Dr. Valeria Kogan, the founder and CEO of Fermata, was recognized as one of Forbes ‘less than 30 and 30’ in 2022, and Valeria is a serial entrepreneur who is proven in biotechnology and innovation. Valeria, the founder of Fermata and BIOTECH company Smartomica, combines scientific expertise with an universal approach to the innovative industry.
Fermata is a data science company that innovates agriculture with state -of -the -art computer vision solutions. Croptimus, a flagship platform™24/7 provides automatic detection of pests and diseases to help the planter identify problems such as powder mold, sprout corruption and mosaic before expanding. By reducing scouts and minimizing crop losses, Fermata allows farmers to focus on solutions and maximize yields in controlled or outdoor environments.
What was inspired by the transition to agricultural technology in biological information and cancer research? How did your experience in Smartomica affect the founding of Fermata?
The transition from biotechnology to agriculture was very coincident. My friends, who were producers of tomatoes, were looking for a person who had an experience in AI and brain the agricultural application. It was when deep learning just started and made a lot of winding in the technology space. In addition, the computer vision with the radiation found immediate applications in the medical area. When everyone in my circle was talking about it, when I saw what the agricultural people showed me -the plant health problems that could be visually detected and realized in real time. I had an idea of bringing knowledge to agriculture in the medical space, which was much more popular and digital at the time.
What did you have to adapt to agriculture with background knowledge of AI and BIOTECH?
In general, people who provide digital products to conservative industries are faced with the same resistance. But if you are an outsider, it is more difficult. My approach is humble, humble, and applied to the company’s knowledge to help people, and are willing to lead them without telling them how they can help it in the right way. Through all conversations with the growers, we prioritize the demands of the grown, and then adjust the product to keep the products openly and learn to not be too attached to the technology.
Fermata focuses on reducing crop loss and insecticide use. What is the initial reception of this idea in the agricultural community and how did the stakeholders persuade them to adopt AI -centered solutions?
Early reception was impossible. I can’t say that many changes have changed over the last five years! We are seeing great support for early adapters and more concerns about more audiences. We are lucky to believe in technology and to have customers who do not pay us and have the remaining market showcases. The best and only thing we can actually do is that the product says itself.
How does croptimus ™ integrate multiple data sources, such as satellite images, sensors, and AI models, to provide the cultivors with executable insights?
Using only the visual data of the current camera to analyze plant health and identify pests, diseases, nutrients and other issues. However, the new development of the AI sector understands the advantages that additional data sources enable higher detection quality and prediction analysis. Currently, some projects use only climate data, but plan to expand more than 2025.
Why is Fermata’s initial pests and disease detection features unique compared to other AgTech solutions?
There are a few things that make us unique. First of all, for the past five years, we have collected a factory to collect crazy databases of plant images through our own R & D facilities and collect additional data to the factory. We also used a carefully trained internal labeling team. Along with a wide range of agricultural experts around the world, it helped to build a very high quality data set. Along with your product vision, you can create a useful and simple product with a deep understanding of machine learning.
AI and computer vision are rapidly progressing. How can Fermata to make technology ahead of the curve in this competitive environment?
Fermata collects agricultural economists and data scientists along the data -centered approach to ensure high -quality flexible data labeling. We invest in various data sets to maintain technical competitiveness and solve certain problems, and work with our partners when necessary to maintain our best to do our best.
We emphasized sustainability as a key goal. How does Fermata’s technology affect global efforts to reduce food waste and minimize environmental damage?
By helping farmers identify pests and diseases over time, we help to prevent losses, minimize food waste, and reduce the use of pesticides. This is especially important in the current environment when the climate changes. Many cultivators are suffering from new pests or diseases that have never seen in their areas before. This requires help to adjust early detection and adjustment strategies.
It is an important milestone to raise $ 10 million with Series A fund. How will this funding accelerate the vision of Fermata and what is the immediate priority of growth?
We plan to integrate more data sources into the platform and expand the list of products that offer pests and diseases to grow from “AG’s Eyes” to “AG’s Brain”. Our immediate priorities include focusing on certain markets in Canada and the Netherlands. Tomato crops and tomato crops have a significant market share for segments and then replicate other regions and crops.
What role do new technologies like Robotics or IoT play in Fermata’s future innovation?
I think that the development of robotics and IoT will bring great value to Fermata, because all of these companies are potential partners. We are looking forward to seeing all of the new ways of collecting data and new ways to achieve the same goal and automatic solutions using the camera to achieve the same goal.
What is the next step in Fermata? Do you have certain crops, regions or skills that are particularly excited to explore for the next few years?
In 2025, we will mainly focus on tomato producers in Canada and the Netherlands, but after that, we aim to expand services to other vegetables such as cucumbers and peppers, strawberries and grapes. We hope to enter the global market as a new crop by the end of this year and 2026. Regarding technology, our plan is to predict yields beyond pests and diseases, evaluate moisture efficiency, and evaluate many other interesting tasks. Farmers will be grateful for the help of AI.
Thank you for a great interview. Readers who want to learn more must visit Fermata.
