Vivid Machines raises $5.8 million CAD to help growers virtually monitor fruit trees

Apr 25, 2023

Toronto-based agtech startup Vivid Machines, which provides monitoring technologies for the fruit supply chain, has raised $5.8 million CAD ($4.3 million USD) in seed funding.

Founded in 2020 by Jenny Lemieux (CEO) and Jonathan Binas (CTO), Vivid Machines has developed a vision system that uses spectral sensors to help growers, packing facilities, and fruit marketers capture data for permanent crops.

The funding will help Vivid Machines expand to a wider variety of crops.

Crops that tend to grow uniformly like corn can be monitored in bulk using drone or satellite technologies. Permanent crops, such as apples and peaches, are usually trees or shrubs. With the canopy of leaves from the trees covering their fruit, the same overhead monitoring technologies are not ideal for permanent crops. To get around this, Vivid Machines’ technology uses imaging and AI to capture chemical and physical profiles of permanent crops.

According to Vivid Machines, using its platform can help growers manage their crop’s progress and predict yields by providing accurate real-time crop data, down to the individual plant.

Vivid Machines said the funding will support the startup in its development of a “broader set of system applications” and expand its capabilities to a wider variety of fruit crops.

The round was led by BDC Capital’s Thrive Venture Fund, with participation from StandUp Ventures, Algoma Orchards, Tall Grass Ventures, Entrepreneur First, BoxOne Ventures, Conexus Venture Capital (Emmertech), the W Fund, Cornell Capital, Freycinet Ventures, N49P, and MaRS IAF.

RELATED: Four startups from initial Entrepreneur First Toronto cohort raise collective $5.7 million CAD

In January, Vivid Machines was awarded more than $810,000 from the federally supported Canadian Food Innovation Network for its project with Ontario-based farms Algoma Orchards and Blue Mountain Fruit Company, which both specialize in apples. Under the partnership, Vivid Machines is creating digital twins, or virtual models, of the orchards to determine ideal harvest timings to meet the demands of grocers and food processors.

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Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.