Bridging innovation: AI in Agrifood

The BridgeAI Agrifood Showcase brought together start-ups, researchers, and industry leaders to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence within food and farming. The event highlighted practical innovations, including AI-driven disease detection in apples and automated broccoli harvesting, while encouraging discussion about current challenges and future opportunities in the sector to drive progress and shape the future of agrifood.

Emerging sector insights

Several themes emerged from the assembled speakers, highlighting the opportunities for implementing AI in the agrifood sector:

Tailored emission reduction strategies
AI is enabling tailored solutions that respond to individual needs, whether human, plant, or business. Net Zero Hero presented their ‘genetic AI’ method, generating a personalised menu of emission reduction strategies for agricultural businesses. Using data-driven approaches, Biovit showcased their individualised supplement development, optimising nutrition for human and livestock consumption.

Waste mapping
Zest and Koolmill showcased their use of data to help shine a light on previously hidden inefficiencies and losses along the food chain. Losses at the factory level cause additional waste and emissions. Zest revealed that food waste at the factory level is up to seven times higher than at retail. Their digital twin and waste mapping tools help factories pinpoint where waste occurs and take action. Koolmill have developed a visual AI to detect broken rice grains, enabling better quality control for rice producers and processors.

Automation
AI-powered systems also have the ability to drive new and improved automation, streamlining labour-intensive tasks. UPP are developing AI for automated broccoli harvesting and have won follow-up support through the AgriScale scheme. Petiole have innovated by creating AI for disease detection in applies, contributing to the Agri-AI community by open-sourcing their visual datasets.

Custom AI tooling
A recurring tension emerged between scalable, generic tools championed by the traditional tech industry, and the need for solutions tailored to the needs of the sector, especially for smaller actors with limited data access. Prof. Megan Povey from the Food AI Lab at Leeds University emphasised that most effective solutions require a combination of technologies. Resurrect Bio demonstrated this with their custom protein folding model, where a bespoke approach is producing better results than the ‘gold standard’ Alpha Fold.

Conclusion

One of the most powerful takeaways from the event was the emphasis on collaboration. Whether it’s researchers working with SMEs, or startups partnering with industry bodies, the message was clear: no single actor can solve agrifood’s challenges alone.

The showcase illustrated how shared data, co-development, and cross-sector engagement are essential to unlocking AI’s full potential. Feedback from the showcased companies was that the Bridge AI programme was an enabling step in their projects’ development, and many are actively seeking to continue further projects or are looking for additional funding to fuel growth.

The BridgeAI agrifood showcase demonstrated the impact of the programme across the agrifood sector. It has fuelled opportunities to shape a smarter, more sustainable future for food and farming.

If you’re interested in getting involved, exploring partnership opportunities, or learning more about Bridge AI, visit BridgeAI.net or reach out to the agrifood team at Innovate UK Business Connect.

– Author: Katie Dubarry, Knowledge Transfer Manager AgriFood – Livestock and Aquaculture