Nadav
Bocher
CEO and Co-Founder, Greeneye
Greeneye utilizes artificial intelligence and deep learning technology to revolutionize the pest control process in agriculture, transitioning from the current practice of broadcast and wasteful spraying of pesticides to precise and selective spraying.
The Greeneye Story
While serving as a combat soldier and commander in his homeland of Israel, Nadav Bocher started working on the problem of the lack of efficiency and overuse of pesticides in industrial agriculture. Greeneye Technology was founded in 2017 to address this problem head-on by leveraging AI.
Where farmers today broadcast pesticides across entire fields—regardless of which problems actually exist in the area—Greeneye’s artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies aim to spot-spray any particular portion of the field where chemicals are actually needed. This precision agriculture solution enables farmers to save up to 90% of their chemical cost.
Greeneye is the first company to bring this technology to market commercially, with an average reduction in chemical waste of 88%. Bocher always hoped to reduce the environmental impact of farming and to support the global fight for food security, and in all of the iterations of its business, Greeneye has always focused on this central mission: to dramatically reduce chemical usage while increasing farmers’ productivity and profitability.
Based in Tel-Aviv, Greeneye’s team works to provide sustainable, cost-effective solutions for farmers around the world. At the moment, the company primarily operates in the American Midwest, and has completely sold out for 2023. The proof is in the pudding: when wasteful spraying stops, it changes farming. It changes our environment. It changes the agricultural future.
"Self-awareness is key for success."
Q&A
How and when did you first start working with Hyperplane?
We met with Hyperplane for the first time in 2018. We raised an early round then, and they joined a round and invested more and more in future rounds. From day one, they just believed in us as people, as a team. They took a bet on us. We had nothing to show as far as revenue, and that's something that I’ve always appreciated.
They can see the potential in a clearer way that you can as a founder. The process with them was always very, very, efficient: they made really quick decisions, and were very transparent with us as founders.
I would highly recommend any entrepreneur to engage with them. They let you lead the company—they trust you, but they're there if something goes wrong. From my perspective, they're one of the more helpful, resourceful, and available investors that we have—and we have a very strong syndicate of investors.
What has your experience with Hyperplane been like?
I want to make this clear. I genuinely believe Hyperplane is a unique group of people. Very professional, super supportive. They help the company think big and believe in itself despite challenges. If they have picked you throughout their process, it's a bet that they're behind you. They are fantastic investors. To me, there is no investor relationship that I could recommend more than that which I have with Hyperplane.
What advice do you have to other founders?
Self-awareness is a key thing in life, but if you are an entrepreneur it’s even more crucial. You have to be aware to not fall in love with what you do. Don’t think you're too special, just criticize yourself. Sometimes we tend to just adopt certain theses and just follow them no matter what. Self-awareness is key for success.
The second thing: understand it's going to be a rollercoaster. It's going to be a lot of highs, a lot of lows, but don't get confused when you're in the highs. Don't get depressed when in the lows. Try to maintain a stable leadership as you advance your company.