Wadhwani AI receives $3.3 mn Google.org grant to protect India’s staple crops with AI-powered pest mitigation technology

Selected from 15 projects worldwide as part Google.org AI for the Global Goals challenge to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Global Goals

Wadhwani AI is receiving $3.3 mn in grant funding under the AI for the Global Goals challenge by Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm to scale AI technology  currently advising farmers on pest management for cotton crops, to now also protect India’s staple food crops, integrating it into the digital systems of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for nationwide reach .

Wadhwani AI’s solution, currently manifest in the Cotton Ace app that has helped improve crop productivity and farmer incomes across the country, uses pictures uploaded by farmers to identify pests and provide data-driven solutions to address crop damage, while also providing them up-to-date information on weather, farming methods, and crop prices.

On receiving the grant, Shekar Sivasubramanian, CEO, Wadhwani AI, said, “We aim to boost efficiency and production in the Indian agricultural sector using AI. Our Cotton Ace app, supported by Google.org, has already increased farmers’ profits by 20% and reduced pesticide expenses by 25%. This recent grant will help us expand our technology to safeguard staple crops like rice, wheat, and corn, supporting the UN’s goal of zero hunger.”

Wadhwani AI is one of 15 organizations worldwide to receive support through the $25 million philanthropy challenge by Google.org for projects that use artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Annie Lewin, Senior Director of Global Advocacy and Head of Asia Pacific, Google.org said: “The AI for the Global Goals Impact Challenge is an important part of our commitment to supporting progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but also to our longstanding mission to supporting brilliant changemakers using technology to solve humanity’s biggest challenges. This new grant to Wadhwani AI speaks directly to Google’s DNA, supporting the real-world application of the latest advancement in AI and technology to safeguard the sustenance of a whole nation.”

This project will see Wadhwani AI expanding its contribution to India’s agricultural knowledge systems, while also supporting sustainable farming practices and improving livelihoods of farmers across the country.

Wadhwani AI will also create two language model-based apps that use verified sources like agriculture research and government schemes, integrating them into PM Kisan chatbot and Kisan Call Centers  These apps will include features like text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and translation for Indian languages, making it easier for people to access this information using voice commands in multiple languages.

About Wadhwani AI

The Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Wadhwani AI) is an independent nonprofit institute developing and deploying AI solutions for communities in India and the global south. Inaugurated in 2018 by the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, Wadhwani AI partners with governments to solve social and development-related challenges through scaled deployment of AI. The institute is currently building solutions in the agriculture, education and healthcare domains.

About Google.Org

Google.org, Google’s philanthropy, brings the best of Google to help solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges combining funding, product donations and technical expertise to support underserved communities and provide opportunity for everyone. We engage nonprofits, social enterprises and civic entities who make a significant impact on the communities they serve, and whose work has the potential to produce scalable, meaningful change.