Gamaya is taking it to new heights through satellite-based analytics
To increase the efficiency of agriculture, the start-up born at EPFL has widened its field of vision through space.
Gamaya has reached a milestone in 2021. Born out of a research project at EPFL in 2015, the company now monitors more than 1 million hectares of crops worldwide. This leap is significant for the start-up. Very prominent two years ago, when it raised some 12 million francs, it evolved during this transition from research to the commercial phase. Early drones, which promised to monitor the state of crops using a mini hyperspectral camera, have seen their activity supplemented by the use of satellites.
Why take such a height to monitor fields? Gamaya’s initial ambition was to optimize agriculture. Its co-founder, Yosef Akhtman, had developed a small camera covering a broad spectrum of wavelengths. Embedded with a drone, the camera could analyze a field: growth of crops or weeds, diseases or other anomalies… Everything seems to leave a trace, even invisible to the naked eye.
The work then goes back to the software, which interprets these images for the farmers. The latter find an advantage in saving chemical products while improving yields. The precision of this technology also allows the automation of crop analysis.
“Over the past two years, we have focused more and taken the time to develop two large product families.”
Thomas Peyrachon, commercial director of Gamaya
Each plant has its specificities, it is sugar cane and soy that Gamaya specializes in. And it was the big producers in Brazil who constituted the first market for small businesses. It has around twenty of them, some of which farm more than 100,000 hectares. In India, the giant Mahindra & Mahindra allowed Gamaya to settle. Finally, the company celebrates its first customer in the United States.
“Three years ago, we had many ideas and projects at the development stage on different crops and agronomic issues, says commercial manager Thomas Peyrachon. Over the past two years, we have focused more and taken the time to develop two major product families.” This change resulted in a sharp reduction in the share dedicated to the drone business. From 35 employees, the company has only 25.
On crops stretching as far as the eye can see, as is the case in Brazil, drone deployment has found its limits. “The hyperspectral cameras that Gamaya has developed have allowed us to get ahead in image analysis, assures Thomas Peyrachon. We have been able to develop analysis capabilities that now apply to drone images and satellite images. This allows us to provide complete solutions for agriculture, both at the macro-level of a farm and at the micro-level of a plot or a group of plants.” The share of satellite images now represents “a major place” within the company.
While Covid has impacted Gamaya’s activities, this crisis has also raised awareness among producers and customers. Digitization is also flourishing in agriculture. “Based on our image analyses and our agronomic models, we can provide the first level of diagnosis without traveling,” says the director.
From now on, the commercial phase of Gamaya continues to develop. “In January, we will launch a new solution for detecting flowering, announces the commercial director. Sugar cane growers want to avoid the appearance of these flowers to promote sugar production. Thanks to our service, they will be able to detect them before they are visible.”
Sustainable practices to certify
The medium-term future of the company is still to be written. Admittedly, the results of the analyzes seem satisfactory. But even in Brazil, where large-scale agriculture is developed, the digital revolution takes time to take hold throughout the sector. So the leaders of Gamaya are glowing: “We want to go much further to provide solutions applicable to other crops, in particular for the monitoring and certification of sustainable agricultural practices on a large scale, which will make it possible to improve production while optimizing the use of resources and limiting the environmental impact of these activities.”
Certification through satellite images seems to be an important topic for Gamaya. Consumers increasingly want to be sure of what they have on their plate. With such a global objective, Gamaya is looking for new investors. A new turn is indeed looming, according to Thomas Peyrachon: “Next year, we will undoubtedly be at a turning point. We have two scenarios that evoke new fundraising unless our integration into a large structure is looming, which would make sense since giants such as Microsoft or Google have also invested in this sector.
