Taranis (company)
Israeli AI crop-imagery company founded by a former software developer in an Israeli intelligence unit
| Taranis
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|---|---|
| Logo | 
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| Type | Private |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Founder(s) | Ofir Schlam, Asaf Horvitz, Eli Bukchin, Ayal Karmi |
| Headquarters | Tel Aviv |
| Industry | Agricultural technology |
| Services | AI analysis of high-resolution crop imagery taken by drones and aircraft |
| Homepage | taranis.com |
Taranis is a Tel Aviv-based company that uses artificial intelligence to analyse high-definition images of crops, taken by drones and aircraft, so that farmers and agronomists can decide on fertiliser, pesticide and cultivation. It was founded in 2015 by its president Ofir Schlam, with Asaf Horvitz, Eli Bukchin and Ayal Karmi, and had raised $100 million by 2022.[1] Bloomberg reported that Schlam had been a software developer at an elite Israeli intelligence unit, working on signals intelligence and encryption.[2]
Founder and intelligence background
A 2020 Bloomberg report by Yoolim Lee, republished by the Indian site ThePrint under the headline "How a former Israeli spy's start-up hopes to transform farming in Asia", said that Ofir Schlam grew up on a kibbutz and "eventually became a software developer at an elite Israel intelligence unit ... He worked on signal intelligence, encryption and other tools, rising through the ranks to manage a department of 30 software engineers". After ten years, it said, he left to start Taranis.[2] His speaker biography for the VISION conference gives a different account of the same service: "For his military service he served in an elite technological unit of the Israeli Prime Minister's office" (Israeli Prime Minister's Office), and in his last post he managed "an R&D department of 15 software engineers on classified projects".[3] Neither source names the unit.
Taranis is also listed among the alumni of 8200 EISP, the accelerator of the 8200 Alumni Association.[4]
Funding
In July 2020 Taranis raised $30 million in a round led by the Kuok Group's Orion Fund and Vertex Growth, a fund backed by Singapore's Temasek Holdings, with Hitachi Ventures, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Micron Ventures and Finistere Ventures also taking part.[2] In September 2022 it completed a $40 million Series D led by Inven Capital, with Seraphim Space Investment Trust, Farglory Group, Viola Ventures, OurCrowd and others.[1]
See also
- 8200 Alumni Association
- Prime Minister's Office (Israel)
- Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Globes correspondent, Israeli AI crop intelligence co Taranis raises $40m Globes, 7 September 2022, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Yoolim Lee, How a former Israeli spy's start-up hopes to transform farming in Asia ThePrint, 22 July 2020, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ The VISION Conference, Ofir Schlam The VISION Conference, 2019, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ 8200 EISP, Our Alumni 8200EISP, accessed 29 October 2026.