Exclusive: Plants can speak using electricity, so this startup built an AI model to decipher their language
Electric Plant has built an AI-powered translator to help humans listen to what plants are saying with the subtle electricity coursing through their stems.
TL;DR
- Justin Mast and Lee von Kraus founded Electric Plant to develop a way to interpret plant electrical signals.
- Their AI model, Bombadil, is designed to understand the subtle electrical currents in plants and relay their needs to growers.
- Electric Plant raised $11.2 million in seed funding led by Onto Ventures and Climactic.
- The startup's sensors are significantly cheaper than traditional tools and are attached to plants using screws that penetrate the cambium layer.
- Bombadil has been trained on data from about 125 different plant species.
- The system aims to help farmers boost yields and reduce water usage by 20% or more.