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Motorleaf is a technology company.
Motorleaf provides AI-powered "virtual agronomist" software specifically for commercial greenhouse operations. This technology utilizes machine learning to analyze extensive real-time data, including temperature, humidity, CO2, and light levels, to generate precise harvest-yield predictions. The system's algorithms continuously learn from collected data, enhancing accuracy over time and significantly improving upon traditional estimation methods.
The company was established in 2016, co-founded by Alastair Monk and others with backgrounds in product development, data science, and agricultural engineering. Their founding insight stemmed from the observation that greenhouse growers traditionally faced high error rates of 30 to 40 percent in yield prediction, relying on less precise methods like sampling and intuition. Motorleaf aimed to address this inefficiency through advanced data analytics.
Major greenhouses across North America, Europe, and Japan utilize Motorleaf’s predictive software to optimize their production. The company’s vision is to further refine its technology, projecting substantial reductions in yield prediction error rates for its users. The long-term outlook involves widespread adoption within the vine crop greenhouse sector globally.
Motorleaf has raised $3.1M across 2 funding rounds.
Motorleaf has raised $3.1M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Motorleaf is a Montreal-based agritech company founded in 2016 that builds AI-powered software and hardware solutions acting as a "virtual agronomist" for commercial greenhouses, primarily serving hydroponic tomato and pepper growers worldwide.[1][2][4] Its core products analyze real-time data from sensors on temperature, humidity, CO2, light, and more to deliver precise harvest yield predictions (with 50-70% less error than human estimates), automated crop disease/pest scouting, and custom insights into growing conditions, helping operators streamline operations, cut costs, reduce yield volatility, and address labor shortages.[1][2][3][5] The platform integrates with existing greenhouse infrastructure via interoperable software or optional IoT hardware like the HEART system, which ensures 99% uptime even offline, and has expanded to major greenhouses in North America, Europe, Japan, South Africa, and beyond, with early growth to 19 employees.[1][3][6]
Motorleaf emerged from the personal frustrations of co-founder Ramen, whose IT business demands left him unable to constantly monitor his hydroponic garden's pH and nutrient levels; unable to find an off-the-shelf "Nest for ag" solution, he hacked together the initial "HUB" (Huge Ugly Box), which evolved into the company's elegant HEART hardware.[3] Co-founder and CEO Alastair (Ally) Monk joined to commercialize this, launching the company in 2016 with seed funding including $100,000 CAD from FounderFuel accelerator and $850,000 USD shortly after.[1][6] Early traction came from Bioenterprise Canada support, trials reducing yield prediction errors by 50% in California tomatoes, and a 2018 partnership with Dutch supplier Cultilene for global expansion, followed by a $2.85M round from investors like Real Ventures, Desjardins Capital, and 500 Startups Canada.[2][5][7]
Motorleaf rides the indoor/vertical farming boom, fueled by urbanization, climate pressures, and demand for year-round, resource-efficient produce like hydroponic tomatoes/peppers amid a 52.3 billion sq ft greenhouse market.[5][7] Timing aligns with "data-driven growing" trends, labor shortages, and tight margins in horticulture, where AI automates expert knowledge otherwise lost to retiring agronomists—exemplified by Cultilene's endorsement as pioneering.[2][7] It influences the ecosystem by mainstreaming AI via partnerships, enabling cost reductions (e.g., water/yield optimization) and scalability for operations like AeroFarms-style urban farms, while its global client base accelerates adoption in regions like Europe and Japan.[1][5]
Motorleaf's pivot to global partnerships and product expansions (e.g., multi-crop support, deeper automation) positions it for sustained growth in a maturing agritech sector, potentially capturing more of the vast greenhouse market as AI hardware costs drop and data networks expand.[2][7] Trends like climate-resilient farming and edge AI will amplify its edge, evolving it from yield predictor to full operating system influencer—building on its "turning point" momentum to redefine commercial greenhouse efficiency.[2] This virtual agronomist trajectory underscores agritech's shift from manual to predictive intelligence.
Motorleaf has raised $3.1M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Motorleaf's investors include Kirk Haney, Metanoia, Claire Diaz-Ortiz, 500 Startups Canada, BDC Capital, Desjardins Capital, Lars Roessler, Real Ventures.
Motorleaf has raised $3.1M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $3.0M Seed in May 2018.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2018 | $3.0M Seed | Kirk Haney | Metanoia, Claire Diaz-Ortiz, 500 Startups Canada, BDC Capital, Desjardins Capital, Lars Roessler, Real Ventures |
| May 1, 2016 | $77K Seed | Metanoia, Claire Diaz-Ortiz |