AVF recently caught up with Subhajit Sinha, the Founder and CEO of 4Climate, our newest AVF member, and winner of the Early-Stage Company in the AVF Summit and VertiFarm’s Startup Challenge: Grow to the Next Height!

– Who is 4Climate?

4CLIMATE is a leading ag-tech company that provides intelligent automation solutions for commercial greenhouse and indoor farming.

Our commitment transcends providing industry-leading CEA solutions. 

We’re on a mission, “To empower the next generation of growers to grow the best food possible”. 

Across 15 projects, we are currently managing over 500,000 square feet of cultivation area, with 100+ live IoT sensors processing over 5 million data points every day. Our current crop management value stands at USD$800K, and we aim to see these numbers grow tenfold in the next 18 months.  

How did you hear about the AVF/VertiFarm Start-Up Challenge?

We were already aware of AVF and VertiFarm and knew that the networking and perks of being a member were valuable. This year, we saw the opportunity to take part in the AVF Start-Up Challenge: Grow to New Heights. We were selected as a finalist and attended VertiFarm in October of this year. Our pitch at the event won the Early-Stage Company category!

Attending the AVF Summit and VertiFarm had other benefits as we had been in touch with various companies and were able to meet in person with GrowPipes, Direct Carbon, GreenHub, Avisomo and many others. It is important for stakeholders to come together and be in discussion and the opportunity for us to be in conversation with like-minded people.

– What is your technology, and who is it for?

Our cutting-edge technology leverages advanced CEA (Controlled Environment Agriculture) systems, combining IoT, AI-driven automation, and hydroponics to create optimized indoor farming solutions. That includes climate control, irrigation, and nutrient delivery. We are empowering growers to achieve consistently higher yields, reduce operational costs, and maximize profitability. Our solution has been crafted for vertical farms, CEA facilities, container farms, greenhouses and more. 

4Climate Product Portfolio

XGRID (Intelligent Farm Automation Suite) 

• Responsible for Micro-climate & Lighting controls. 
• The brain of the farm and responsible for intelligent monitoring & control within the farm.
• Equipped with x32 independent channels to control various farm electricals & environmental sensors.

XDOSE (Intelligent Nutrient Delivery) 

• Responsible for intelligent nutrient delivery
• Equipped with pH, EC /TDS monitoring and 4x Peristaltic pumps for nutrient management.
• Auto-calibration of sensors with High/Low Alarm to prevent errors.

TERRAONE (IoT-SaaS Cloud Platform)

• Responsible for cloud monitoring & Analytics
• Android / iOS / Web compatible dashboard for 24×7 remote monitoring & control.
• Powered by Rule Engine | Crop Steering | Analytics & Farm Autopilot

– What is unique about your product and approach

Today’s access to modern precision farming technology remains limited, hindering the widespread adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices in India and globally. The urgent need is to democratize these solutions and make them accessible across diverse regions. Doing so will unlock key social, environmental, and economic benefits.

We combine cutting-edge CEA automation with a scalable, data-driven ecosystem that offers growers real-time control and customization of climate, irrigation, and nutrient delivery across multiple farms. What sets us apart is the integration of IoT sensors, AI algorithms, and machine learning that optimize growing conditions with precision and adaptability, allowing users to maximize yield while minimizing resource use. Unlike traditional systems, our platform is designed for commercial farms and urban micro-farms, bridging the gap between large-scale agriculture and localized food production. 

This flexibility enables us to provide scalable solutions tailored to a wide range of needs, from urban growers to agribusinesses, enhancing sustainability and food accessibility.

– What is the potential of your technology going forward?

Our mission is to build sustainable food systems. 4CLIMATE’s technology plays a crucial role in transforming food production to be more sustainable, resilient, and efficient. By integrating advanced CEA automation with IoT, AI, and machine learning, we aim to lead the way in climate-smart farming solutions adaptable to various scales—from commercial farms to urban micro-farms.

Our Impact – Social, Environmental & Economic

– 30% reduction in OPEX, 7% reduction in power consumption.

– 450% increase in revenue/Sq mtr, with consistent quality yields.

– 80% reduction in risks, related to crop failures, growth & harvest.

– 8500 MT CO2 emissions avoided annually; 25,000 Liters of water saved everyday

Our technology addresses current challenges like water scarcity, labor shortages, and climate unpredictability and creates scalable solutions that support global food security. Going forward, we envision becoming the cornerstone of resilient, tech-enabled farms that support climate goals while ensuring access to nutritious food worldwide.

– What are your goals in the future?

We’re committed to promoting healthier, pesticide-free produce while contributing to global climate goals and sustainable development. We aspire to lead the shift towards a decentralized food system, empowering communities and cities worldwide with resilient, hyperlocal food production solutions. We also have some big plans, expanding our operations across Asia Pacific, MENA, Australia, & Europe, evaluating a potential Total Addressable Market of USD$80B in the global CEA Industry. 

Alongside our current product range, which offers around 95% automation, we are, within the next 12 months, looking to introduce our Vision System. The Vision System will use AI prediction and cameras to monitor and grow crops – it will be like having the knowledge of an experienced Agronomist on your team. 

Looking further ahead, robotics will be developed to move the Vision System around the farm and ultimately harvest the crops.

– What are you looking for in the VF space 

It is great to connect with all relevant stakeholders from the same industry. As system integrators, we are co-dependent in building sustainable food systems. A single player cannot achieve it.

We believe that industry benchmarks and SOPs are important for the execution of CEA/vertical farming.

We recently had the privilege to build a partnership with Direct Carbon, one of the exhibitors at VertiFarm 2024, and we look forward to potentially engaging, connecting, and forming new partnerships with many more companies/organizations in the days to come. Thrilled to see familiar faces from GrowPipes, Agritecture.