Congratulations to SBFE's Professor Nick Holden and Dr Jerome O'Connell of Proveye, who have won the 2023 Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena Best Start Up Award, announced at the National Ploughing Championships. Prove
Headquartered at NovaUCD, the company received the prize for the best overall start-up at the annual competition for its AI-powered digital image analysis platform. Proveye uses their AI-powered digital image analysis platform to provide their customers with fast and accurate information about productivity and sustainability on agricultural land. Proveye, an Enterprise Ireland high-potential start-up (HPSU), was founded by Dr O’Connell and (opens in a new window)Professor Holden, as a spin-out from the UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering.
The company provides an intelligent enterprise SaaS platform combining pioneering image processing for multiple remote sensing sources with AI and machine learning. It is used by agricultural advisors, fertiliser and pesticide suppliers and food processors to provide fast and accurate information about productivity and sustainability on agricultural land to their farmer customers.
The Innovation Arena competition recognises innovative and cutting-edge products and services from agritech entrepreneurs delivering solutions to address some of the toughest global challenges.
“The Innovation Arena competition is a landmark exhibition platform and competition, as it brings together ambitious agri-innovators every year,” said Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney TD.
“Ireland is synonymous with agriculture, and it is our own entrepreneurs who are helping to shape the future of the sector globally. With the ongoing challenges and the need to develop and implement sustainable practices, the work of these Irish innovators has never been more vital.”
Proveye completed the inaugural AgTechUCD Agccelerator Programme, and was named the Ornua Most Innovative AgTech Start-up 2022 at the end of the Programme.
“Irish agri-tech companies continue to have an influential impact internationally with their cutting-edge products and services that are helping to bring greater efficiencies across agriculture,” said Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland.
Anna May McHugh, Managing Director, National Ploughing Association, added: “The NPA is delighted to host the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena again at this year’s National Ploughing Championships, which provides an excellent opportunity for innovators in the agri-tech and agri-engineering space to showcase their products and services at Europe’s largest outdoor event. The standard, once again, was exceptionally high, and I want to congratulate all of today’s winners and wish them all the best for the future on this great achievement.”