Main Highlights
- Bill Gates invests $50 million in a Silicon Valley firm, Iron Ox.
- The firm is creating robots that are incorporated into a hydroponic system that uses 90% less water than typical crops.
- The robots are equipped with sensors that allow them to detect the nitrogen and acidity levels in the water in order to promote healthy plant development.
- Iron Ox, a Silicon Valley start-up that believes robots can produce more sustainable products, uses a hydroponic system that uses 90% less water than a traditional farm in a 930-square-foot greenhouse.
Bill Gates continues to invest in environmental enterprises. Microsoft’s founder has now invested in a business that is developing robots that can cultivate plants in a sustainable manner. Iron Ox, a Silicon Valley firm, has secured $ 50 million in a funding round led by the tycoon’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
The firm is creating robots that are incorporated into a hydroponic system that uses 90% less water than typical crops. Hydroponics is a type of soilless agriculture in which plants are grown using mineral solutions rather than soil. “World-class investors understand that reversing climate change is humanity’s most essential goal. To get there, we can’t settle for more sustainable agriculture, and we can’t expect customers to sacrifice flavor, convenience, or value,” Iron Ox CEO and Co-Founder Brandon Alexander stated.
The robots are equipped with sensors that allow them to detect the nitrogen and acidity levels in the water in order to promote healthy plant development. Strawberries, Thai basil, and tomatoes, parsley, and coriander are among the crops grown by the technology firm. Iron Ox runs farms in Northern California and, early this year began building on a new one in Lockhart, Texas, totaling roughly 49.7 thousand square feet.
What is an AI GreenHouse?
Iron Ox is constructing a new greenhouse in Lockhart, Texas, approximately 30 miles south of Austin. According to Alexander, hydroelectricity, which saves water by growing plants in the soil, is only one piece of the jigsaw for agriculture’s future. According to Alexander, the hydroponic and growing plants in the soil is simply one component of the jigsaw.
Iron Ox, a Silicon Valley start-up that believes robots can produce more sustainable products, uses a hydroponic system that uses 90% less water than a traditional farm in a 930-square-foot greenhouse in Gilroy, California, where an autonomous robot called Grover can lift pallets of Genoese basil for inspection.
CEO Brandon Alexander stated that Iron Ox designed and produced the addition to utilize robots to assemble the system. Hydroponics, which saves water by growing vegetation without soil, is simply one piece of the jigsaw for long-term agriculture, according to Alexander.
Sensors monitor water, nitrogen, and acid levels for a variety of health-related issues. Water that is not consumed by the pump system can be reused at a later time. The water is then pumped back into the system to be reused. Agriculture is vital to the California economy, and water consumption is frequently highlighted.
Agriculture is critical to California’s financial structure, but water consumption has to be addressed more and more. Aerofarm, an indoor vertical agriculture startup, has built and operated nine indoor farms, the largest in the world, that use its proprietary Aeroponic technology to grow a wide variety of green vegetables and herbs. Iron Ox cultivates Thai basil and strawberries, as well as coriander, parsley, and tomatoes.
Green AI Farms to help California and the Drought
While California is suffering from a crippling drought, a Silicon Valley start-up supported by Spherical, Lead Invoice, Gates Breakthrough, and Vitality Ventures believes robots can be built and raised just over $50 million in investment on Wednesday.
Iron Ox believes that a hydroponic system will grow and produce more than traditional farms while using 90 percent less water, is continuing to work on a 930-square-foot greenhouse in Gilroy, California, where a self-driving robot named Grover is moving pallets of Genoese basil with a robotic arm system to lift them for inspection. The business has incorporated the hydroponics system into the greenhouse, and the robot uses the arm system to remove the basil off the pallet and check it.
As California struggles with a severe drought, a Silicon Valley start-up that welcomes robots for development and production announced a $50 million funding round led by Bill Gates Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Gates, a Microsoft co-founder, has invested in bright small start-ups that create artificial intelligence chips alongside Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick and current Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
Bill Gates is at the ForeFront of GREEN Artificial Intelligence Technology
Insiders in Silicon Valley are suspicious, claiming that he is pushing more cash on new businesses than they earn or require and that his funds are creating a technological value bubble. Many Silicon Valley investors jumped in to support clean-tech firms a decade ago, but they have subsequently ceased funding or lost money.
Robotics will increase human productivity rather than eliminate employment, as projected by Gates and Musk. It is no longer a matter of whether or not one will choose the riches that robotics will bring. At Vecna, they rely on robotics and automation in society to ensure the long-term viability of the chains that sustain them.
Companies that make drones, robots, and self-driving cars are also striving to incorporate them into their systems, according to Gomez, who formerly worked at Google, Match Group, and Tinder. Bill Gates argues that the government should tax robots in the same manner that it taxes human workers, slowing the rate of robot integration in the workplace.