Purescan AI

PureScan AI is an agritech startup that focuses on improving food safety and quality. The company uses advanced technologies like spectroscopy, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to detect food safety issues. PureScan AI was founded by Manasa Gonchigar and Ayush Nigam to address the problem of aflatoxin contamination in crops such as peanuts, maize, dry fruits, and seeds. Aflatoxin is a harmful fungal carcinogen that can cause serious health problems.

Benefits

PureScan AI's flagship product, AflaScan, is an optical device designed for rapid aflatoxin assessment in maize and peanuts. It helps exporters, traders, processing companies, and retailers make quick and informed decisions about transactions and procurements. This ensures safer food for consumers. The company's technology can also expand to chillies and dry fruits in the future.

Use Cases

PureScan AI's technology is useful for various stakeholders in the food supply chain. These include clearance and forwarding agents, traders, produce-storage facilities, food processing industries, and exporters of agri-produce. The company's solutions help these stakeholders ensure food safety and quality, which is crucial for both business and consumer health.

Pricing

The current price of the AflaScan device is Rs 50,000, with a cost per test of Rs 8.

Vibes

PureScan AI has received support from various grants and awards, including the Inspire 2020 award from the CGIAR Bigdata platform, which provided a grant of $100,000 for piloting new business models. The startup has also been part of entrepreneur cohorts by Pusa Krishi, SINE, and VentureLab, and Qualcomm.

Additional Information

PureScan AI's team comprises data scientists and IoT experts. The company has a 'mover' model for sales and business development, where employees are incentivized based on their work. The startup also has an internship model and a fellowship model for short-term HR needs. The team emphasizes placing the right culture within the organization from the start.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a standstill in the startup's data collection for technology development, leading to a delay of two to three months. The data collection process was made virtual through postal services and video conferences, requiring twice the effort.

PureScan AI's future plans involve three stages. The current stage focuses on aflatoxin detection technologies and expanding within the same domain. The next phase will address different food safety issues and build solutions for them, with plans to go global and start technology licensing. The final phase aims to develop simple consumer products for food safety detection, ensuring the highest level of accountability in the food system and making the food on our plates safe.