Google has selected 16 startups, non-profits, and research organisations across the Asia-Pacific region to join the inaugural cohort of its Google DeepMind Accelerator: AI for the Planet in APAC.
The three-month equity-free programme launched with a technical bootcamp in Singapore, providing participating teams with direct access to Google’s AI technology stack and specialised frontier models—including AnthroKrishi, ForestCast, AlphaEarth Foundations, SpeciesNet, and Perch. Selected entities will also receive technical guidance and direct mentorship from Google DeepMind engineers and industry experts to help scale their environmental solutions.
The 16 organisations selected for the inaugural cohort span three key operational sectors:
Nature protection & climate resilience
- 800 Trust (New Zealand): Employs AI and bioacoustics to monitor biodiversity and detect ecological threats.
- Kumi Analytics (Singapore): Combines remote sensing and deep learning to establish baseline metrics for conservation projects.
- Listening Lab (New Zealand): Develops bioacoustic tools for real-time biodiversity monitoring.
- TelePIX (South Korea): Converts satellite observation data into analytics for global mangrove ecosystem tracking.
- Wildlife.ai (New Zealand): Produces open-source, AI-powered camera units for wildlife monitoring.
- Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari (Indonesia): Builds predictive AI models linking environmental degradation directly to natural disaster risks.
Sustainable agriculture
- Edufarmers (Indonesia): Delivers near real-time pest, disease, and meteorological advice to smallholder farmers via messaging applications.
- Living Roots (Thailand): Utilises data modeling to formulate crop-specific biological fertilisers.
- SIGMA (Singapore): Deploys satellite-based AI frameworks to forecast agricultural yields.
- Terrastack (India): Merges satellite imagery and agronomic data to provide plot-level land intelligence for smallholders.
- X-Centric (Australia): Manufactures portable, AI-enabled X-ray devices for instant soil geochemical analysis.
Climate & carbon solutions
- Archeda (Japan): Uses satellite metrics to verify nature-based carbon credit assets.
- City Syntax Lab (Singapore): Builds agentic AI software to optimise energy consumption and carbon footprints across urban districts.
- Climitra Carbon (India): Applies geospatial AI to verify invasive plant removal and subsequent biochar conversion.
- Farmers for Forests (India): Utilises AI-equipped drones to scale smallholder agroforestry carbon and biodiversity projects.
- Varaha Climate (India): Leverages remote sensing and AI models to verify regenerative agriculture and carbon removal initiatives for smallholder monetization.
