Plantix: more than a crop doctor driven by AI

The Plantix app was released in 2015, but has had many updates since then. It was developed by Peat GmbH, a Berlin-based AI startup. In 2023, Peat was sold to German company Helm AG, one of the world’s largest independent chemicals marketing companies.

Plantix is more than a crop doctor driven by AI. The app offers several features, such as facilitating exchange within the agricultural community, crop advise and post-harvest information. Plantix is a business to consumer app as well, available 24 hours a day.

Digital agro-ecosystem

The company says the app offers ‘a digital agro-ecosystem for small-scale farming’. On the Google Play store, there have been more than 10 million downloads of the free app so far. Plantix says there are 134,000 active users daily. Plantix delivers 1 diagnosis every 2 seconds, and is available in 160 countries, but it mainly targets the Indian market.

The utilisation of the app is very easy: the farmer needs to download the app, take a photo of the crop with a smartphone and the software identifies the problem. Plantix then gives recommendations and support to find the right product if a disease is detected.

_{Text continues below picture}

50 million questions

The company emphasises it empowers farmers to take informed decisions on their disease management – improving crop yield and reducing the amount of pesticides used. It says that last year it answered more than 50 million cultivation and crop-related questions.

In 2020, Plantix acquired Salesbee in Zurich, Switzerland, and its Indian subsidiary Salesbee India Private Limited for an undisclosed amount. Salesbee has built a business to business platform which it uses to digitise the tail end of the agri-inputs market in India.

India is main market

Plantix has offices in Berlin (Germany) and Indore (India). India is its main market. It has also released a retailer app – named Plantix Partner – especially for Indian agri-retailers. Via this app, they can buy products for their business – like seeds, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and fertilisers.

Through Plantix Partner, agri-retailers are also informed about the crop diseases spreading in their region, and the products required to cure them, so that they can provide suitable products to their farmer customers. Plantix says it is now working closely with millions of Indian smallholder farmers, helping them to improve crop health as well as finding the right inputs to grow crops using advanced technology.

Big interest in the data acquired

The Plantix app has had millions of downloads in India. The app is available in 18 different languages out of which 10 are regional Indian languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Marathi. According to Co-Founder Bianca Kumme, there is a good opportunity in the Indian market.

“However, tapping into this potential requires a long-term approach. Whenever you think, you have overcome one obstacle, there comes another one. It is crucial to build partnerships and create a social network in India as a startup.” Plantix now operates in nine Indian states.

_{Text continues below picture}

Approaching producers

Plantix merged with its Indian startup company Salesbee early on, to strengthen its activities in the agricultural purchase vertical. This has helped Plantix to approach producers, purchase in bulk, and supply quality agricultural input products like seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides to retail shops. Plantix also works together with some large agro-chemical companies. According to Plantix, these companies have a big interest in the data acquired through the image recognition.

On X and Facebook, Plantix also focuses mainly on India. CEO Simone Strey of Plantix has moved her residence to India with her husband Rob Strey (CTO and Plantix Co-Founder). The app has made a difference in India, she says. “Ag retailers were often not sure about the disease or pest that is striking, so they sold broadband insecticides or pesticides to their customers. The Plantix Partner app can help retailers choose the least toxic and most efficient product tailored to their customer’s needs.”