Agritech start-up Proveye has raised €1m in seed funding as the Irish company looks to grow its customer base and expand its offerings.

Proveye has developed an artificial intelligence platform which utilises image correction technology to provide information about productivity and sustainability on agricultural land.

The technology makes it possible to increase the accuracy from earth observation data gathered from satellites, drones and sensors located on the ground.

It is targeted at agricultural advisors, fertiliser and pesticide suppliers, as well as food processors.

The funding round was led by the private investment arm of Waystone’s management team, Inspire Investments, as well as Enterprise Ireland.

The new investment will now be used by the start-up to expand its customer base, as well as to develop new solutions for grassland and arable crops.

Proveye will also look to further its capabilities in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery.

The seed funding round follows a €225,000 contract with the European Space Agency last September.

“This investment comes at a time of rapid growth for the company as we demonstrate the value of a new generation of image-based analytics in agriculture,” founder and chief executive Jerome O’Connell said.

He added that the company is teaming up with other players in the agricultural industry to “solve challenges previously out of reach”.

“Our global food system is at a tipping point and Proveye is setting the standard for image-based precision agriculture,” Waystone chief executive Derek Delaney said.

“We see enormous potential for the company’s capabilities at a time where major companies are setting increasingly ambitious sustainability targets.”