Business
Akamai Awards $1M in Products and Services to Future of Life Online Challenge Winner Bloomfield Robotics
Plant sciences artificial intelligence startup sets sights on solving global food production challenges by scaling agtech platform with Akamai edge computing
About this update from Akamai Technologies, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Plant sciences artificial intelligence startup sets sights on solving global food production challenges by scaling agtech platform with Akamai edge computing and security capabilities\nCAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the cloud company that powers and protects life online, today announced that Bloomfield Robotics is the winner of its Future of Life Online Challenge, clinching an award of USD $1 million in Akamai products and services. Bloomfield is addressing the challenges of growing high-quality crops in the face of rising environmental pressures, demographic shifts, production costs and supply chain issues. Using a combination of artificial intelligence and custom imaging hardware, Bloomfield makes it easier for farmers and produce companies to understand the health and performance of every plant by automating crop inspection and analysis. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nAkamai today also debuted the Future of Life Online Challenge video docuseries hosted by two-time Emmy Award-winning talk show host Mario Armstrong. Available at akamai.com/lifeonline, the four-part series follows Bloomfield and co-finalists Cooler Screens and Ennoventure through the pitching and judging processes, culminating with the Bloomfield team's high-energy welcome to Akamai headquarters as the newly minted winners of the challenge.\nLaunched last fall, the Akamai Future of Life Online Challenge is an opportunity to celebrate and reward \"the visionaries, the rebels, and the insanely curious innovators\" shaping breakthrough digital experiences that make life better. The rigorous submission process included \"Shark Tank\"-style live pitches before a panel of judges from the Akamai global leadership team. Applicants had to demonstrate how their innovative products or services could viably scale to make a positive impact on the world with the benefit of Akamai security, delivery, and compute solutions.\n\"Winning the Akamai Future of Life Online Challenge gives Bloomfield access to world-class technology and expertise that will immediately help us scale and better secure our business,\" said Mark DeSantis, CEO, Bloomfield Robotics. \"It also affords us leeway to experiment with new capabilities and resources in ways that many companies at this stage simply don't have the luxury of doing. Bloomfield is ...