Digitizing cultivation: AI at the root of organic gourmet mushroom project growing alt-protein in cities

31 Oct 2023 --- Tupu, a Berlin-based Agri-tech start-up, has received US$3.2 million to revolutionize food production through its decentralized farming system that brings together its modular farming system (patent-pending) with bioscience, robotics and AI. The technology enables the company to grow a myriad of organic gourmet mushrooms “directly” in cities to offer consumers sustainable, farm-fresh products at a competitive price.

Mushrooms are adept at growing anywhere, even indoors, all year, making them “immune to supply chain disruptions,” underscores the company.

They contain essential B vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and protein at an environmental cost “close to zero.” They even score above vegetables regarding CO2 emissions, water consumption and land-use efficiency.

Mushrooms have the power to tackle the “pressing challenges of global food insecurity in the face of the climate crisis,” says Eldad Arnon, co-founder and CEO of Tupu.

“We envision a future where food is produced right where it is consumed and organic farm-fresh food is accessible to everyone.”

Following the cash injection, the food tech innovator plans to escalate its production capacity further and cater to prominent players in the foodservice and retail sectors. The Tupu team is also making headway into its space efficiency and automation technology.

Urban farming gets digitized
According to Daniel Lock, co-founder and COO at Tupu, while the vertical farming sector’s dynamics have recently changed, particularly for leafy greens and other energy-intensive crops, “urban farming will play a key role in our future food system.”

“Unlike plants, mushrooms have always been cultivated indoors, yet in an inefficient manner, and we’re leapfrogging the current state of the industry with our technology by 50 years. 

Mushrooms offer immense potential across various sectors — food is just the beginning.”

This highlights Innova Market Insights’ top ten food and drinks trend for 2024 — “Taking the spotlight” — that indicates that main meals featuring mushrooms (or specific mushroom types) as an ingredient grew 12% year-on-year between 2018 and 2023.

Tupu’s technology builds on multiple key elements, including the industry’s first harvesting robot for gourmet mushrooms.“Tupu’s innovative technology builds on multiple key elements, including the industry’s first harvesting robot for gourmet mushrooms, advanced camera vision artificial intelligence, and the integration of millions of data points from IoT devices distributed throughout its farm,” notes the company.

Further, the digitization and automation of the company’s value chain are aimed at tackling challenges in agriculture and food manufacturing, such as labor shortages, yield improvement and spatial efficiency.

According to Till Hoelzer, principal at FoodLabs, which co-led the funding round, controlled environment farming is a “key technology to make our food supply chain climate resilient” and stresses that Tupu’s efforts are making indoor farming economically viable.”

Other investors include Zubi Capital, Clear Current Capital, FoodHack, IT-Farm, Coast Cap, and significant business angels in the food & tech industry, such as Roger Hassan and Gil Horsky.

Mushroom moves
With consumers getting more health-conscious, there is a growing demand for organic, sustainable, plant-based and local products, along with sustainable meat alternatives, which is driving interest in mushrooms.

For instance, AI-driven studies have shown that mushroom root or mycelium contains 14 essential compounds for achieving optimum nutrition and is being implemented in formulating plant-based classic chicken cutlets and whole-cut steaks. 

Mushrooms have a complex, well-rounded umami taste, which formulators combine with spicy, sour and sweet flavors for increased palatability.

Moreover, MycoTechnology recently unveiled a mushroom fermentation service that offers companies the tools and expertise required to expand their fermentation capabilities. It also addresses issues related to product quality, yield and cost management needed to transition to commercial production.

But, the crop suffers from a lack of efficient farm-to-fork navigation at present, highlights Tupu. 

Moreover, they are transported across distances of up to 7,000 km, often resulting in compromised taste, a shorter shelf life, fewer nutrients, and a high carbon footprint.

By Insha Naureen