As the global population numbers continue to grow, greenhouse farming has also been on the rise to keep up with increasing food demand. Maintaining a thriving greenhouse involves a tremendous amount of labor and attention to detail. If one or more variables are off, it can set off a chain reaction and destroy precious produce and waste valuable resources. Being able to know what is going on and at the moment it happens can be the difference between a thriving crop versus thousands of dollars and food going to waste.

Neatleaf has created an autonomous robotic platform for indoor and greenhouse cultivation that captures data points like humidity, CO2, air temperature, canopy height, and more remotely. Without even setting foot into the greenhouse, farmers can know exactly what is going on and take action quickly if needed. Neatleaf’s technology operates 24/7 all year round and empowers farmers to sustainably produce more optimal yields at a higher quality and at a lower cost.

We sat down with them to learn more about their team and solution. Check out the interview below!:

Santa Cruz Works: Who are you and what is your background?

Neatleaf: The founders Elmar Mair and Ralf Schonherr both have a background in robotics. Elmar Mair has a PhD in Computer Vision and Robotics and was Head of Perception at the Everyday Robot Project at Google X, Head of Autonomous Driving and AI at Lucid Motors, Group Leader at Bosch, and Senior Scientist at the German Aerospace Center.

Ralf Schonherr has a Bachelors of Science in Business, PhD in Applied Machine Learning for Robotics. He was Lead Program Manager Robotics for Intrinsic at Google X, Head of Innovative Automation at BMW Worldwide, and designed & launched the first Human-Robot- Collaboration ever used on an industrial scale

Santa Cruz Works: What is your company's mission?

Neatleaf: Our mission is to enable everyone, everywhere to grow anything in the most productive, efficient, and sustainable way possible.

Santa Cruz Works: What sparked the idea for your startup?

Neatleaf: Spending our careers at the forefront of automation, machine learning, and data analysis, we saw a massive opportunity in agriculture. The way we farm today is not sustainable and if we want to keep feeding our growing population we have to change the way we grow crops. So many farmers we talked to sounded very excited about the prospects of data-driven agriculture and precision farming. However, there was no affordable and automated system available that collects the necessary data and generates the required insights. We realized that such a system is the missing puzzle piece to enable data-driven agriculture.

Santa Cruz Works: What problems do you solve?

Neatleaf: Our Spyder system operates autonomously, 24/7, and out of the way of cultivators. It collects a comprehensive picture of the environmental conditions in CEA facilities. The data allows us to identify microclimates, detect pests and plant stress as early as possible, and compare the growing conditions across several growth cycles. Multispectral cameras enable the quantification of plant health and issue notification before a human eye can even detect it. 

Santa Cruz Works: What were the key challenges you overcame during creating your startup?

Neatleaf: Developing hardware is always challenging for startups. Developing a robotic system with data analysis and AI stack, even more so. By leveraging the expertise of a senior and multi-disciplinary team, we were able to quickly iterate towards a reliable, production ready solution.

Santa Cruz Works: Anything else you want to share?

Neatleaf: If you are a cultivator with indoor or greenhouse facilities and would like to boost your efficiency by testing our Spyder system, please contact us at info@neatleaf.com.

If you are looking for a job opportunity at the intersection of agriculture and technology, please apply by sending your resume to career@neatleaf.com.

If you are an investor interested in learning more about our company, please reach out to contact@neatleaf.com as we are always excited about building a relationship for any future fundraising