Q1. Where did the idea of Agdhi come from? How did it start?
Ans. The idea of Agdhi has been a result of personal observation & circumstances. The idea was born when we visited an agriculture field as a part of our adventure expedition. This is where we realized that though technology has penetrated almost every domain, agriculture was still predominantly traditional, remaining distant of the endless possibilities of technology.
Later, following an intense research and several discussions with the seed industry and agri researcher, i came up with idea of possible of digitalization in agri domain. The idea was to create a startup which aims at stirring a revolution in agriculture and this is how Agdhi Technologies Pvt Ltd came into existence. It is an agritech startup which aims to create the next revolution in agriculture. The startup on one hand is combining digital technology and human creativity to enable sustainable methods in agriculture, on the other hand building alternatives solutions for the problems prevalent in agriculture. Today, Agdhi is building new age products & solutions catering to the seed & farmers community.
Q2. Please tell us more about yourself?
Ans. Hailing from Kerala, i have been an innovator with a passion towards renewable energy. With my expertise around the tech domain, i moved to Garden City of Bangalore for better opportunities, where I built career over a span of 16-years, spun around Design and Technology, Manufacturing, Information Technology and Services Industry.
Initially starting my career as an Aerospace engineer with Honeywell, the journey began by being a part of a project called the secondary electrical power distribution system for aircraft. However, the dissatisfaction of incomplete learning led me to working on project where I had the entire control. Following my passion for entrepreneurship, i ended up handling multiple projects on Strategic Growth planning, Finance Control, Service Delivery, Scaling, Automation, Manufacturing, and Management.
Q3. What are the core fields serviced by Agdhi?
Ans. Agdhi is primarily focused on using the possibilities through AI (Artificial Intelligence), Vision technology, Photometry, Radiometry and Computer Vision offering efficient methods for seed classification and seed quality analysis. The multiple processes used in computer vision technology and machine learning, help enhance the process of seed quality testing.
The technology helps understand the unqiue signatures of a seed by screening its texture, color, size, and shape. This automated technique later provides more efficient method for seed sorting compared to being inspected by human labour.
Q4. What were the challenges faced by you when you started and those in the present?
Ans. The major Challenge when we started was technology itself. It was just the faith which made us invent the solution what we have now. After the innovation, we could cover all our milestones pretty easily. We have the potential to grow as a multimillion company right now, however getting access to the right funds who understand the domain is a challenge which we are facing now.
Q5. What are your future plans? Where do you see the Agdhi 5 years down the line?
Ans. 5-years down the line, we expect Seed Vision to be a major player of the global market, innovating the seed industry for the better. Moreover, to realise our mission, we are also expanding our team. The immediate future plan is to expand to 250 member team by 2022 and building fully equipped lab facility in Bangalore.
Q6. If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting, what would it be?
Ans. Never stop learning. Innovation and technology are the two key players of the long run! Moreover, if you’re just starting, don’t give up on your dream. You never know the true potential behind that idea.
