Koppert invests in digital transformation

Koppert Biological Systems has acquired the Dutch artificial intelligence start-up company AgriAI to scale-up and accelerate its digital transformation. The acquisition of AgriAI is part of the biological solutions company’s ambition to become a leading digital innovator in agriculture and horticulture.

AgriAI’s data scientists, Arnand Siem and Jeffrey Bosman, will reinforce Koppert’s digital transformation team as of 1 July. Koppert’s recently appointed Digital Transformation Manager, Gabriël van der Kruijk, says the digital entrepreneurs and their AI talent will bring a new push to the company’s digital growth. 

‘We want to make biological crop protection as easy as possible. Which is why besides our natural solutions, we invest in technological transformation’, says Van der Kruijk. Koppert’s Digital Transformation Department enables digital services to provide growers with easier means to apply IPM; digital commerce to simplify ordering and tracking their status, as well as digital operations utilizing new capabilities such as cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence, to improve the quality and scalability of processes. 

Focus on new digital platform

The data scientists will initially focus on an improved version of Koppert’s sticky card scanner which is a part of Natutec Scout.  ‘With our new in-house expertise, we substantially increase our ability to execute our digital concepts. No longer being dependent on external expertise means we significantly reduce the barrier to do proof-of-concepts to test the viability of ideas,’ says Van der Kruijk.