Imago AI

ImagoAI is a food-technology company that applies hyperspectral imaging and machine learning to rapid, on-site testing of raw and manufactured food. Its imaging hardware captures 3-D images with more than 200 spectral bands, recording a chemical signature at every pixel; AI models trained on hyperspectral pixel data and thousands of samples then convert those scans into quantitative results. The workflow is presented as three steps — place a sample on the tray, record a scan, and analyze — and requires no consumables or wet chemistry.

The company's commercial line is branded Galaxy. The corn mycotoxin test quantifies aflatoxins, DON, fumonisins and zearalenone in ground corn in under 30 seconds for four mycotoxins. Additional advertised applications cover mycotoxins in corn and DDGS, vitamin content in premixes and breakfast cereals, and particle size in corn and premixes. ImagoAI positions Galaxy as delivering multiple tests in less than 30 seconds at roughly half the cost of conventional testing and with large reductions in labor time.

At its 2018 TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin Battlefield appearance the company was described as an Indian agtech startup using computer vision and machine learning to automate measurement of crop output and quality for seed companies — so-called high-throughput precision phenotyping — with the stated aim of shortening the six-to-eight-year seed development cycle and eventually correlating phenotypic with genotypic data to predict crop traits. The current product focus is food-safety and quality testing in processing and feed supply chains.

Business model

ImagoAI sells instrument-based food testing products (the Galaxy line) to food, feed and grain processors, positioning them as plug-and-play, consumable-free replacements for laboratory testing; the site references terms and conditions of sales and application-specific tests.

Traction

The company reports more than 50,000 tests performed, over 1,000 GB of hyperspectral data collected and more than 8,000 hours of labor time saved. Named adoption includes POET. The company has presented at the NAMA Corn Dry Milling Conference and the World Mycotoxin Forum in Belgium.

Latest developments

Recent activity highlighted by the company includes AOAC PTM certification of the Galaxy Mycotoxins Test for corn, adoption of the test by POET, and a collaboration with the USDA to develop a handheld mycotoxins test.