Cropin
Indian SaaS platform that tracks farms with satellite data and AI for big agriculture buyers.
On the record
Checkpoint: OrbitAI commercial traction check and possible new funding round
The call
Cropin has real enterprise customers and old farm data, but it runs on Google's cloud and Google's money while Google decides whether to compete with it directly.
Cropin sells software that uses AI to help large farms and food companies like Walmart grow crops better. The company claims it has special farm knowledge built over 15 years that competitors cannot copy, but this has never been checked by outsiders, and its newest product just launched with no proven sales. The biggest problem is that Google both invested in Cropin and provides all the technology it runs on, so Google can see everything Cropin builds and could easily launch its own competing farm software tomorrow.
Why
01
AI pressure: Google (Gemini and native agri-AI tools). Google backs Cropin as investor and cloud host, but could ship its own farm AI and cut Cropin out entirely. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: John Deere Operations Center and Bayer Climate FieldView. Both sell farm equipment or seeds with software attached, so they can bundle field data tools Cropin sells standalone. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. A 15 year library of crop and farm data plus deep workflow ties at customers like Walmart, though the data's uniqueness is unproven.
What would change this call
Google announces a first-party agri-AI product for enterprise buyers. Would show Cropin's main investor and cloud partner is turning into a direct competitor.
Cropin closes a new priced funding round after the 3.5-year gap since Dec 2022. Up-round terms would signal investor confidence; flat or down-round would confirm funding strain.
OrbitAI signs enterprise customers beyond Walmart by early 2027. Would show the newly launched AI product has real commercial traction, not just one flagship deal.
Cropin closes a new priced funding round after the 3.5-year gap since Dec 2022. Up-round terms would signal investor confidence; flat or down-round would confirm funding strain.
OrbitAI signs enterprise customers beyond Walmart by early 2027. Would show the newly launched AI product has real commercial traction, not just one flagship deal.
Key numbers
- $13.7M Series D from Google, Dec 2022
- No priced round since Dec 2022
- Est. $63M revenue, ~185 customers
Named risks
- Total dependence on Google Cloud and Gemini for core AI stack while Google is also an investor.
- Google could ship a native first-party agri-AI product for enterprise buyers, displacing Cropin's layer.
- No priced funding round since December 2022, a roughly 3.5-year gap raising down-round risk.
- Flagship OrbitAI launched July 2026 with no proven commercial traction beyond Walmart.
- Claimed 15-year Crop Knowledge Grid data moat is vendor-asserted and independently unverified.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| contesting | Investor since Series D (Jan 2023) and sole AI/cloud stack provider for OrbitAI (Jul 2026) | |
| John Deere (Operations Center) | contesting | Named as large-scale precision-ag platform in independent buyer comparisons, 2026-06 |
| Bayer/Climate FieldView | contesting | Structurally misaligned incumbent cited alongside Cropin in cultivation-software guides, 2026-06 |
| Taranis | contesting | US drone/computer-vision crop scouting rival listed in agtech alternative comparisons |
| CropX | contesting | Israel-based precision agronomy rival listed in agtech alternative comparisons |
Questions people ask
- Is Cropin profitable in 2026?
- Cropin has not publicly disclosed revenue or profitability figures. The company said in January 2023 it expected FY2023 revenue to grow 2-3x year over year, but no confirmed financials exist as of mid-2026, so profitability cannot be verified.
- Who owns Cropin?
- Cropin is privately held and venture-backed, founded 2010 by Krishna Kumar and Kunal Prasad. Investors include Chiratae Ventures, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Strategic Investment Fund, ABC World Asia, and Google, which led its Series D closed December 2022.
- Could AI replace Cropin?
- Cropin's own products, Cropin Sage (2024) and OrbitAI (July 2026), run on Google Gemini and Google Cloud tools. Because Google is also its cloud vendor and investor, Google could build a competing native agri-AI product, directly threatening Cropin's layer.
- Is Cropin's biggest competitor Google?
- Yes, structurally. Google is Cropin's Series D investor since January 2023, its cloud provider, and the model provider behind OrbitAI (July 2026), giving it visibility into and capability to replicate Cropin's entire AI stack.
- Has Cropin raised funding recently?
- No. Cropin's last priced round was a roughly $13.7-14M Series D led by Google and JSR Corporation, announced January 2023 (deal closed December 2022). No new priced round has been reported since, a gap of about 3.5 years as of mid-2026.
- Does Cropin actually work with Walmart?
- Yes, this is independently confirmed. In March 2025, Cropin partnered with Walmart to apply AI-driven yield forecasting and supply-chain resilience tools across Walmart's US and South American fresh-produce sourcing, per Retail TouchPoints reporting.
Timeline
- 2026-07-14Launched OrbitAI, an agentic AI platform for food and agriculture built on Google Cloud/Gemini
- 2026-05-19Announced scaling internal analytics infrastructure using Sisense
- 2026-01-28Launched AI Agri Ecosystem with Google Cloud, BCG, and Wipro
- 2025-03-31Announced Walmart partnership for AI-driven produce yield forecasting
- 2024-07-18Launched Cropin Sage, gen-AI agri-intelligence platform built on Google Gemini
- 2023-01-09Series D of ~$13.7-14M announced, led by Google and JSR Corporation
- 2021-01-06Series C of $20M led by ABC World Asia (Temasek-backed)
- 2018-11Series B of $8M led by Gates Foundation Strategic Investment Fund
- 2010Cropin founded by Krishna Kumar, Kunal Prasad, and Chittaranjan Jena
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Yourstory (2021-02-27)
- About Cropin (2026-07-13)
- Bloomberg (2021-01-06)
- Economic Times (2023-01-09)
- Inc42 Datalabs (2026-05-26)
- Getlatka (2025-04-09)
- Inc42 (2024-07-17)
- Retail TouchPoints (2025-03-31)
- LinkedIn (2026-03-03)
- PitchBook (2025-12-22)
- Crustdata (2026-06-23)
- The Hindu (2024-07-18)