College friends Calvin Aranha and Farish Anfal have integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) into hydroponic farming to grow exotic crops such as lettuce, basil, kale and parsley.

Farish explains that Indian farmers are largely dependent on soil, water, and weather. “In hydroponics, crops can be grown in a controlled environment with artificial light, eliminating the need to depend on the weather outside.”

Driven by a shared passion for transforming the agricultural sector through technology-driven solutions, Farish and Calvin started their company, Krop AI.

They built their own 3D pipes to grow crops vertically. “Our patented pipes allow precise control over environmental variables like light spectrum and temperature,” says Farish.

Based on software inputs, Krop AI’s system irrigates and maintains temperature, humidity, pH, water conductivity, air temperature, humidity, and all other parameters to provide an ideal environment suitable for plant growth.

This AI-powered hydroponic farming system saves 95% of water by reusing it within the setup and reduces operational costs by an impressive 50%.

“If it costs Rs 800 to grow a kilo of strawberries in vertical farming, farmers would only incur about Rs 300 to grow the same crop using AI enabled hydroponics,” adds Farish.

Their setup, priced at Rs 5 lakh, has the capacity to grow 500 lettuce plants. So far, they have built farms for about 10 agri-entrepreneurs and companies.

Last year, the duo generated Rs 50 lakh in total revenue with a 40 percent gross profit from manufacturing farm stations. This year, they project an annual turnover of Rs 3 crore.

“As our technology allows us to grow crops indoors, we don’t need perfect weather conditions for better harvests. Our plants thrive without sun and soil and without compromising on taste,” says Farish.