Nordetect is Deep Tech startup, founded by Indian scientist-entrepreneurs Keenan Pinto and Palak Sehgal in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Its core product is a a real-time water and soil analytics solution comprised of a chemical test cartridge and a cloud-connected optical analysis unit that works with a data platform, combined into an easy-to-use package that can be operated by anyone. By providing growers with access to nutrient data immediately, the system facilitates timely decision-making and adjustments to the nutrient dosing systems giving them total control over their growing cycle. This replaces the week-long wait that growers currently experience when sending samples to a laboratory.
Nordetect key area of impact within the agricultural domain is helping to manage the use of fertilizer. Fertilizer accounts for 500 megaton of CO2e from its production alone. Its usage thereafter results in an additional 1.4 gigaton of CO2e via the production of Nitrous Oxide gas after application to soil. Nordetect product helps growers move from a broad based application strategy to a more precise one.
Hailing from India, the team wanted to build a product that could help the millions of farms that are in need of guidance in countries like India, China, and Latin America. Hence, the product was developed with affordability in mind. The test can be mass manufactured using the same equipment used to manufacture COVID tests and pregnancy tests but with certain modifications. The hardware can be mass manufactured by the same processes that blood sugar testers are made with. The scalability of the product is what makes it accessible at a price of $15 today and $5 in the future.
Trust has always been a value that the team has fought hard to gain as many growers have hard their fingers burned with technology before. Sharing performance results, focusing on validation while ensuring that customers are trained and operating the product so their receive the best outcomes has been a key focus point of the company as it began commercialization.
Agriculture is not exponential, and even though Nordetect is a venture-backed startup, its roots in science and focus on making an impact on farmers bottom line has kept the team grounded.
