Ignition Fund recipient AgronomAI transforming farming with Artificial Intelligence
AgronomAI is a drone business in Prince Edward Island with the goal of helping drones integrate into agriculture safely and effectively. By fusing the worlds of Agronomy and Artificial Intelligence, ArgonomAI provides advanced drone spraying and seeding services to Prince Edward Island farmers. “We provide the tools to help you focus on the art of crop management,” says Chad Mooney, Founder of AgronomAI, “Letting you decide when to trust the numbers and when to rely on your experience.”
Chad has a background in civil engineering from UNB and UPEI. He also completed his Master’s in Business Analytics through Queens. In 2022, Chad and his wife returned home to Prince Edward Island, and his family’s farm, after spending time in the military. “To be able to run a small business out of PEI that supports our family farm and supports farmers on PEI is huge for me personally,” says Chad.
Chad was seeking capital to jumpstart AgronomAI when he saw a post about the Ignition Fund on social media. “There was a lot of risk involved with investing that capital upfront,” he said, “So I was looking for ways to offset that by using government funding.”
In his original business plan, Chad had outlined investing in a trailer to carry the drone and equipment. “When you research agricultural drones in North America, everyone has massive trailers they drive around covering big acreage.” he said. He noticed early on that the trailer wasn’t the best solution for what he was providing to PEI farmers and smaller fields. “Actually using the truck itself with inserts and stuff like that was the best solution, and the kind of thing to invest research and development into.” Pivoting his business plan, he became a successful recipient of the Ignition Fund.
“The best piece of advice I could give for someone applying to the Ignition Fund is to enjoy the process. Going through the process was super helpful for me in terms of learning how to do pitch decks, learning how to pitch a business idea, and being in front of people.”