Irish agritech Iamus Technologies to compete for $100,000 prize

8 Jun 2021

From left: Brian Martin, Shane Phelan, Owen Grogan, Shane Kiernan, Thibaut Remark and Michael McGlynn, Iamus Technologies. Image: Colum Lynch

The AI company is among 10 start-ups from around the world pitching their agritech solutions to investors as part of a virtual conference hosted in Singapore.

Iamus Technologies, an AI and robotics agritech start-up, is one of 10 finalists for the 2021 Future Food Asia Award.

The start-up, which is headquartered at NovaUCD, is the only company from Ireland competing for the $100,000 prize.

The Future Food Asia conference is taking place virtually this week and is being hosted from Singapore. The award gives the finalists, which come from all over the world, a chance to pitch their agritech solutions to investors, industry leaders and sector experts.

Iamus Technologies has developed an autonomous robot tool called Gallus that works within chicken houses to constantly monitor key welfare and environmental variables in the chicken shed.

This allows farmers to make data-driven decisions to improve efficiency and sustainability outcomes while also improving the biosecurity and animal welfare of chicken flocks.

The company’s CEO, Shane Kiernan, said the awards will give Iamus Technologies an opportunity to raise its profile in the key Asia market.

“Iamus has already established a significant pipeline of customers in the region, including a trial commencing in Thailand later this year. The opportunity to pitch at the Future Food Asia Award finals to an audience that can further expand access to potential customers and investors is a massive opportunity for us to continue to deliver on our mission,” he said.

“To support further product development and our trials in Asia and Europe, we are opening a funding round this June and look forward to speaking to investors who are excited to join us in our journey to bring robotics in the $200bn poultry industry.”

Last year, Iamus Technologies was named the best overall start-up at the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena Awards, run in association with the National Ploughing Association.

The other finalists for the 2021 Future Food Asia Award include agritech companies from Singapore, Australia, India, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Isabelle Decitre, CEO and founder of ID Capital, which organises the Future Food Asia conference, said: “Whilst coming up with the most diverse value propositions, what unites these entrepreneurs is this capacity to keep their feet on the ground and their heads in the clouds. They are the testament to human ingenuity.”

Jenny Darmody is the editor of Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com