Interviews and Resources for Entrepreneurs and Investors

Predicting Crop Yields, Satellite Imagery and Machine Learning with David Potere of TellusLabs

David Potere is the Co-founder and CEO of TellusLabs, a company that combines decades of satellite imagery with machine learning to predict crop yields as well as answer critical, time sensitive economic and environmental questions in agriculture. We get into the details of how his company is using satellite imagery to help its customers, which range from farmer to hedge fund manager.

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In this show, we cover:

  • [02:55] Humble beginnings in satellite imagery from the Navy to Boston Consulting Group.
  • [09:34] The range of problems TellusLabs is solving for its customers.
  • [17:01] TellusLabs products Kernel vs Argus
  • [19:01] Why satellite imagery now.
  • [22:43] Training models with decades of satellite imagery data, discussion of imagery quality.
  • [29:49] USDA approach to forecasting and how TellusLabs differs.
  • [33:40] How approach to yield forecasting in US differs from other countries.
  • [35:11] Yield forecasting in Brazil and LatAm.
  • [40:36] More on how customers are using these solutions, from hedge funds to farmers.
  • [51:52] Market size vs market potential for satellite imagery solutions.
  • [55:36] Lessons learned building TellusLabs.
  • [58:13] Boston startup ecosystem, distributed teams, startup accelerators.

Links to more on the guest and topics discussed:

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