Gamaya, an EPFL spin-off, just obtained a Seed loan of 100’000 francs from the Foundation for Technological Innovation (FIT). This kind of loan, with no interest, is for young companies, in phase of prototyping and commercial development of the product. The FIT aims to support high technology and innovative projects by providing appropriate financial assistance.
Gamaya, the decision support system for precision agriculture Gamaya is an EPFL spin-off that aims to develop and commercialize a novel integrated end-to-end solution for large-scale airborne diagnostics of vegetation for precision agriculture. Gamaya acquires imagery data using sensors mounted on drones, and translates the data into actionable information for farmers, such as the optimum rates of application for fertilizers and crop protection chemicals.
Gamaya is going to use this FIT loan of 100’000 francs in order to further validate their product via field campaigns. Basically, the biggest part of the FIT loan will be dedicated to the financing of the production of their sensors, which then will be used during field trials. Additionally, part of the money will be dedicated to the travel and personnel expenses associated with these field trials.
The Foundation for Technological Innovation has been helping startups since 1994 for a total amount of 17 million francs. The Foundation has given 140 loans to 117 innovative companies. Currently, 92 companies are still all active. A lot of these startups projects have become solid companies creating employments. It represents more than 600 employments today.
Innovaud, in charge of innovation promotion in the canton of Vaud, closely collaborates with the FIT secretariat by pre-selecting new demands according to FIT’s eligibility criterions. Innovaud accompanies and frames projects supported by the FIT.
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