This week on Startup Street, a new venture looking to solve the global food shortage with the help of robots; Indian startups will soon be able to sell their unique products on a government portal to help determine their price; and Elon Musk's The Boring Company may finally launch the Los Angeles tunnel in two days.
The Indoor Farm Wants To Solve Global Food Shortage
A two-year-old startup in New York is working towards solving global food shortage by letting robots grow crops indoors in a farm. The company says it's 100 times more productive than an equivalent stretch of farmland.
Browery Farming Inc., recently backed by Uber's Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi and Alphabet Inc's venture capital arm, uses sensor-rich trays to grow vegetables. They sense humidity, carbon dioxide and light, according to the company's website.
This technique also uses 95 percent less water than traditional farming, the startup said. “At Bowery, we're re-thinking what agriculture looks like in a world where water is scarce, people live in cities, and we're waking up to the dangers of pesticides and other chemicals.”
View this post on InstagramBowery isn't the only farm tech company working on the future of sustained farming. Startups such as ZipGrow, Iron Ox, Plenty and others are also using controlled environments to revolutionise farming to a more sustainable practice. Even retail giant Ikea teased an indoor farm in collaboration with British Designer To Dixon in late November this year, multiple reports said. The Swedish furniture company had earlier launched a soil-less hydroponic system in 2016 which would allow its owners to grow herbs in their dark, cramped apartments.
A United Nations report on the global food crisis says that food production will need to double in the next three decades to feed the world's growing population.
Bowery only grows leafy greens such as lettuce, kale, arugula, bok choy and basil in two indoor farms in New Jersey. The $90-million funding received from Khosrowshahi and Alphabet's GV will allow the firm to expand and open more farms across the world, the company told Bloomberg.
India's Startups Could Soon Price Their Unique Products On This Government Portal
India's startups will soon be able to sell their goods on the government's online platform for public sector units, GeM, according to an official notification by the Commerce Ministry of India. The ministry is working on developing a proof-of-concept corner for startups on the portal.
“This will be a launchpad for startups to access the government market and give them a chance to sell on the platform. Government users will be able to try out the innovative products and services offered by startups on a trial basis and give feedback,” it said. The move is expected to help fix prices of unique products and services provided by startups.
“As startup products and services are innovative, and cannot be compared with similar products and services, a buyer may use them for three months and thereafter they certify that the product is useful and the price is reasonable. Based on this user certification, the product or service will be listed on GeM,” it said.
Launched in 2016, GeM is an online portal of the commerce ministry for the procurement of goods and services by public sector units, departments and states. So far, 1,67,080 sellers and service providers are registered with the portal and offer 6,60,756 products and services.
The top five product categories at the platform include automobiles, computers, and office furniture. The top services include security, catering, and vehicle hiring.
Elon Musk's Tunneling Startup Teases Launch
After less than two years of boring into the U.S. ground, The Boring Company may be ready to launch its product.
Founder and Chief Executive Office Elon Musk, in a tweet, teased that the company's underground tunnel may be ready for launch by Dec. 18.
Tunnel opening now set for 12/18. Need another few days to finish the snail habitat. More details soon!
Boring Company product launch on Dec 18. More than a tunnel opening. Will include modded but fully road legal autonomous transport cars & ground to tunnel car elevators.
In October, Musk said the startup was almost done with its first tunnel in Los Angeles and would launch it on Dec. 10.
Elevators to transport the cars and people will be present at both ends of the mile-long tunnel in Hawthorne, California, near the headquarters of SpaceX, Bloomberg reported citing a person familiar with the project who asked not to be identified because the details are private.
This, however, is not the only tunnel under construction. The company also secured a contract from the Chicago government for a tunnel connecting downtown Chicago to O'Hare International Airport. On Dec. 13, Bloomberg reported that the startup was midway through an environmental assessment.
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