Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century

Yosef Akhtman, CEO and cofounder of Gamaya, and Igor Ivanov, Gamaya's business development manager were elated at the latest news coming from Brazil. After a year of field tests, things were finally falling into place and Gamaya was now able to demonstrate credibly the contributions its drone-born miniaturized hyperspectral cameras could bring to local sugar cane farmers. It was not only the hardware that made Gamaya so special, but also the data analytics that converted the rich data images into valuable crop management information that could immediately be converted into field actions. The client in this case was also an investor in the venture and, as one of the most visible and acclaimed Swiss entrepreneurs, his validation was worth a lot to the company, and that could be a turning point for the company. Even though it had won prizes in venture competitions and research grants from the University lab, this was the first significant investment from a professional investor, and Yosef knew it would open doors for further funding rounds. Questions abounded though: Should they continue to focus on sugar cane farmers or should they move to other crops and geographies? Was the business model appropriate for their activities? How long would it take for the delivery medium, various drones at this point, to be replaced by mini-satellites offering almost real-time monitoring on a larger scale?

• Organizational values
• Financing
• Entrepreneurship
• Technology and analytics
• Business growth