hexafarms

hexafarms is a Saarbrücken-based agricultural technology company that sells software for commercial greenhouse and indoor growing operations. Its platform combines computer vision and sensor data to deliver yield forecasting, automated crop registration (including fruit and flower counts and other crop parameters), pest and disease detection, and environmental sensing. The software is designed to integrate with growers' existing climate computers and sensor networks rather than requiring new hardware infrastructure.

The company began in vertical farming. Early descriptions from Saarland sources present HexaFarms as a vertical-farming startup that used a self-developed sensor network, machine-learning-optimised growing algorithms, a hybrid nutrient delivery system and a proprietary indoor lighting mechanism, with claims of up to 50% electricity savings versus conventional indoor-farm lighting and up to 30-40% lower overall production costs versus other indoor farms. The startup was developed with support from the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft des Saarlandes (htw saar), where Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Griebsch acted as mentor. In 2023 the company raised a pre-seed round and pivoted from vertical farming toward greenhouse optimisation.

Products were rolled out sequentially: Forecasting (July 2024), Crop Registration (December 2024) and Pest & Disease (May 2025), alongside crop portfolio expansion into tomatoes in January 2024. The company states that growers using its technology achieve a 30% increase in yield with the same resources and markets forecast accuracy improvements of up to 20% over traditional methods.

Founding story

The company emerged from the Saarbrücken startup ecosystem with support from htw saar, where Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Griebsch served as mentor and Felix Kirschstein as founding adviser. Founders named in Saarland sources are David Ahmed and Abraham Hdru, with Huijo Kim also pictured as part of the early team. The initial goal was to make profitable indoor vertical farming a reality, using algorithm-controlled production processes and a self-built sensor network to determine optimal growing conditions.

Business model

B2B software sold to commercial greenhouse and indoor growing operations, delivered as a platform that integrates with growers' existing climate computers and sensor suites. Prospective customers are directed to book a demo.

Traction

Reported processing of approximately 9 million kilos of strawberries and tomatoes in the quarter covered by its pre-seed announcement, three products launched between July 2024 and May 2025, and customer operations including Edelrot GmbH.

Latest developments

Pest & Disease detection was launched in May 2025, and the company published greenhouse and pest-management content through October 2025. It is scheduled to exhibit at HortiContact on 25-26 February at stand D29.