Oct 24, 2022

FruitScout adds to board, receives agtech recognition

FruitScout, a leader in computer vision for agriculture and precision crop load management, has appointed Bryan Wilson to its board of directors.

Wilson has 35 years of experience across the agricultural chemical manufacturing, crop inputs and crop protection segments throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He currently spends his time working with private equity groups assessing potential acquisitions in the agriculture industry and invests in numerous venture capital enterprises. He is the co-founder of Tacoma Ag LLC, a generic branded crop protection company that rapidly grew to national prominence and was subsequently purchased by Atticus LLC in 2018. Prior to Tacoma Ag, Wilson was president of United Agri Products, acquired by Agrium Inc for $2.65 billion in 2007. He also served in several executive positions with BASF over 15 years in North America and Europe, starting his career with BASF in field sales.

“Mr. Wilson is an ag industry veteran well regarded for his track record of scaling and selling successful companies,” Matt King, CEO of FruitScout, said in a news release. “We are excited to have him be a part of the team and look forward to tapping into his extensive knowledge and vast network as we aggressively expand into new markets and advance new solutions that drive efficiencies in food production and supply chain.”

FruitScout takes the guesswork out of setting accurate crop yield targets for growers, tracking progress from bud to bin. Through more accurate information and actionable insights, FruitScout informs optimized decision-making requiring less resources, resulting in less food waste.

“Between drought, fires and extreme weather conditions, growers have enough to worry about,” Wilson said in the release. “The agriculture industry is ripe for disruption. I truly believe now is the time for growers to embrace innovative technologies, such as FruitScout, that are enabling data-driven decision making. These innovations are modernizing the traditional farming industry, saving them time and money.”

Wilson’s appointment comes on the heels of recent key hires as FruitScout prepares for the 2023 growing season. This includes Ian Chan, chief product officer; Gary Hahn, vice president of strategic relations; Chris Hall, vice president of customer success and Tony Schaffert, director of engineering.

Notable recognitions

FruitScout was recently named a Top 100 Early-stage Company to Work For in 2022 by executive search firm Will Reed.

Out of more than 500 companies that raised Seed & Series A rounds over the past year, FruitScout is recognized as an employer of choice based on mission, culture, growth trajectory and founding leadership, according to a news release.

“At FruitScout, a culture of innovation along with our mission to help growers feed the world’s growing population and do more with less, has attracted some of the most passionate and skilled leaders in product, engineering and data science to our team,” King said in the release. “In the last 6 months, our team has more than doubled as we’ve brought our solution to an increasing number of growers across North America and beyond.”

The company was also named Plant Data Solution of the Year by the Agtech Breakthrough Awards.

Each year AgTech Breakthrough recognizes game-changing products, services and solutions throughout the agricultural technology industry from across the globe.

A panel of industry experts with a wealth of technical, business, academic, and marketing expertise reviewed more than 1,600 nominations from over 15 countries, and the key theme for all awards was innovation.

FruitScout’s computer vision AI platform for agriculture applied to precision crop load management empowers growers with the ability to optimize yield quantity while at the same time maximize grade quality. The result is improved predictability and increased profitability for current and future growing seasons, according to a news release.