AI Robots and Plant-Based Tuna | 5 Start-Ups Making Farming More Sustainable

With a growing global population, increasing climate pressures, and rising concerns about the health impacts of our food systems, feeding everyone while caring for the planet has never been more urgent. These five European startups are stepping up to redefine how we grow, produce, and enjoy food—offering solutions that address environmental challenges and human health alike.

1. Weeding Out Chemicals with Smart Robots

Herbicides kill weeds that are competing with our food crops. This helps us produce enough food,  but chemical herbicides can also pose risks to the environment and our health. Ullmanna has developed a robotic system powered by artificial intelligence to help farmers remove weeds mechanically.  This AI solution replaces manual labour with smart, in-row weed control, using precision tools to remove weeds directly between crop rows without damaging the plants. By automating this labour-intensive task, Ullmanna not only makes organic farming scalable and efficient but also addresses the growing labour shortages faced by farmers, allowing them to focus on growing food—not fighting weeds.

Discover why fewer Europeans are becoming farmers

 Ullmanna's in-row weeder is able to detect plants roots in order to safely weed around crops. Photos courtesy of Ullmanna. 

2. Drones vs. Weeds: A Precision Battle

SAM-DIMENSION is another startup helping reduce our reliance on herbicides to control weeds.  Their drones scan fields from above, using advanced imaging to map weed growth with pinpoint accuracy. By identifying only the areas where weeds are present, these maps enable farmers to target their herbicide application, significantly reducing the overall volume of chemicals used. This not only cuts costs but also minimises environmental impact.  For example, less herbicides means a reduction in water and soil contamination as well as easing the pressure on beneficial insects and the other species that rely on them.

SAM-DIMENSION's technology uses data collected from a drone to map areas where weeds are present. This data is then shared with a smart sprayer which will apply herbicides only is these marked locations (shown as black squares in the righthand image). Photos courtesy of SAM-DIMENSION. 

3. Stress Detective for Crops

Crops can suffer from invisible stresses such as pests, drought, or disease long before they show signs of damage. FarmAIr uses AI-powered cameras to detect these hidden threats early. Their system works like a high-tech health scan for plants, helping farmers act before it is too late. By catching problems early, FarmAIr helps protect farmers from losing the harvest, so our supermarket shelves remain full and our food producers can stay in business.

FarmAIr's AI-powered cameras detect 'invisible' threats to plants early, offering producers the opportunity to protect their crops from stress factors, while reducing treatment costs. Photo courtesy of FarmAlr. 

4. A Regenerative Tuna Alternative

Overfishing is pushing global tuna stocks to dangerous levels, with some species like bluefin tuna critically endangered due to decades of overexploitation. Tuna is one of the most commercially valuable fish, but overfishing threatens marine biodiversity, disrupts entire ecosystems and endangers the livelihoods of fishing communities. BettaF!sh found an ingenious answer: TU-NAH, a plant-based alternative made from fava beans and regeneratively farmed seaweed. It mimics the taste and texture of canned tuna, offering a delicious option that supports ocean health, showing that enjoying seafood and protecting marine ecosystems are not mutually exclusive.

Find out more about how sustainable fishing quotas work

BettaF!sh make a range of plant-based fish alternatives, including TUN-NAH and SAL-NOM. Photo courtesy of BettaF!sh.

5. From Fruit Pits to Possibilities

Fruit pits from cherries, apricots, and plums often become waste. Kern Tec sees them differently: as untapped resources. Using different types of processing, they transform these discarded by-products into oils, protein powders, and even dairy alternatives. Their approach reduces food waste while also creating sustainable ingredients for food, cosmetics, and beyond. This matters because when fruit pits are wasted, so are the time, effort, and resources that went into growing the fruit in the first place. Kern Tec shows that one person’s trash can be another’s treasure -  if you’re creative enough.

Kern Tec rescues fruit pits from waste in fruit processing & returns them to the food industry as a valuable ingredient in accordance with the principle of circular economy. Photo courtesy of Kern Tec. 

From robots in the fields to tuna made from seaweed, these food startups are winners of the EIT Food Marketed Innovation Prize, which rewards companies for bringing innovative products and services to market. This prize awards €10,000 to the best innovation in each region and €5,000 to top subcategories. Will your bright idea be a future winner?