Danish agtech startup PerPlant’s AI crop sensor is now available factory-fitted onto new Valtra tractors through a partnership with Valtra Unlimited, the customization studio of the AGCO-owned tractor brand.
The sensor will be offered on Valtra’s A105 and A115, G, N, T, Q and S Series models in selected European markets, and in other markets on request. Sales begin this month alongside the launch of Valtra’s new sixth-generation T Series.
With farming margins always on the thin side, many prefer to buy a crop intelligence system that fits onto equipment they already have, says PerPlant CEO and cofounder Rasmus Emil Hansen.
“They’re not going to go out and buy the newest sprayer just to have it, because it’s quite a big investment for them.”
The deal also puts PerPlant’s cameras on more tractors at a time when the company is betting its long-term value lies less in spraying and more in the field data its sensors collect every time a tractor drives.
“That is a huge milestone for us,” Hansen tells AgFunderNews. “We have worked on these relations for some years.”
The relationship started in Finland’s BioBoosters accelerator, where Valtra selected a small group of European startups to work with. PerPlant has made repeated trips to Finland since.
‘Eyes’ on the tractor
PerPlant’s sensor is a single AI unit with two cameras that mount onto the tractor roof. As the tractor drives, the sensor scans the crop and turns that data into maps and possible real-time actions to take. These include spot spraying of weeds and variable-rate application of fertilizer, fungicide and growth regulator, day or night. The sensor also tracks biomass, weeds and risk zones over the season and uploads that data to farm management systems.
It works with ISOBUS sprayers, spreaders and seeders. It can also be used alongside other tools in Valtra’s precision farming ecosystem, including those from PTx, AGCO’s precision ag brand.
PerPlant says farmers using its system have cut input use by 40% to 87%, depending on the implement. Average operating cost is around €4 ($4.4) per hectare on a 200-hectare farm.
“Most farmers want precision farming, but not the cost and complexity that usually comes with it,” Hansen said in a statement.
Tomi Siljander, manager of product engineering at Valtra Unlimited, said in a statement that customers “increasingly expect smart solutions that help them farm more precisely and more profitably.”
Building a ‘world model’ of the field
Hansen and Sumod Nandanwar founded PerPlant in Copenhagen in 2022. The company now has dealers in more than 10 countries across Europe as well as in Chile and Argentina. Its sensors have mapped more than 250,000 hectares across 12 countries.
PerPlant also recently announced a strategic partnership with US-based precision ag company Ag Leader, which showcased PerPlant’s sensor at the recent Farm Progress Show in Iowa. The two companies are building an integration aimed at improving spot spraying and variable-rate application.
PerPlant started out selling see-and-spray as a low-cost retrofit. Along the way, Hansen says, the company realized its sensors were also collecting something valuable: season-long, centimeter-level field data.
“It’s costly to just map, because someone has to be out on that field, and the system which is mostly out there is the tractor,” he says.
To make use of that data, PerPlant is building Nexus, which will let agronomists, input companies and others who serve farmers access PerPlant’s field data and build their own tailored AI tools. PerPlant has validated the product with the largest agricultural cooperative in the Netherlands, and Nexus is slated to go into production early next year.
“Fundamentally, over time we hope to build a world model of the fields, similar to how you use Google Earth,” Hansen says.
PerPlant recently raised a €1 million ($1.2 million) round and is now raising €5 million ($5.8 million). The company is also considering entering the US as soon as next season, though Hansen says its focus for now is executing through its European channels.
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