Million Seed Round for AI Sensors That Read 125 Plant Species
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Oct 20
Electric Plant Raises $11.2 Million Seed Round for AI Sensors That Read 125 Plant Species
1 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Oct 20
Summary
$11.2 million in seed funding will help Electric Plant commercialize stem-mounted sensors and its Bombadil model, which interprets plants’ electrical signals for growers.
Bombadil was trained over three years using data from conventional farm tools and now reads signals across about 125 species, from tomatoes and dahlias to ferns and redwoods.
The system uses stainless-steel screws inserted into the cambium to capture microvolt changes, then sends the data wirelessly to the cloud, where results guide watering and fertilizer decisions.
Electric Plant says its sensors cost tens of dollars rather than thousands for many existing tools, and claims the setup can raise yields while cutting water use by 20% or more.
The startup did not name early customers, but it is targeting agriculture and forestry with what its founders describe as a new way to monitor plants from the inside in real time.