Hortiya is building a large language model (LLM) to bring AI to sustainable farming.

Hortiya, a European startup founded in 2020, is using generative AI to build a model that can speak “the language of plants” to make food production more sustainable. Hortiya is applying the technology behind large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 to the food production industry with the aim of reducing the amount of energy used in food production.

The company is building a dataset for training an AI model that can understand how different inputs, such as climatic conditions, affect the internal systems and growth of plants. By doing so, Hortiya hopes to increase the energy efficiency of food production by allowing growers to plan the use of expensive resources like electric light and fertilizers. (Sifted)

Hortiya’s CEO, Marc Weimer-Hablitzel, explains that, Greenbrain AI, the foundation model for Hortiya’s AI will likely require a different approach compared to existing LLMs, but it will be based on the same principles. Greenhouse sensors will collect data on how plants react to variations in light levels, temperature, and soil conditions. Cutting-edge findings include discoveries such as the electrical messages sent from plants’ roots to their leaves, and recent research indicating that stressed plants emit high-frequency sounds.

This data, along with market and weather data, will allow the model to anticipate the impact of phenomena such as droughts or sudden surges in energy costs on growers, and suggest strategies for optimizing resource allocation.

Hortiya has created a product that employs a combination of greenhouse sensors and AI to enhance the use of lighting in food production, leading to possible energy savings of up to 30%, while generating the same yield.

The company’s larger, multipurpose model intends to boost these possible energy savings by facilitating long-term decision-making regarding the optimal allocation of resources.

Despite the challenges of fundraising and training AI models on large amounts of data, Hortiya believes that its technology has the potential to revolutionize food production by making it more efficient and sustainable, addressing the urgent need to solve the climate crisis.

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