How a Cyborg Houseplant Sparked a Mission
Justin Mast's life changed because of a cyborg plant. A few years ago, while reading scientific literature, Mast came across research about a houseplant wired to a motorized stand. When the plant needed more light, electrical signals flowed through its living tissues. A control board detected the current and wheeled the plant closer to the light source.
"I'm like, what the heck?" Mast told TechCrunch. "That was the entry to the rabbit hole for me."
That discovery led Mast to partner with Lee von Kraus, a neuroscientist who has worked with DARPA, to found Electric Plant. For the past three years, the company has been collecting data to build a large language model called Bombadil, designed to interpret the subtle electrical signals coursing through a plant's stem and relay details about the plant's needs to growers.
Listening Before Speaking
The founders believe their model could one day lead to a tool that lets people "speak" to plants. "We're listening more than we're speaking, but listening's the first step," said Mast, co-founder and CEO of Electric Plant.
The Visibility Gap in Agriculture
Even in the most controlled greenhouses, farmers and growers lack full visibility into what their plants require, Mast said. Traditionally, farmers, growers, and foresters have relied on coarse tools that react to plants' demands for water, nutrients, or light. Tools like soil probes, handheld spectroscopes, and satellite imagery work well enough, Mast said, but they leave much to be desired.
Funding to Bring Sensors and Bombadil to Market
To bring its sensors and Bombadil to market, Electric Plant recently raised an $11.2 million seed round led by Onto Ventures and Climactic, with participation from Ponderosa, Endeavor Catalyst, Ludlow, Michigan Rise, The Fund, Schox VC, and Dug Song.
Electric Plant co-founders Lee von Kraus (right) and Justin Mast stand next to a tree with a sensor attached to it. Image Credits: Electric Plant
via TechCrunch AI