Veridi Joins Panel at CROP IB to Discuss the Future of Agri Innovation
From left to right: Divya Murthy (Oyster Bay Venture Capital), Tom Greene (Corteva Agriscience), An Michiels (AgKnowledge Partnering),and Ziad Matar (Veridi Technologies)
Veridi Technologies recently participated in the CROP Innovation & Business (CROP IB) conference, joining leading voices across the agri-food sector to explore the evolution of the crop innovation ecosystem. The event’s plenary opening program brought together industry, investment, and technology perspectives to examine how innovation is reshaping agriculture, with increasing focus on soil health as a foundation for long term productivity.
Representing Veridi, CEO and co-founder Ziad Matar joined a panel alongside Tom Greene of Corteva Agriscience and Divya Murthy of Oyster Bay Venture Capital. Moderated by An Michiels, the discussion focused on how shifting business models, capital constraints, and technological advancements are driving a structural reset in agtech.
From Early Recognition to Industry Dialogue
The moment marked a meaningful return for Veridi. At the same conference in 2022, the company received its first industry recognition, an early signal of its potential within the agtech landscape. That event also led to a pivotal connection with investor Joachim Schneider, ex-CEO of Bayer vegetable seeds, helping lay the foundation for Veridi’s growth.
Returning now as a panel participant reflects both the company’s progress and its growing role in shaping conversations around the future of agriculture. What began as a pitch has evolved into active participation in defining the direction of the sector.
Rethinking the Agtech Ecosystem
The panel explored how successful agricultural innovation increasingly depends on collaboration, shared infrastructure, and a clear focus on farmer outcomes. Discussions highlighted the importance of leveraging existing laboratory and agronomic networks, aligning technological innovation with practical field realities, and ensuring that new solutions deliver measurable value to growers.
A key theme was the need to move beyond isolated innovation toward integrated ecosystems, where research, capital, and deployment are closely connected. In a more constrained funding environment, this shift places greater emphasis on scalable solutions that can be rapidly implemented and economically justified.
Within this context, soil health emerged as a critical enabler of both productivity and sustainability. Veridi’s approach, centered on accessible, high throughput soil diagnostics, and the development of nematode based indices, reflects this shift. By translating soil biodiversity into measurable and actionable indicators, the company contributes to a deeper understanding of soil ecosystems and supports more informed crop protection and management decisions.
The company extends its thanks to An Michiels, as well as Leon Mur and Miranda de Regt from CROP IB for providing a platform that continues to foster meaningful connections and industry progress.
This return to CROP IB reflects Veridi’s continued commitment to contributing to a more connected, scalable, and impact driven agricultural innovation ecosystem, where soil health and biodiversity data play a central role.
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