Artificial intelligence is no longer something that’s confined to huge tech firms. Now, traditional industries like agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing are being transformed by AI. Various AI startups are helping these industries by increasing efficiency and enabling smarter decision making all while focusing on the environment.
These advances not only optimize processes but transform entire business models, creating new revenue streams and competitive advantages. From robotic drones that inspect hazardous environments to AI-driven tools that decode plant biology, these companies help in creating smarter, safer, and more sustainable industries.
1. Cleo Robotics
Founded by Omar Eleryan, Cleo Robotics creates specialized aerial robots designed to operate in hazardous, confined spaces where human access is limited or unsafe. The company’s flagship product, the Dronut DD1, is a compact, bi-rotor drone featuring unique thrust vectoring technology and fully enclosed propellers, allowing it to fly safely indoors and near people.
This drone operates autonomously in GPS-denied areas such as tunnels, tanks, and industrial sites, delivering high-fidelity data for infrastructure inspections while reducing human risk. Cleo’s technology has attracted attention from various investors and has been awarded contracts from the U.S. Army to develop tactical drone systems.
2. Emerge Diagnostics
Founded by MaryRose Reaston, Emerge Diagnostics develops medical diagnostic technologies, particularly functional electromyography (EMG) devices that assist in diagnosing soft tissue injuries. The company’s innovations help accelerate and improve clinical assessments, empowering insurers and healthcare providers to better serve patients.
Their EFA Wellness Program has generated cost savings of over 55% while improving employee health. The company also holds an international patent for technology that helps surgeons determine whether surgically implanted hardware should be removed, potentially reducing second surgeries and improving patient outcomes.
3. Prospera Technologies
Prospera Technologies is a leading AI-driven agriculture startup focused on transforming farming with machine learning and computer vision technologies. Founded by Daniel Koppel, their platform captures and analyzes multiple layers of climate and visual data directly from crop fields, providing growers with actionable insights that optimize plant health, manage stress, and maximize yields.
Backed by Cisco and Qualcomm, Prospera’s sophisticated analytics support sustainable farming by reducing waste and chemical usage while improving productivity. By partnering with agricultural giants and integrating AI models, Prospera is redefining how food is grown, making precision agriculture accessible and impactful.
4. PathAI
PathAI is transforming medical pathology by combining AI with expert medical knowledge to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of disease diagnosis. Co-founded by Andrew Beck and Aditya Khosla, PathAI develops machine learning models that analyze pathology images to improve diagnostic accuracy and speed.
This not only aids physicians in making precise treatment decisions but also accelerates pharmaceutical research by automating tissue analysis in clinical trials. PathAI’s flagship product, AISight Dx Image Management System, integrates AI-powered algorithms directly into pathology workflows, offering tools for biomarker quantification, tissue classification, and diagnostic decision support.
Collaborations with Mindpeak, Stratipath, and Primaa allow their AI pathology tools to be accessed seamlessly through AISight Dx, expanding its diagnostic portfolio for diseases like breast and lung cancer.
5. Carbon Robotics
Founded by Paul Mikesell, Carbon Robotics designs autonomous, AI-driven robotic systems that merges robotics, AI, machine learning, and laser technology for weed control in agriculture to reduce the reliance on herbicides.
The company’s hallmark innovation is the autonomous LaserWeeder, a robotic platform equipped with over 40 high-resolution cameras and 30+ high-powered lasers. This system uses deep learning-based computer vision to accurately distinguish between crops and weeds in real time.
Once identified, the LaserWeeder uses precise laser bursts to destroy weeds at the root without disturbing the soil or harming crops, providing a no-till, chemical-free alternative to traditional herbicides. Tests show Carbon Robotics’ LaserWeeder reduces weed control costs by up to 80% while simultaneously boosting crop yields and quality.
6. Reef Technology
Reef Technology is redefining urban infrastructure by transforming underutilized spaces, primarily parking lots, into vibrant neighborhood hubs that serve multiple community needs. Founded by Ari Ojalvo, Reef leverages technology and AI to create scalable platforms that combine food delivery, logistics, wellness services, and micro-mobility.
The company operates more than 100 REEF Neighborhood Kitchens across North America, partnering with local and national food brands to provide turnkey, delivery-only kitchens that eliminate the overhead costs of traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants. These cloud kitchens enable entrepreneurs and established brands to expand rapidly with low capital investment.
Beyond food, Reef’s hubs offer critical local services such as COVID-19 and flu testing, micro-mobility stations for bike and scooter sharing, last-mile delivery facilities, and even future-forward concepts like vertical farming and EV charging stations.
7. Brightseed
Co-founded by Sofia Elizondo, Lee Chae, and Jim Flatt, Brightseed harnesses AI and machine learning to uncover bioactive compounds in plants that can improve human health, bridging traditional medicine and modern technology. The company has developed an AI-driven platform called Forager, which maps the complex chemical diversity of plants and natural sources to human biology.
This technology enables the rapid identification of plant-derived compounds that have potential health benefits, fostering innovation in nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and wellness industries. The Forager platform integrates high-resolution omics data, machine learning, and automation to analyze thousands of plant samples, predicting how specific compounds interact with biological pathways in the human body.
8. KoBold Metals
KoBold Metals is transforming the mining and exploration sector through the power of AI and data science to find critical battery materials like lithium, copper, and cobalt. Co-founded by Kurt House, Josh Goldman, and Jeff Jurinak, KoBold applies cutting-edge AI, machine learning, and geospatial analytics to accelerate the discovery of these critical minerals.
These minerals are essential for batteries, electric vehicles, renewable energy, and other green technologies driving the global energy transition. The company’s proprietary AI-driven platform sifts through vast geological and geochemical datasets to predict economically viable mineral concentrations, vastly improving the efficiency and success rate of mineral exploration.
One of their flagship projects is the Mingomba copper deposit in Zambia, which they are developing into one of the world’s premier copper mines. KoBold has attracted substantial backing from notable investors, including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Andreessen Horowitz, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
9. Pivot Bio
Founded by Alvin Tamsir and Karsten Temme, Pivot Bio uses AI to create microbial fertilizers that offer environmentally friendly nitrogen solutions, helping farmers reduce synthetic chemical use while maintaining crop yields.
They are on a mission to develop microbial nitrogen that can be safely and reliably applied at scale, addressing one of agriculture’s most pressing environmental challenges. Pivot Bio’s patented microbial fertilizers continuously provide plants with essential nitrogen while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preventing nitrogen runoff pollution associated with traditional fertilizers.
Their flagship product for corn has been rapidly adopted by farmers across the U.S., with their fertilizer now used on over 5 million acres, marking one of the fastest gas reductions in synthetic fertilizer use in agricultural history. The company is led by CEO Chris Abbott, who joined in 2023, bringing deep experience in agribusiness investments and commercial growth strategies.
10. Octave Bioscience
Octave Bioscience is a precision medicine company dedicated to transforming the management of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative diseases through AI-powered measurement and care solutions.
Founded by William Hagstrom and Melinda Thomas in 2014, the company bridges cutting-edge science with technology to provide clinicians, patients, pharmaceutical companies, and payers with objective, quantitative insights into disease progression. Octave’s flagship offering, the Octave MSDA Test, is the industry’s first multivariate blood test that accurately measures MS disease activity and severity.
This test is combined with enhanced MRI analytics and a clinical care program that connects patients with certified care partners in real time. Recently, Octave expanded its portfolio to include Parkinson’s disease research, backed by a $10 million grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation.
