Messium, a UK AgriTech innovator utilizing hyperspectral satellites and AI-driven crop progress fashions to deal with the problem of nitrogen effectivity in farming, has secured a €3.8 million Seed funding.
The spherical was co-led by the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S, managed by Future Planet Capital) – with funding drawn from UKI2S’s ‘Area’ portfolio (backed by the UK Area Company) and Growth Aerospace Ventures. Mudcake, Laconia, GRDC GrainInnovate, Clear Present Capital, Moonstone Enterprise Capital and follow-on investor SuperSeed additionally participated within the spherical.
George Marangos-Gilks, CEO and Co-founder of Messium, commented on the increase: “Feeding the world sustainably is among the defining challenges of our time. At the moment, greater than half of all farmland is both over- or under-fertilised – an issue that wastes billions, drives emissions, and holds again international meals safety.
“At Messium, we consider the reply lies in harnessing the very best of satellite tv for pc know-how and AI to ship field-specific suggestions at large scale – week in, week out, for each farmer on the planet.
“This funding is not only a win for Messium- it’s a step change for international agriculture. Our ambition is daring: to eradicate fertiliser guesswork worldwide, enhance yields, minimize waste, and assist safe the way forward for meals.”
Based in 2023, Messium is pioneering weekly, field-level nitrogen administration utilizing hyperspectral satellite tv for pc knowledge, crop progress fashions, and proprietary AI analytics.
Messium companions with main farmers, researchers, and companies to ship actionable nitrogen insights that maximise yield, scale back enter prices, and allow really sustainable agriculture.
Messium’s platform combines satellite tv for pc imaging and AI to ship sensible, field-ready insights for farmers. Utilizing hyperspectral satellites that seize detailed pictures of crops throughout tons of of wavelengths, Messium’s system “sees” precisely how a lot nitrogen is current in every a part of a discipline.
Superior AI fashions then analyse this satellite tv for pc knowledge alongside climate, soil, and farm administration data, constructing a real-time image of crop well being and nutrient wants.
Each week, farmers obtain tailor-made suggestions on when and the place to use fertiliser – maximising yield, minimising waste, and supporting extra sustainable, worthwhile farming.
For farmers, this might means clearer decision-making, much less guesswork, and higher outcomes – proper the place it issues most: within the discipline.
Vishal Soomaney Vijaykumar, CTO, Co-founder, added: “Messium’s journey to changing into the UK champions in hyperspectral agriculture wouldn’t have been potential with out the help of ESA BIC & the UK Area Company’s GEO Accelerator.
“These programmes supported us from day one, serving to us mix state-of-the-art analysis in hyperspectral distant sensing, machine studying and crop progress modelling to construct one thing radically new – turning an bold thought right into a industrial enterprise with real-world affect. Now we’re able to take this innovation international, serving to farmers enhance earnings, minimize emissions and maintain soils wholesome for future generations.”
This new capital will speed up Messium’s industrial rollout within the UK, Europe, and Australia, develop its community of analysis and farming companions, and scale up the corporate’s knowledge and analytics infrastructure.
Shruti Iyengar, Area Funding Lead, UKI2S (managed by Future Planet Capital), added: “Messium represents a leap ahead for international agriculture, harnessing hyperspectral satellite tv for pc imaging, cutting-edge crop science, and revolutionary analytics multi function providing to deal with one of many world’s most pressing useful resource challenges. The affect is important – from lowering agri-input use and related water air pollution, to rising yield per hectare for a few of the most generally consumed crops.
“Messium is a stellar instance of utilizing area knowledge to create a considerably optimistic affect on folks and the planet. As demand for sustainable meals manufacturing intensifies, scalable, data-driven options like Messium’s are important for constructing resilience throughout the agri-food system. We’re proud to again an organization with the imaginative and prescient and functionality to make a long-lasting distinction on a worldwide scale.”
Messium’s 2024 trials throughout Europe and Australia, utilizing greater than 13,000 lab-validated crop samples, reportedly discovered that over 50% of fields had been incorrectly fertilised – resulting in wasted enter prices and pointless emissions. Messium’s know-how permits a data-driven strategy to deal with these inefficiencies, supporting industrial farmers in addition to broader meals safety and net-zero aims.
Messium’s system is already delivering outcomes for over 75 farms throughout the UK and Europe this yr, with further pilots underway in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the US.
Dr Craig Brown, Funding Director at UK Area Company stated: “Messium’s success demonstrates the transformative potential of area know-how in addressing essential international challenges. By integrating superior hyperspectral satellite tv for pc knowledge with synthetic intelligence, they’re enabling farmers to enhance yields, scale back enter waste, and minimise environmental affect.
“The UK Area Company is proud to help Messium by way of the UKI2S area fund. Improvements like this not solely strengthen the UK’s area sector, but in addition contribute to international meals safety and local weather resilience.
“Messium is a compelling case examine in how our help, from start-up to scale-up, has helped unlock personal funding and speed up progress.”
The most recent funding permits Messium to scale its workforce, know-how, and industrial affect, additional creating its platform to deal with different nutrient and crop well being challenges. Constructing on this momentum, the corporate is now getting ready for a Collection A spherical to speed up worldwide growth and deepen its know-how management.
Ulf Palmnäs, Enterprise Accomplice, Growth Aerospace Ventures added: “Messium is on the forefront of precision agriculture – bringing collectively satellite tv for pc knowledge and superior AI to deal with one in every of farming’s largest challenges.
“We backed them due to the energy of their workforce, the clear worth they’re already delivering to farmers, and the large optimistic affect this know-how can have on the world.”
