A startup's AI model learns to read the electrical signals of plants
Plants carry faint electrical signals through their living tissue, and a startup called Electric Plant wants to translate them. As TechCrunch reports, the company spent three years collecting data to train Bombadil, a model that interprets those signals in about 125 species, from ferns and redwoods to tomatoes and dahlias. Small sensors screwed into a plant’s living layer send readings to the cloud, and growers get advice on watering or fertilizer. The company says its sensors cost tens of dollars rather than thousands, and claims the system can raise yields while cutting water use by 20% or more. It recently raised an $11.2 million seed round to bring the product to farms and forests.