A new vision for
the food industry
Using AI vision technologies to create a smarter, more secure future for food.
Optimize seed & food supply chains with the world's first AI seed analysis platform.
A new vision for
the food industry
Using AI vision technologies to create a smarter, more secure future for food.
Optimize seed & food supply chains with the world's first AI seed analysis platform.
What We Do
Fulfilling
the potential
of every seed and grain
Imagine identifying the quality or genetic traits of your seeds, without a genetic test or plant-level phenotyping. Imagine the time, agri inputs and human resources you could save.
Seed-X’s AI-powered seed-level phenotyping
is a game-changer for the entire farm to fork ecosystem.
Seed
Research
Seed
Production
Food
Production
Products & Services
Smart solutional to maximize
seed quality, purity and value
Technology
GeNee™
AI-Powered
seed-level phenotyping
Seed-X’s breakthrough GeNee™ technology is powered by advanced computer vision, proprietary deep learning algorithms, and state-of-the-art image classification.
Developed by a multidisciplinary team of experts from the fields of computer vision, artificial intelligence and plant genetics, Seed-X’s technology is uniquely capable of identifying traits (health, purity, quality, etc.) solely by phenotype analysis, making it non-destructive to seeds.
Seed-X’s breakthrough GeNee™ technology is powered by advanced computer vision, proprietary deep learning algorithms, and state-of-the-art image classification.
Developed by a multidisciplinary team of experts from the fields of computer vision, artificial intelligence and plant genetics, Seed-X’s technology is uniquely capable of identifying traits (health, purity, quality, etc.) solely by phenotype analysis, making it non-destructive to seeds.
Adding value to every player in the seed & food ecosystem
1. Seed & Grain Research
Seed-level phenotyping provides actionable data that improves seed research.2. Seed-X Data Center
Seed phenotyping data is modeled and analyzed in the cloud using Seed-X's proprietary GeNee™ technology. Results are delivered to users in minutes.3. Seed & Food Production
Classification of individual seeds & grains by quality attributes of choice are leveraged to optimize the quality & value of every batch produced.Applications
Astonishing results in a variety of applications
Seed-X has analysed thousands of seed lines and classified hundreds of different seed and grain traits.
Discover the trailblazing results across a wide range of applications.
Team
A powerful collective
AI/computer vision experts & experts in genetics, biomolecular science & agronomics.
DavidReis
Chairman
Bio
David is a business leader and entrepreneur who has held various CEO, Chairman and Board Director positions in fast-growing startups and large-scale high-tech operations including Stratasys Ltd (NASDAQ: SSYS), NUR Macroprinters (acquired by HP) and Scitex vision LTD.
As a CEO, David participated in several IPO processes in the US and Europe as well as numerous M&A transactions. He has proven experience in managing global activity with a strong emphasis on Long-Term Planning, Innovation, Sales, Marketing, Operations and R&D activities. Today, David also serves as Director with Stratasys Ltd (NASDAQ: SSYS), Chairman at Enercon Ltd, and Chairman at Tuttnauer Ltd.
SarelAshkenazy
Founder & CEO
Bio
Sarel has over 20 years proven experience in business leadership, sales, business management and operations. Serving as EVP Business at Kornit Digital Ltd (NASDAQ: KRNT), Sarel spearheaded business development, growing sales from $0 to over $100M. Prior to joining Kornit, Sarel held several executive positions within the Israeli startup arena.
MotiShniberg
Founder
Bio
Mr. Shniberg is an innovator, inventor and serial entrepreneur. He has founded several global technology ventures, including Face.com (acquired by Facebook), CyberMDX (acquired by Forescout) and MutualArt, a leading global art information platform with more than 1 Million subscribers. Mr. Shniberg is the inventor behind many patents, which are at the core of globally used solutions, such as Apple’s smart album and Facebook and Instagram’s image tagging. He is currently the founder and driving force behind Nacre Capital, a global venture builder specialized in creating and scaling start-ups that use deep AI technologies to address fundamental global needs and create significant value for society. Nacre Capital’s portfolio includes FDNA, a world-renowned company identifying rare diseases in children, Seed-X developing trait detection and sorting technology for grains and seeds, and Fairtility, delivering solutions to significantly increase the efficiency of IVF & reduce time to live birth
SharonAyal, Ph.D
Director of Science and Innovation
Bio
Sharon has over 20 years of experience in the Agtech industry working with genomic big data companies. Formerly, Sharon managed JVs and co-experiments with big seed companies for Evogene as well as NRGene, and has led numerous projects from initial to advanced stages.
Sharon holds Agronomist and Master degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a PhD in plant genetics from the Weizmann Institute of Science.
AyaGil Asulin
COO
Bio
Aya has over 10 years experience in commercial affairs, partnership integrations, complex processes, and people leadership as an attorney in one of the leading law firms in Israel, Hamburger Evron & Co. Aya holds an MBA and double major, LLB (Law) and BA (Management) from Tel Aviv university.
EladCarmon
CTO
Bio
Elad’s background is in Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Machine Learning and Image & Signal Processing algorithms. Prior to joining Seed-X, Elad was Co-founder and CTO of LipSight, an artificial intelligence startup providing automatic lip reading. Elad is an alumnus of the elite Psagot program, and holds BScs in Physics and Electrical Engineering and an MSc in Electrical Engineering from Tel Aviv University.
JuanFerreira
Executive Advisory Board
Bio
Mr. Ferreira is Global Strategic Advisor and President for Latin America at Sumitomo Chemical: Group Companies of the Americas. Formerly, he served as Global Vice President of Seed Applied Solutions, the Crop Protection business and the Vegetable Seeds business at Monsanto Company, where he managed the company’s growth platforms accounting for more than 30% of its $15 billion in annual revenues.
PaulE. Schickler
Executive Advisory Board
Bio
Mr. Schickler is the former President of DuPont Pioneer, the advanced seed genetics business of DuPont. In this role, he expanded Pioneer’s global business in more than 90 countries. He played an active role in the merger between Dow Chemical and Dupont, now one of the ‘big three’ leading companies in the agriculture sector.
GalYarden, Ph.D
Executive Advisory Board
Bio
Gal is partner and co-founder at Sadot Innovation, an early-stage investment fund dedicated to Agriculture & Food. Gal has two decades experience as a serial Entrepreneur & Early-Stage Investor in the AgBio industry. He was co-founder of Bio-Oz, Morflora, Beeologics, Eshbol and Vital Beverage, and a pre-seed and seed investor in several start-ups.
Gal also heads ABC Labs at the Scientific Park Rehovot. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from Ben-Gurion University as well as a Post doc in Plant virology from ARO.
MichaJesselson
Board of Directors
Bio
Micha is a Managing Partner at Jesselson Investments Family Office, based in Tel Aviv. Jesselson Investments allocates capital globally, with investments in real estate and private equity in Europe, USA and Israel. In the Venture Capital space, the office established Food Lab Capital with a clear vision of investing in cutting-edge Agri-foodtech companies.
Micha serves as a director and observer of various companies, and holds a BA in Business Administration from the IDC Herzliya.
AlBrenner
Board of Directors
Bio
Mr. Brenner is Co-founder and CEO of Aquaticode, and a Partner at Nacre Capital. He has been building innovative startups for 20 years, including as CEO of MutualArt. He previously worked at Lehman Brothers and holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.
HowardMorgan
Board of Directors
Bio
Howard Morgan is an American venture capitalist, philanthropist, socialite, angel investor, author and contributing writer for Business Insider. He is Co-founder of First Round Capital, serves as the Chairman, CEO, Director, Board member or advisor for an assortment of companies including John Deere’s Global Technology Innovation Advisory Council.
Howard is an investor and expert in the sector having invested in Climate Corporation (acquired by Monsanto) among other ventures. He received a PhD in Operations Research from Cornell University in 1968, and a BSc in Physics from City College of the City University of New York in 1965.
News
FAQ
Optical sorting is the automated process of sorting seeds using imaging devices. Optical sorters sort seeds by looking
at a few morphological parameters, usually by color, size, and shape.
Seed-X’s core technology is based on machine vision and AI using a deep learning algorithm.
The technology is integrated into optical sorters by partnering with existing optical sorting machinery manufacturers.
The new “AI-powered by Seed-X” sorters can sort by color, size, and shape (like a regular optical sorting machine) but
can also use an advanced additional capability to train an algorithm by use case.
The AI brings the advantage of collecting thousands of different parameters (instead of only a few) and training a
smart algorithm to find the correlation between these parameters to the desired use case.
With this ability, you can sort not by parameter but by use case.
For example: Germination, usable plant, uniformity, genetic purity, blind seeds, and many others.
Seed-X’s core technology is based on machine vision and AI using a deep learning algorithm.
The algorithm can be trained to multiple use cases based on the pain points and requirements of the customer.
We specialize in major seed quality use cases:
• Germination level
• Usable plant (vigor)
• Seeds uniformity
• Genetic purity cases – self, out-cross, technical failure
The algorithm could be trained for many other diverse quality parameters, such as:
• Plant debris
• Blind seeds
• Ploidy level
• Confidential use cases based on customer requirements
During your first germination/usable plant test, we will train the AI algorithm with the germination phenotype
data. At the end of the training, the algorithm provides a prediction of the results, together with the amount of
waste predicted, and creates a “classifier” (set of rules to use within the optical sorting machine). You will be able
to choose the required germination/usable plant level while considering the amount of waste.
Yes, you can request the desired germination level.
The initial level of germination will play a crucial part in the waste percentage, for example:
There is no limitation to the technology. We can train the AI algorithm to work for all types of crops and
different use cases.
Having said that, deep learning algorithms have many parameters that need to be tuned and therefore
require considerable data before delivering generalizable models. Therefore, having the requisite data is key
to producing suitable training sets and robust results with minimal waste.
In order to provide the best service, we chose to start with premium vegetable seeds:
Solanaceae
• Tomato
• Rootstocks
• Pepper
• Eggplants
Cucurbits
• Watermelon
• Melon
• Squash
• Cucumber
Brassicas
The algorithm uses thousands of data points collected from the seed image. While using accumulated data from
billions of images, the AI finds the correlation between the high-quality seeds and creates a classifier.
Very soon, we will no longer need to train the algorithm.
Deep learning algorithms have many parameters that require tuning when reaching a point whereby we will
have enough data to create generalizable models. So, in that sense, having large amounts of data is key to
generating strong training sets.
We believe we will create a uniform classifier for tomato and pepper seeds that will not require any training
before the year has ended.
Deep learning progress
*Specific crops
The data used for training is only images and the related phenotype; we do not need or use any confidential data
regarding the seeds. All accumulated data is stored and secured via the Amazon cloud.
The data is used to train and enrich the algorithm’s capabilities.
Each customer can access ONLY their own data through the Seed-X Envision platform.
If you do not want the algorithm to expose your data, and you do not want to enjoy the power of the accumulated data
(only images and related phenotyping), we do offer a dedicated server in the cloud that will serve only your company.
Please note! If you choose a dedicated server, you will not be exposed to the accumulated data of other customers,
which means the training process will be long, and costly. The results might be inferior until we’ve compiled a large
enough database.
Yes.
We support two proof-of-concept (POC) experiments free of charge for new customers* to present the AI capabilities
and ensure your confidence in the technology.
The POC involves practically building a classifier that will be able to sort and upgrade your seed lot.
After receiving the results, you will be able to sort your lot via our commercial sorting services.
Prerequisites for a POC:
• Stock batches with germination level above 60%-85%
• Crops:
• Tomato (inc. cherry and rootstocks)
• Pepper
• Melon/watermelon, cucumber, squash
The POC location can be either in the Netherlands or Israel.
*A new customer is one who has not previously conducted a test with Seed-x technology
The process is comprised of three main phases:
After the training, Seed-X presents the predictions of the algorithm.
The more information you provide, the better the results we can provide. For example, if we’ve sorted many from
the same variety (or close genetics) previously, we can use its data as a starting point to better optimize the
results of your lot.
By entering into the digital AI arena, you can enjoy many benefits of using imaging and AI capabilities.
When you upgrade your seed batches using Seed-X technology, we provide valuable reports such as:
• Seed batch morphological data analysis (size, length, width, shape, color, etc.)
• Evaluation tool to compare different seed production (seed uniformity)
• Seed research report to evaluate the correlation between seed morphology to seed quality
• Many others to come
As President and Chief Operating Officer of FDNA, Moshe Dahan oversees the company’s strategic goals across the product, development, and marketing departments. With more than 20 years of experience, Mr. Dahan has helped build numerous companies from the ground up in the tech space, and has advised IT industry leaders in establishing and guiding their IT organizations towards a stronger future.
Prior to his role at FDNA, Mr. Dahan served as Chief Administrative Officer for Infinidat, and has held various leadership roles at organizations such as IBM, NetApp, and Strauss Strategy, among others. He received his Bachelor of Science from Technion-Machon Technologi Le’ Israel.