Two college friend, Calvin Aranha and Farish Anfal, from Udupi, Karnataka are transforming their lives through their innovative startup, Krop AI. Their startup uses Artificial intelligence (AI) to run hydroponic farming to grow exotic vegetables like basil, kale, parsley, and lettuce.
How It All Started
After completing their engineering studies at the Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering. Calvin and Farish took different paths- Calvin joined a corporate job in Bengaluru while Farish started a seafood business. Apart from this, Farish also learned about the challenges faced by traditional farmers due to factors like reliance on soil, water, and weather.
Farish realized that Indian farmers largely rely on soil, weather, and water. Meanwhile, Calvin raises important concerns that groundwater is running out and farmland is shrinking. This is a big issue as more and more food is required.
By recognizing the challenges faced by farmers, Calvin and Farish made a bold decision to explore innovative farming solutions that require significantly less water and can be grown in a controlled environment.
Launch the Startup, Krop AI by Calvin and Farish
Calvin and Farish discussed the issue and decided to work together to make farming better through the use of advanced technology.
In 2021, Calvin quit his job. Both friends rented a small flat in Udupi to start working on a prototype. Finally, after 4 months, they launched their company, Krop AI.
Reducing Operational Expenses to Half Using AI
Calvin and Farish created a container farm as a new solution for farmers to grow crops without traditional greenhouses. With Krop AI, they wanted to boost the income of farmers and by being able to handle climate change. By using advanced technology and automatic systems, they aimed to improve crop quality, taste, and production efficiency while lowering operational expenses. Additionally, they also created vertical 3D pipes.
With the help of software inputs, the system can control watering and adjust conditions like temperature, humidity, water conductivity, pH, and air temperature to provide a perfect environment for plants to grow successfully.
By utilizing AI-enabled hydroponics farming methods, farmers not only save 95%of water but also reduce operation costs by half compared to traditional farming. For Krop AI setup, it costs around Rs 5 lakh and can grow 500 lettuce plants.
Since the launch of, Krop AI they have successfully built farms for around 10 agri-entrepreneurs. Moreover, they were granted the Karnataka Government’s idea2POC/Elevate/2023 in the biotech sector and are currently incubated with the AIC Nitte.
Last year, the startup made Rs 50 lakh in revenue with a 40% profit from farm station manufacturing. This year, they are aiming to make around Rs 3 crores annually.
