Source.ag buys Optimal to run greenhouses on AI
What's the deal? Source.ag, the Amsterdam-based AI company for greenhouse growers, has acquired OptimalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the London startup behind one of the first AI systems to run a commercial greenhouse autonomously. Financial terms were not disclosed.
What does each do? Source's software monitors crops, forecasts harvests weeks ahead, and automates irrigation. Optimal's AI directly controls heating, ventilation, screens, lighting, CO₂, and irrigation through a grower's existing hardware, using physics and machine learning models to plan the environment days ahead and re-optimise as the weather shifts.
What's the endgame? Together they form a closed loop: one system that observes, predicts, and acts. Source's software already runs in more than 500 greenhouses across 25 countries, supporting €2.5bn of tomato, pepper, and cucumber production a year.
The key hire: Optimal founder Dave Hunter joins Source as VP autonomous control, bringing his engineering team. Hunter, a former head of quantitative trading at Deutsche Bank and Oxford Machine Learning group member, founded Optimal in 2016 after DeepMindDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → used similar algorithms to cut cooling energy at GoogleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s data centres by 40%.
Why now? Modern greenhouses depend on a shrinking pool of skilled growers, which limits how many can be built. "A global shortage of skilled growers prevents new greenhouses from being built and leaves our food system exposed to extreme climate and energy events," Hunter said.
Does it work? In a commercial-scale Dutch greenhouse — the global reference point for the sector — Optimal's system delivered 13% more yield with 27% less energy than the benchmark grower. It has since run commercial operations in the Netherlands and Canada.
The money behind it: Source has raised €50mn from investors including Astanor VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Acre Venture PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Enza ZadenDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Harvest HouseDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Optimal's backers include Founders Fund, Backed VCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, 2050Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Acequia Capital.
The signal: "Everyone is talking about physical AI. With this deal we are putting our money where our mouth is," said Rien Kamman, co-founder and chief executive officer of Source.ag. The acquisition is a bet that AI can replace the scarce human expertise holding back greenhouse expansion — and a test of whether automation can scale food production under mounting climate and energy pressure.
Read more: hortidaily.com
Image credit: Optimal Labs
