There are so many different tech companies out there. The industry is absolutely flooded with companies that are claiming to have the next best technology.

And this is what makes it hard to weed out the real winners from what will fall by the wayside.

It’s also important to note how even the companies that get the most attention aren’t entirely the companies you should be paying attention to.

Sometimes, you have to dig a little deeper to find some really great companies that are on the road to helping the tech industry in being the best it can be.

A company that falls into the category of being the best tech company you’ve never heard of is Blue River Technology.

Just because you haven’t heard about it doesn’t mean that it isn’t worthy of your attention. And you’re going to want to hear about this company…

Blue River uses computer vision and robotics technologies to build intelligent solutions for the sole purpose of benefiting and improving agricultural industries.

Blue River is headquartered in beautiful Sunnyvale, CA. The company was founded in 2011 by two Stanford University alumni. They had the idea to improve agriculture by getting the most from the crops that farmers spend their valuable time and energy on.

Increasing crop yields would benefit farmers and their livelihoods. It would also have an impact on our society through providing more fresh food and an improved environment.

That being said, you’re probably wondering exactly how Blue River is doing all of this…

A Technology That’s Improving Agriculture and Environment

Blue River is protecting crops with its See & Spray technology that observes and treats each plant in a field individually.

Right now, farmers use equipment that applies fertilizer and chemicals across an entire field. This is a wasteful technique. The plants that need the fertilizer or chemicals may only get a sprayed a little bit and other plants that don’t need any chemicals get oversaturated.

Not to mention that this technique requires more chemicals to be used to ensure that most of the crops have been treated, which is wasteful, harmful to the environment, and expensive.

Blue River’s See & Spray machines use machine-learning and artificial intelligence (AI) software inside a robotic tractor attachment that’s able to identify the differences between crops and weeds and then only sprays herbicide on the unwanted plants.

Because these machines only apply herbicides to weeds, it reduces the amount of chemicals needed. And these machines give farmers more choices when it comes to picking a herbicide that meets their needs, which overall improves grower economics.

CEO and Cofounder Jorge Heraud says that using his AI and machine-learning sprayer would cut chemical costs by one-tenth. He went on to say:

You can save on the impact that we have to the environment, right now we are frankly overusing chemistry… about 80 percent of the chemicals we use don’t end up in the right place.

Reducing the amount of chemicals used on the plants and other surface areas will have a huge effect on the environment and also on farmer’s budgets.

For example, using Blue River’s technologies on a midsized farming operation, which ranges to about 700 acres, could significantly reduce herbicide costs from about $100,000 to $10,000. That’s a 90% decrease in costs — obviously, a percentage that most farmers couldn’t say no to.

The U.S. has been enduring an agricultural worker shortage in addition to aging farm owners. And each year, it’s becoming harder and harder to maintain the demand for food because of a global population boom.

Using Blue River’s See & Spray machines would solve both these issues. There will be an increase in crop output because more crops will survive since they are being individually treated to ensure their survival.

It’ll also solve the shortage of workers needed to tend to crops by having robots, or Blue River’s machines, quickly assessing crops and treating them. These machines have the ability to analyze and treat a significant amount of space all in real time and at tractor speeds.

Blue River Technology is a privately held company and hasn’t started trading shares to the public. But this doesn’t mean that it won’t be embracing the public market in the next few years. The company has been a part of four funding rounds. And during those rounds, it has earned $30.35 million.

It may still need more funding before (or if) it decides to go public. But there’s no denying that this company’s technology will shape the agriculture industry into being more efficient, sustainable, and fruitful. And those are all characteristics that the industry has been lacking over the past few decades.

Until next time,

Jennifer Clark
Pro Trader Today