Dublin-based agricultural technology company Micron Agritech has raised €2.7 million in funding.
The round was co-led by Act Venture Capital, Atlantic Bridge and Yield Lab Europe, with Micron positioning itself for further expansion in both the Irish and UK markets.
With a cumulative funding of €5 million to date, the spin-out from TU Dublin is aiming to revolutionise rapid animal health testing through the use of AI technology.
The group’s technology allows veterinarians to conduct on-site, rapid parasite testing on animals using their mobile phones, delivering results in minutes.
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The platform’s core mission is to combat the increased resistance to anti-parasiticides and reduce the unnecessary reliance on worm treatments by the agriculture sector, as a whole.
Micron Agritech is also keen to protect the limited medicinal arsenal currently in place to combat these diseases while monitoring the prevalence of resistance on farms in Ireland and the UK.
The company believes this approach will drastically reduce the time, cost and resources expended on dosing methodologies while amplifying farm efficiency through the strategic deployment of AI technology.
It can take up to five days to receive the results of laboratory tests confirming the presence or absence of internal parasites, prompting many farmers to administer treatments without conducting prior testing.
This practice has contributed significantly to complications such as anthelmintic resistance – already rendering some modern medications useless – which is a major cause of concern for the European Union and the UK alike.
Micron Agritech chief executive Daniel Izquierdo said: “We are thrilled to have the support of Act, Atlantic Bridge, Yield Lab Europe and our other investors as we continue to grow and expand our cutting-edge platform.
“Our goal is to make our platform accessible to vets across the globe, starting with penetration across the Irish and UK markets, which will combat the build up of medication resistance, while giving farmers and vets tools to monitor animal health, improve the lives of their animals while increasing productivity.”
