When Valeria Kogan commenced her Ph.D. in bioinformatics in 2017, she envisioned her career would remain within the realms of mathematics, medicine, or biology. However, following the surge of artificial intelligence in the late 2010s, she encountered an exciting opportunity in an unexpected field: agriculture.
Kogan (depicted above in the centre) shared with StartupSuperb that a friend of a friend, a tomato grower in search of someone knowledgeable in AI to implement technology in agriculture, approached her. Upon learning about their interest in utilising AI for plant health monitoring, she recognised that her bioinformatics expertise was highly applicable.
“As they began to describe their challenges, including the importance of plant health and the methods they currently employ for monitoring, it became evident that the technical issues were quite similar,” Kogan explained. “The aim is to make diagnoses as quickly as possible.”
In 2020, she founded Fermata. This Tel Aviv-based startup employs computer vision and AI to identify and diagnose diseases or pests in greenhouse crops. Fermata’s software is compatible with standard cameras, capturing images of greenhouse plants twice daily. The in-house AI model evaluates these images and alerts farmers about potential infestations or diseases via an app.
Kogan recognised that companies attempting to introduce AI into farming have previously faced challenges in gaining significant market presence. While she does not believe that her company has achieved substantial market share yet, she is confident that Fermata’s strategy has led to some traction for several reasons.
Firstly, she noted, they approached the market with a genuine desire to understand the needs of greenhouse farms, rather than pushing technology that was unwanted.
“My initial idea was to develop robots to navigate through greenhouses, and we even created a prototype,” Kogan confessed. “However, our first mistake was building it before consulting anyone. It still sits in my father’s garage. Once we began conversing with potential users, it became clear that no one wanted that; the robot idea was misguided.”
She further explained that their strategy for training the AI model likely contributed to their unique position. From the outset, Fermata has maintained an in-house data labelling team instead of outsourcing, a move Kogan credits for the company’s accuracy. Initially relying on publicly available data, they now utilise their customers’ data for training and operate a research and development centre where they intentionally infect plants with various diseases.
“We welcome customers with significant challenges because it leads to abundant data, particularly if they have severe diseases,” Kogan remarked with a laugh. “We aim to appear serious during calls, showing concern for them, but for us, it’s fantastic news.”
When Fermata was established, Kogan believed it would be beneficial to partner with existing companies supplying farms. This strategy received limited responses in 2020. However, as AI gained traction in 2022, the situation changed. Currently, Fermata collaborates directly with farms and partners with major agricultural firms like Bayer and Syngenta. While the company refrained from disclosing growth metrics, it has deployed over 100 cameras.
Recently, Fermata secured a $10 million Series A funding round, entirely sourced from Raw Ventures, a European venture capital firm. As an existing investor, Kogan mentioned that during this fundraising phase, they didn’t see the necessity to dilute their equity by bringing in additional investors.
The funding will facilitate the company’s scaling efforts and support its objective of achieving profitability by 2026. Kogan stated that they have managed to grow without a dedicated sales team, primarily through inbound inquiries, but are keen to expand their sales personnel. Currently servicing greenhouse-grown tomatoes, Fermata is actively exploring opportunities to diversify into additional crops and broaden its partnerships.
