5 innovative startups wanting to improve the world with new technologies

Innovative startups – 5 brilliant examples

With the digital transformation progressing at breakneck speed and new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) gaining momentum, we now have more and more power to transform our society for the better. So it’s no surprise that we’re now seeing budding entrepreneurs brimming with enthusiasm to bring awe-inspiring ideas and business concepts to the table. In this context, many innovative startups are utilizing cutting-edge technologies to turn their visions into reality. The following five companies are definitely leading the way here:

#1 Hyperganic – creates impressive objects using AI

• Sector: industrial applications/manufacturing
• Innovation: AI-based 3D printing method
• Impact on the world: a novel, resource-friendly way of developing and manufacturing efficient products

The Munich-based startup Hyperganic combines two exciting technology trends: artificial intelligence and 3D printing. But what’s behind it? A whole lot, in fact. Hyperganic has successfully developed an AI-based printing method that independently produces complex objects that mimic nature. The artificial intelligence (AI) software is merely given some instructions, which it then uses to draft various prototypes and designs and autonomously print them. That gives rise to completely new design concepts that transcend the limits of human imagination.

To name a specific example, Hyperganic leveraged AI to create an organically designed bicycle helmet and an innovative rocket engine. A key advantage of the method is that it doesn’t produce any waste because the AI solution uses resources with the utmost precision and care.

#2 Sylvera – combats greenwashing using satellite-based AI

• Sector: investments
• Innovation: AI-driven analytics software for rating climate protection projects
• Impact on the world: ensuring transparency when it comes to the sustainability efforts of companies

Which companies are acting as role models from a sustainability standpoint, and which ones aren’t telling the whole truth about their carbon offsetting measures? The innovative startup Sylvera uses a clever solution to get to the bottom of these questions. By leveraging artificial intelligence as well as satellite and environmental data, the British company investigates whether companies are living up to their sustainability promises. Sylvera’s AI rates climate protection projects and determines the extent to which these are benefiting the environment – or whether the whole thing is simply another case of greenwashing. Among other things, the results help investors choose sustainable companies to give their money to.

#3 PlantMap – uses robots to keep track of micro farms

• Sector: agriculture
• Innovation: AI-based robotic assistant for biointensive agriculture
• Impact on the world: promoting eco-friendly farming, while achieving high yields

The startup project PlantMap takes a whole lot of tech to the soil and aims to put an end to destructive monocultures. What started out as a research project at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, PlantMap hopes to boost the popularity of the micro farming method, a type of biointensive agriculture where various vegetables are grown on fields at the same time, while taking environmental factors into account. However, this efficient form of cultivation is extremely complex and slightly chaotic; after all, up to 50 plant species may be growing side by side at any one time. And that’s precisely where robotics come into play.

PlantMap’s field robots scan the crop areas and create a semantic 3D map of the field. This is displayed on a web interface, providing an overview for farmers. An artificial intelligence feature also gives users tips on how to use the field effectively and when to harvest the crops. All that takes farming to a completely new level and offers an exciting solution for making agriculture both more environmentally friendly and efficient. The project has been entirely funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. By the end of 2023, PlantMap hopes to become its own independent company.

#4 Delicious Data – tackles food waste using machine learning

• Sector: catering/hospitality, corporate
• Innovation: AI-driven management software for the food industry
• Impact on the world: preventing food waste

Munich-based Delicious Data doesn’t just have a quirky and appealing name: the innovative startup has come up with an absolutely great idea that is already even supporting large corporations such as Porsche. In a nutshell, it’s about food waste – or, in other words, avoiding it. To achieve that, the team behind Delicious Data implements a machine learning technique that they have integrated into a smart software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution. Fueled by deep learning, the software helps food businesses and cafeterias keep track of their meals and the ingredients they have available. Companies that use Delicious Data have been able to reduce food waste by up to 30 percent. How amazing is that?!

#5 apic.ai – embraces AI to stop bees from dying

• Sector: agriculture
• Innovation: AI-based monitoring technology for analyzing insect pollinators
• Impact on the world: insect-friendly design of agricultural space

The startup apic.ai is full of ideas to help busy honeybees and bumblebees. The company, which only started out in 2018, has developed an AI-based method for monitoring insects such as our precious honeybees. That may initially sound like something that would only appeal to the nature lovers out there, but it’s actually pretty important and relevant on a much greater scale. Honeybees and bumblebees are an essential part of our ecosystem and, as pollinators, they make a valuable contribution to agriculture. Unfortunately, many insect populations aren’t doing too well right now, and it’s often hard to determine the exact cause in practice.

The solution designed by apic.ai now makes it possible to precisely analyze the life of honeybees and bumblebees in terms of environmental factors and external influences. To do that, the German company relies on computer-aided image processing combined with AI technology. The insights gained from the method allow farmers to design their agricultural activities in a more insect-friendly way.

A better world – thanks to innovative startups

The five examples presented here show that innovative startups are coming up with great ideas and sophisticated concepts to responsibly tackle today’s challenges head-on with the support of modern technologies such as AI and machine learning. It’s incredible what’s achievable nowadays thanks to new technologies and the clever people who know how to use them. We can’t wait to see what these companies do next. Let them inspire each and every one of us to make the world a better place through our actions. As the saying goes: be the change you want to see!